Bentonville Goes Distance

LADY TIGERS DEFEAT LADY PURPLE’DOGS FOR CLASS 7A STATE VOLLEYBALL TITLE

Bentonville volleyball players celebrate Saturday after winning the fourth match to force a fifth match against Fayetteville during the finals of the Class 7A State Volleyball Tournament at Bentonville High School.
Bentonville volleyball players celebrate Saturday after winning the fourth match to force a fifth match against Fayetteville during the finals of the Class 7A State Volleyball Tournament at Bentonville High School.

— Leah White knew there was no way she could reach the ball before it hit the fl oor.

So Bentonville’s senior libero and team captain did the only thing she could do: say a quick prayer that the ball would go out of bounds.

The prayer was answered, resulting in the final point as Bentonville won its third Class 7A state volleyball championship in four years with a 22-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-18, 15-13 victory over Fayetteville in Tiger Arena.

Sophomore Haley McNee gave the Lady Tigers (31-8) a break in a 13-13 tie with a kill in the decisive fifth game. Moments later, Fayetteville’s Hannah Pinter was going for the kill to tie the game again and force additional play since gamesmust be won by two points.

But the shot was just a little too long, sending Bentonville’s players into celebration.

“I’ve played libero for a long time,” said White, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player. “I tend to know where the line is all the time and whether the ball is going out of bounds or not.

“I was playing up a little bit because Fayetteville’s players were hitting the ball a little short, and there was no way I could reach it. I thought it was going out, but I was hoping and praying that it was really going out. Everything was a blur after that.”

Fayetteville (32-4-3), which shared the 7A-West’s regularseason title with Bentonville and took the conference’s top seed intothe state tournament, won the first and third games, only to have the Lady Tigers take games two and four. The fifth game was a slugfest, resulting in 12 tie scores and six lead changes, and neither team led by more than two points.

The final lead change came when Shayne Wiedemann’s kill gave the Lady Tigers a 12-11 edge. Fayetteville responded with a kill by Courtney Marshall to force the 11th tie, then both teams traded points before McKee’s kill from center court.

“I knew it wasn’t going to be a blowout,” Bentonville coach Michelle Coens said. “It was going to be point-forpoint volleyball and come down to which team did the little things and made theleast amount of mistakes.

“Everything was just a blur to me during the last point. I had to ask (assistant coach) Jennifer (Power) if the ball had gone out of bounds or not.”

The loss marked the second time that Fayetteville has been denied a state championship in four years. Bentonville has been the Lady Purple’Dogs’ stumbling block on both occasions.

“Obviously, to be that close and to have kind of a back-and-forth battle, it’s disappointing for our kids,” Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said. “But what I know is this isn’t the last chapter for any one of them.

“And ultimately, at the end of the day, you can take pride in how hard you worked today on the court and youcan take pride in the season that we had and the journey that we’ve been on.”

White was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Rebecca Brown and Morgan Hayes, while Fayetteville was represented by Aubrey Edie, Tatum Marshall and Courtney Marshall.

Sports, Pages 8 on 10/31/2010

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