FAYETTEVILLE — Fayetteville senior Aubrey Edie admitted there was pressure to bring home the school’s first volleyball state championship Saturday.
She had been part of a team, which lost in the finals the past two seasons.
Edie said winning a state title was the focal point for Fayetteville’s season, especially for the seniors.
When Mikayla Avery’s blast down the line landed in front of a Fort Smith Southside defender. Edie, Avery and the rest of the Lady Purple Bulldogs could celebrate.
Fayetteville shook off an early challenge from Southside and went on to claim the Class 7A state title with a 25-18, 25-14, 25-18 sweep at Valley View’s Blazer Gymnasium.
Edie was part of a senior class, which rang up an impressive 101-9 record over three seasons. But the final victory of their high school careers was the biggest, Edie said.
“We definitely wanted the one, it wouldn’t have been complete without it,” Edie said. “This is huge after being in the finals the last two years and not winning.
“Our goal for this season was win the last game of the year. We did that I don’t know how to say it. It’s a great feeling and a great accomplishment for all of us.”
Edie, a 6-foot setter who has verbally committed to play at Ole Miss, was at the controls of Fayetteville’s powerful offense, which had no peer much of the season. Fayetteville finished the season 35-3, but 23-0 against in-state competition.
Southside, which was aiming for its eighth state title, had no answer Saturday despite taking a 1-0 lead in each set. But those were the only times the Confederettes led in the match.
The high-flying Mikayla Avery hammered out 18 kills, while fellow senior Hannah Pinter added 12. Edie dished out 31 assists, served up two aces and contributed six block assists.
Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said the senior class was definitely special, but Edie, who was honored as the tournament most valuable player, was the key to the offense.
“What a talented young lady,” Phelan said. “She’s one I feel really blessed to have coached. She has done such a great job running our powerful offense. She has put our hitters in position to be successful. She makes the whole show go.”
Southside coach Steve Haaser said his team faced just too much of a challenge Saturday.
“Fayetteville has a great team,” Haaser said. “They have no weaknesses. They just keep coming at you. They’ve got it all. We played our hearts out. We played as great as we could. It still wasn’t enough.
“They’re just too strong. They’re champions.”
The Confederettes (31-7) stayed close early, but a Hannah Dickinson’s shot sailed long and Pinter hammered a kill cross court for a 19-15 Fayetteville lead.
Haaser called timeout, but it didn’t stop Fayetteville’s game-ending 8-3 run.
Fayetteville took control quickly in the final two sets, leading 11-3 in second and 9-2 in the third on its way to the title.
Southside never got its attack going consistently. Drew Jones, a 6-1 senior middle hitter, led the Confederettes with eight kills and two block assists.
Senior libero Andrea Kathol finished with a match-high 28 digs to key the Fayetteville defense.