Siloam Springs On A Roll

Friday, October 5, 2012

— Things appear to be coming together at the right time for the Siloam Springs volleyball team.

The Lady Panthers picked up their sixth win in seven matches Thursday with a 3-1 victory (25-17, 25-18, 17-25, 25-18) against Springdale Har-Ber and moved into a tie for fourth place in the 7A/6A-West Conference.

Siloam Springs was swept 3-0 by Fayetteville last Thursday, which included a 25-2 score in game two. However since then, the Lady Panthers (11-12, 5-6) have been on a roll, going 4-1 in the Fort Smith Invitational and then beating Rogers Heritage on Tuesday in a league match.

“I feel like we’ve all starting working together finally,” said junior right side hitter Leah Bergthold, who was one of three Lady Panthers to lead with seven kills. “We’ve decided to have fun and play to win, not to lose.”

Siloam Springs got off to a fast start in games one and two and took a 2-0 lead on the Lady Wildcats (10-7, 6-5). Har-Ber won game three, but another fast start from the Lady Panthers put the Lady Wildcats in a bind on the road.

Har-Ber committed three hitting errors down the stretch of game one, while Ashley Avery tipped a kill past the Lady Wildcats defense and Bergthold threw a solo block.

Siloam Springs took a 9-2 lead in game two, led by three kills from Baily Cameron and two more from Bergthold. Har-Ber pulled within 17-16, but the Lady Panthers got a kill from Avery and an ace from Taylor Gay to go up 19-16. Har-Ber then committed four more hitting errors and a service error to end game two. Cameron and Avery each had seven kills.

“In the second game, it was 4-1 and three of their points were our mistakes,” said Har-Ber coach Sandy Jones. “You just can’t do that. You’ve got to start out strong and stay focused for the rest of the game.”

Siloam Springs coach Rose Cheek said she told the Lady Panthers after game three to not let Har-Ber have any momentum.

“A team like Har-Ber, they’re a very good team,” Cheek said. “I just told them, remember what I’ve been telling you. ‘No one’s going to respect you until you make them.’”