BENTONVILLE — Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said her volleyball team just needed to catch its breath after dropping the second set of Thursday’s match.
Instead, the Lady Bulldogs grabbed their second wind.
Fayetteville opened the third set with eight straight points and went on to post a 3-1 victory over Bentonville in 7A/6A-West Conference action in Tiger Arena.
“We just needed to settle in and play,” Phelan said after the 25-19, 23-25, 13-25, 25-22 decision. “I felt like at times it was emotional and not the prettiest volleyball we’ve played.
“I thought in Game 3 we settled in. We just had to take a breather and relax. To come out on Bentonville’s home court and get a win, that’s something we can be proud of and build upon.”
Mikayla Avery, who led Fayetteville (15-0, 7-0) with 21 kills, had four during that early run in the third set and capped it with a tip over two Bentonville defenders. The Lady Purple’Dogs led by as much as 13 points before finishing off the set with Paige Gocke’s kill.
Fayetteville then jumped out to a 14-8 lead in the fourth set, but Bentonville (14-6, 6-1) made it a contest. The Lady Tigers stormed back and pulled within 18-17 on a kill by Hailey McNee before Avery used kills to score the Lady Purple’Dogs’ final three points and secure the match.
“The third game was a little rough,” Bentonville coach Michelle Smith said. “But that doesn’t say anything about the night. I was proud of these girls, and it was a good loss.
“They fought hard and took a very good team to four (sets). We showed a lot of people what we could do. There’s a few things on defense we need to fix, but I’m pleasantly surprised.”
Fayetteville took the lead for good in the first set after Hannah Pinter’s kill made it a 5-4 game, but the Lady Purple’Dogs didn’t pull away until late. Fayetteville then ran off six straight points in the second set for a 10-4 lead before Bentonville made a comeback.
The Lady Tigers went on a 10-2 run and took an 18-15 lead, then extended that to a 23-18 margin on another kill by McNee, who finished with a team-high 16 and added eight digs. Fayetteville scored the next five to tie the score at 23, but Bentonville regained the lead with Ariel Hornsby’s block before a net violation ended the match.
Pinter added 16 kills and Gocke 10 for Fayetteville, while Aubrey Edie had 10 kills, six blocks and 46 assists. Sabrina Shepherd contributed to Bentonville’s performance with 10 kills and 13 blocks — including seven solos — while Haley Seyfarth had 33 assists.