Springdale Har-Ber had to fight extra hard against rival Springdale High to claim its fourth consecutive victory.
Har-Ber rallied from a 25-22 setback in the first game to defeat Springdale 3-1 in volleyball action Thursday before a spirited crowd at Wildcat Arena. Kim Huff finished with 13 kills for the Lady Wildcats (9-3, 5-2 7A/6A-West), who won 22-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-21 after losing the opening set to Springdale (7-8, 3-4).
Har-Ber has now beaten Siloam Springs, Rogers Heritage, Rogers and Springdale after losing a nonconference match to Shiloh Christian two weeks ago.
“We’ve been talking all season long about how important it is to set the tone at the beginning of the game, then we lose the first game,” Har-Ber coach Sandy Jones said. “I don’t know if it was nerves or just playing Springdale, but I was very proud of them because they came back and won three games.”
Emily Coats had five kills for Har-Ber and scored the winning points in the second and third games against Springdale. Tayleah Neal added 16 blocks and Anna Hudgeons 11 digs for the Lady Wildcats.
Mariah King had 16 kills to lead Springdale, while Anna Holcomb added 23 digs and Nezly Silva 19 assists. The Lady Bulldogs rallied and almost forced a deciding game before Har-Ber won the fourth match in a tough back-and-forth contest.
Neal was big down the stretch for Har-Ber with a block, a dink and a kill to lead the Lady Wildcats.
“We shut them down in the first match, then after that it was a dogfight,” Springdale coach Amanda Williford said. “They just pulled out a couple of more things than we did and took it from us.”
Springdale took control early by jumping to a 7-2 lead and winning the first game, 25-22. Har-Ber battled back to take a 17-16 lead, and the game was tied three more times before Springdale pulled away by scoring four of the last five points.
Har-Ber began its comeback after grabbing a 5-1 lead and winning the second game, 25-17. Springdale briefly pulled ahead 11-10 before Har-Ber reeled off seven consecutive points to lead 17-11. The Lady Wildcats continued to lead before Coats ended the game with a spike into an open space in the Springdale court.
Coats also made the big play in the third game when it appeared the Wildcats would cruise to an easy victory. Har-Ber held a 24-17 lead, but Springdale refused to fold and fought back to within 24-23 after reeling off six consecutive points.
With the pressure mounting in a pivotal game, Coats then delivered again with a powerful spike into the open court to give the Lady Wildcats a 25-23 victory and a 2-1 lead over the Lady Bulldogs.