‘Dogs Finish Strong

Springdale Takes Tough Match Against Rogers

Megan Kinney, a Rogers High senior, passes to a teammate during their match against Springdale on Tuesday at Springdale.
BATTLE TO THE END
Megan Kinney, a Rogers High senior, passes to a teammate during their match against Springdale on Tuesday at Springdale. BATTLE TO THE END

— Amanda Williford has stressed the same message over and over again to her players, but she felt the need to remind them of it one more time.

So, the Springdale High volleyball coach called a timeout Tuesday with her team only a few points away from closing out their second win over Rogers High this season.

As she has done repeatedly over the past few months, Williford told her team to do what was needed to finish strong. The Lady Bulldogs did just that, getting enough offense and defense down the stretch to seal a 25-23, 25-22, 20-25, 25-23 win over Rogers in Bulldog Gymnasium.

“I just said, ‘It takes one ball. When you want a side out, you have to do it on the first ball,’” Williford said. “And thank God we did because then we got on the run to finish.”

Following the timeout, Springdale junior Kaylee Pendergrass jumped above the net and blocked a Rogers shot, tying the score at 23-23 in the fourth game. Gabriela Aldaco then gave the Lady Bulldogs (7-9, 4-4 7A/6A-West Conference) the lead with a serve, and Allee Staggs capped the match with her eighth and final kill.

The late rally allowed Springdale to earn the win after two hours of going back and forth with Rogers (12-14, 2-6), with neither team able to build a sizable lead.

“In Game 1, we had the lead and let it go and then the last three points were just like errors,” Rogers coach Jeana Breedlove said. “And even in that last game, I thought we had the opportunity to close, but we just weren’t able to close it out with hitting errors.”

Mariah King finished with 18 kills, and the Lady Bulldogs took command early on after rallying from a 23-21 deficit in the first game and clinging to only a 23-22 lead in Game 2.

But the Lady Mounties limited their hitting errors and forced a fourth game. They relied on defense from Megan Kinney (32 digs) and MacKenzie Muirhead (a season-high 14 blocks), and Emily Osborne provided much of the offense with 13 kills.

It was enough, though.

Anna Holcomb led Springdale with 33 digs and Nezly Silva added 27 assists, as Springdale won for the second time this season over Rogers. The Lady Bulldogs earned a 25-19, 25-16, 25-22, 21-25, 15-10 in King Arena on Aug. 30.

“Our passing was consistent and then it’s finding the way to get our hitters to finish,” Williford said. “And then when we could, it wasn’t all about our kills. It was about pushing and having good deep tips, and that’s kind of what paid off in the end.”

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