Lady Tigers Sweep Fayetteville

Bentonville's Anna LeDuc tries to knock the ball past Fayetteville defenders Olivia Doty (left) and Cassidy Ginger during their volleyball match against Bentonville Thursday evening at Bulldog Arena in Fayetteville.
Bentonville's Anna LeDuc tries to knock the ball past Fayetteville defenders Olivia Doty (left) and Cassidy Ginger during their volleyball match against Bentonville Thursday evening at Bulldog Arena in Fayetteville.

FAYETTEVILLE — Bentonville completed a perfect run through the first half of the 7A/6A-West Conference volleyball schedule by fighting off an old-time rival.

The Lady Tigers brought their 6-0 league record to Bulldog Arena on Thursday and took Fayetteville’s best shot in the first two sets. Bentonville delivered the biggest blows, opening up late leads in both games en route to a 25-22, 25-22, 25-11 win against the Lady Bulldogs.

“The big thing I think was we didn’t get too rattled in that first set,” Bentonville coach Michelle Smith said. “Fayetteville is always a tough place to play and we knew we’d have to play well to get a win.”

Both teams showed signs of anxiety with the rivalry taking center stage in the first set, as service errors were frequent on both sides of the net. Once things settled down, Fayetteville (8-12, 4-3 7A/6A-West) leaned on the play of senior middle blocker Cassidy Ginger to stay close to Bentonville. The Lady Bulldogs stayed within 17-16 before a late run extended the Lady Tigers lead to 24-19.

The second set went much like the first, as Bentonville used its strengh on the front line to pull away from Fayetteville at the end. The Lady Tigers’ defense — which totaled 11 blocks on the night — sparked the late run in the second game, as Bentonville again broke open a close set down the stretch.

Emily Bruce had 19 digs for Bentonville (16-4, 7-0) and Anna LeDuc led the way on offense with nine kills. Sabrina Shepherd added seven kills and also slowed down Fayetteville’s attack with five blocks.

The Lady Bulldogs were no match for Bentonville in the third set, falling behind 7-0 early as the Lady Tigers would go on to an easy win to close out the victory.

“I was proud of the way we played in the game one and game two,” Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said. “I think it was pretty good volleyball, even though I wish we would have served better.

“The third game was kind of a letdown. But to be 0-2 in conference and come back and be 4-3 now, we feel good. So we’ll try to carry that over into the second half of conference.”

Ginger had nine kills for Fayetteville, Addison Keller added 13 digs and Taylor Crockett finished with 10 digs and two aces.

Bentonville hosts Siloam Springs on Tuesday and Fayetteville visits Rogers Heritage.

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