SPRINGDALE — The Springdale High student section broke out the “Ooh kill ‘em” chant early and often during the Lady Bulldogs’ match with Springdale Har-Ber on Thursday.
And Springdale did just that for most of the night.
The Lady Bulldogs dominated early en route to an impressive 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-19) win over their crosstown rivals in a 7A/6A-West showdown in front of a loud crowd at Bulldog Gym.
“It’s big time,” Springdale coach Amanda Williford said. “Playing Har-Ber was a big part of it. Because this is the one game they’re going to show up for regardless of whatever happens. We needed this just to know that working hard and all the talks we’ve been having the last couple weeks will pay off.”
Springdale (9-11, 2-5 conference) got big nights from its sophomore duo of Desiree Mack and Ryann Goodsell in the win.
Mack finished with a team-high 16 kills, 15 digs and nine blocks for the Lady Bulldogs. Goodsell had 14 kills and seven blocks in the victory.
“They were solid all the way around, mentally and physically,” Williford said.
Springdale used a 14-1 first-game run to take a 21-7 lead in the 25-13 win. Har-Ber’s only point during the stretch came on a Springdale service error as the Lady Bulldogs took control of the momentum in the match.
Har-Ber (8-8, 2-5) kept it close in the second game, but Springdale pulled away for the 25-18 win. The Lady Bulldogs blew a 2-0 lead in a five-game home loss to Rogers on Sept. 5, a defeat Williford reminded her team of before the third game.
“That was the first conversation we had at the start of game three,” Williford said. “I said, ‘You’ve been here before. You know what it feels like. You have everything going for you right now. Feed off it.’”
Har-Ber jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the game three, but it wasn’t long before Springdale took control. The Lady Bulldogs again finished strong to close out the match-clinching 25-19 win and send the student section onto the floor in celebration with the players.
Mack and Goodsell led the way, but Springdale got solid performances from a number of players.
Senior Mariah King finished with 14 kills and seven blocks. Brooke Capelle had 30 digs, Marlen Reynoso had 28 assists and Maddie Mueller chipped in 18 assists and 11 digs in the win.
Jenna Birkes led Har-Ber with eight kills. Kimberly Huff had seven kills and three blocks.
“We just didn’t come out ready to play,” Har-Ber coach Sandy Jones said. “We’ll just have to go back to the drawing board. They wanted us. They deserved it. They played hard.”
Springdale will play at Rogers on Tuesday. Har-Ber will play at Van Buren.