SPRINGDALE -- Caroline Webb is hopeful her volleyball career at Springdale Har-Ber ends better than it began.
Three years ago she broke her hand at Webb City, Mo., and missed most of her sophomore year.
Profile
Caroline Webb
School: Springdale Har-Ber
Class: Senior
Position: Outside Hitter/Libero
Height: 5-7
Notable: Has 17 aces, 50 kills, and 48 digs on the season. .. Missed most of her sophomore season after breaking her hand against Webb City, Mo. … Enjoys bike riding. … Hopes to pursue a career as a radiologist or physical therapist after college.
7A-West Conference Volleyball
Team^Overall^Conference
^W-L^W-L
Bentonville^20-2-2^8-0
Fayetteville^13-8^6-2
Fort Smith Southside^12–3^6-2
Springdale Har-Ber^16-6-1^5-3
Rogers Heritage^9–9-1^3-5
Rogers High^9-8^3-5
Springdale High^6-12-2^1-7
Fort Smith Northside^1-15-3^0-8
Tuesday’s Scores
Fort Smith Southside def. Springdale Har-Ber, 3-1.
Bentonville def. Fort Smith Northside, 3-0.
Rogers High def. Springdale High, 3-0.
Fayetteville def. Rogers Heritage, 3-0.
Thursday’s Games
Springdale High at Rogers Heritage, 6 p.m.
Springdale Har-Ber at Bentonville, 6 p.m.
Fort Smith Northside at Fayetteville, 6 p.m.
Fort Smith Southside at Rogers High, 6 p.m.
"It was during warm-ups and I hit my hand against the wall when I was trying to hit the ball," Webb said. "It was kind of dumb, actually."
Webb is not only aggressive, but brave, too. She showed that last week when she accepted a public invitation to Har-Ber's homecoming from her boyfriend, Mason Cline. Har-Ber had just beaten Springdale 3-0 when Webb was coaxed out of the locker room by her friends and teammates. She was guided toward the net where Cline, a top basketball player for the Wildcats, asked her to the Har-Ber homecoming against Fort Smith Southside on Oct. 24.
"I had no idea that was happening," Webb said. "It was really nice but I was definitely embarrassed."
The two hope for a better outcome on the football field against Southside than what happened in volleyball Tuesday night. Southside avenged an earlier defeat to Har-Ber by beating the Lady Wildcats 3-1 on their home court. Southside took the first two sets before Har-Ber won the third match to avoid the sweep.
Har-Ber (16-6-1, 5-3) faces another tough challenge tonight at Bentonville, which beat the Lady Wildcats three times last year while finishing second to Southside at the Class 7A state tournament. Bentonville then beat Har-Ber again when the teams met at Wildcat Arena on Sept. 9.
"We can win up there, but we have to stay calm," Webb said. "They're a really good team with their hits and blocks. When they were here, they'd make a play and it was like 'wow, that was pretty good.' But we have show them we can do that, too, and take it to them."
Har-Ber can expect solid play and leadership from Webb, who moved to the front line after playing as a defensive specialist her junior year.
"I call Caroline our utility player because she can play in the middle, she can play Libero, and she can play setter," Har-Ber coach Shyra Schisler said. "She can be overlooked sometimes, but she has the best attitude. She's a player with a lot of character and she always goes out 100 percent."
Webb hopes to attend college next year and eventually pursue a career as a radiologist or physical therapist. For now, she's focused on the second half of the season for the Lady Wildcats, who've made early exits from the state tournament her last two years.
"We still need to work on our team chemistry, but it's getting better," Webb said. "We had that huge win against Southside the first time, then tumbled down. We're still learning how to win. Our coach tells us how good we are, but we have to go out there and do it."
Sports on 10/02/2014