BENTONVILLE -- Savannah King stands out among her teammates during a Bentonville volleyball match simply because of the different jersey she wears -- the sign that designates she is the team's libero.
The junior, however, would rather be noticed by her actions and not by her appearance on the court.
Profile
Savannah King
School: Bentonville
Class: Junior
Height: 5-7
Notable: Became the Lady Tigers’ libero during the offseason and leads the team with 107 digs through four matches. … Compiled 33 digs in a four-set match Saturday at Jenks, Okla., then followed that with 31 digs in Bentonville’s three-set sweep Monday at Carl Junction, Mo.
7A-West Conference Volleyball
Team^Overall^Conference
^W-L^W-L
Bentonville^4-0^0-0
Fort Smith Southside^4-0^0-0
Rogers High^3-0^0-0
Springdale Har-Ber^2-0^0-0
Springdale High^2-1^0-0
Fayetteville^2-1^0-0
Rogers Heritage^2-1^0-0
Fort Smith Northside^1-3^0-0
Tonight’s Matches
Springdale Har-Ber at Fort Smith Southside, 6 p.m.
Springdale High at Rogers High, 6 p.m.
Fayetteville at Rogers Heritage, 6 p.m.
Fort Smith Northside at Bentonville, 6 p.m.
"Something that I like to do to make me stand out is getting to balls that nobody thinks are going to get back up," King said. "Everybody thinks that the ball is dead and the play is over, but I'm able to get to the ball and keep it in play.
"That's one of my favorite things about volleyball: getting to those balls, keeping them going and making the crowd go crazy. It's one of the best feelings ever."
Bentonville coach Michelle Smith said she took notice of what King could do during a team camp at Kansas in July, and that has continued through the early stages of the season. King already has compiled 107 digs through four matches, more than double that of any other teammate.
King recorded 33 digs Saturday when Bentonville defeated Jenks, Okla., in a four-set match. She followed that with 31 digs Monday in a three-set sweep at Carl Junction, Mo., a statistic that even caught Smith a little by surprise when she saw it.
"Savannah has definitely earned her spot by doing things that others can't do," Smith said. "We knew she had good back-row skills. After the summer months and proving herself on the back row and what she's capable of doing, she earned that starting libero spot, hands down.
"Every day, she comes out and gives it her all, and there's never a day that she is sitting back and watching or slacking. She is proving, day in and day out, why she is wearing that jersey, and there's no question in my mind why she shouldn't be the starting libero."
King saw action in a variety of positions last season, but it came on a limited basis. She played in only 29 of the 109 sets Bentonville had en route to its Class 7A state runnerup finish, and most of her time came during the end of the regular season and the Class 7A State Tournament.
Smith's original plans this season were to use King more as an all-around player and split her time between the front row and the back row, as well as split time between junior varsity and varsity matches. King, however, plays libero during club volleyball, so she was more than comfortable with the position when Smith put her there during the offseason.
"There's no other position in volleyball like it," King said. "There's not a person who gets to hit all the time, and it's a special position. You're kind of like two players at once. It's interesting, and I love playing the position."
There's no sign King will relinquish that spot any time soon, even though Smith has said the competition for starting spots come on a daily basis. Smith sees a more confident player on the floor this year and a player determined not to let any ball hit the floor at any time.
And there's no slowing King down when she's on the court, and that's exactly what Smith wants to see on the court.
"My only concern is safety," Smith said. "She would run through a brick wall if I told her to. She's one of those type of players that you get excited about when you're coaching her because you know she's going to do every drill at 100 percent."
Sports on 09/04/2014