ROGERS -- Fayetteville freshmen Ella May Powell and Haley Warner made a big splash in their first 7A-West Conference match, but they had more than a little help from their friends as the Lady Bulldogs claimed a tough 3-1 (25-27, 25-22, 25-14, 25-23) road victory over Rogers Heritage on Thursday night.
Warner was a force at the net with a match-high 19 kills and 11 blocks, while Powell finished with 18 kills and dished out 24 assists to key the Fayetteville attack.
Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said her team's composure was key, despite their lack of varsity experience.
The Lady Purple'Dogs (3-1, 1-0 7A-West) trailed 21-18 in the second set, but finished with a 7-1 spurt to tie the match at one set apiece. Powell had three kills, while Warner added a kill and a solo block in the run.
Fayetteville broke from an 18-18 deadlock to take control with five straight points in the fourth set and Warner ended it appropriately with a smash off the right side.
"Tonight wasn't perfect on our end," Phelan said. "But to come on the road in a lot of these kids' first 7A-West match, to shake off game one and come back and focus and play and finish game four, I was really proud of them.
"Regaining their composure was big. There were times it slipped. It's an ebb and flow at this point. I was proud of their composure especially considering the youth out there."
Phelan acknowledged her two freshman came up big, but they weren't alone either.
"They both certainly held their own at the varsity level," Phelan said. "They both had great performances tonight. But Abbie Kathol and Olivia Wales came up with some huge digs for us. They work hard to give us another swing."
Kathol, a 5-8 sophomore, finished with a match-high 24 digs. Senior Ellie Breden also dished out 25 assists for the Lady Purple'Dogs.
Heritage coach Sarah Miser said her team struggled to find an offensive rhythm all night long and credited Fayetteville's aggressive serving for that. But the big block of the 6-foot-2 Warner and 6-2 sophomore Faith Waitsman, who added seven blocks, in the middle made it tough as well.
"That's the biggest block we'll see in this conference, but we knew they were big," Miser said. "We tried to work on using the block and hitting around the block. But they definitely had us on the defensive side tonight. It seemed like we were constantly scrambling to dig it up and they had great hitters coming at us."
Junior Elleson Dunagin led Heritage (2-2, 0-1) with 12 kills and 17 digs, while Alye Darter contributed a team-high 18 digs. Bailey Baxendale also keyed some Lady War Eagle rallies with six service aces.
Sports on 09/05/2014