SPRINGDALE -- Springdale Har-Ber can't seem to get past its conference nemesis.
Bentonville continued its recent domination of Har-Ber with a 3-1 victory (25-15, 25-19, 20-25, 25-17) over the Lady Wildcats Tuesday in 7A-West Conference play. It was the first defeat for Har-Ber (4-1, 1-1) and first-year coach Shyra Sischler.
Har-Ber came in with high hopes, especially after knocking off defending Class 7A state champion Fort Smith Southside on the road last week. But Bentonville took charge from the outset against the Lady Wildcats, who lost three times to the Lady Tigers last season.
Bentonville reached the state finals last year before losing to Southside.
"We knew coming in we would have to make a statement right away," Bentonville coach Michelle Smith said. "We did that in the first two games but I give Har-Ber a lot of credit by the way they came back in the third game. They had a lot of energy and that pumped us up and made us play even harder."
Senior Anna LeDuc had 20 kills and 10 digs to pace Bentonville (9-2, 2-0). Sadie Pate finished with 13 kills, 12 digs, and two aces while freshman Emma Palasak added eight kills for the Lady Tigers.
Kim Huff and Klaire Trainor each had eight kills to lead Har-Ber. Tiffani Ray had 19 assists and Emily Doss added 14 digs.
Bentonville had Har-Ber on its heels in the first game when the Lady Wildcats called two timeouts while trailing 12-7 then 18-10. The pause didn't slow Bentonville, which won 25-15 after a cross-court kill by Pate, an outside hitter.
Har-Ber kept it closer in the second game, but Bentonville still managed a 25-19 victory.
"Our focus just wasn't there tonight," Schisler said. "Bentonville is a really good team and you have to be more disciplined than we were to beat a really good team."
Har-Ber took control midway through the third game and won 25-20 to avoid the sweep. Seniors Kim Huff and Tiffani Ray made the plays down the stretch to keep to beat the Lady Tigers. Ray found an open space for a point at the net then assisted Huff for a kill to give Har-Ber a 24-20 lead. Huff then added another kill on a return volley to end the game.
Har-Ber got to within 15-11 in Game 4 before Bentonville scored seven consecutive points to regain control.
Sports on 09/10/2014