BENTONVILLE -- As long as Desiree Mack and Ryann Goodsell could provide some big hits Tuesday night, Springdale High held its own during a 7A-West Conference volleyball match against Bentonville.
Bentonville, however, had a couple of big hitters on display, too.
Senior Anna LeDuc fired 16 kills, and junior Sadie Pate added 10 more as the Lady Tigers went on to post a 3-0 sweep over the Lady Red'Dogs in Tiger Arena and remained unbeaten in league play.
"We won in three, but the scores don't show how good of a game it was," Bentonville coach Michelle Smith said of the 25-17, 25-18, 25-9 decision. "Both teams had some big offensive threats, and they did great jobs on both sides of the net.
"It's a very big win for us. The first two games, Springdale was passing so well against our serves, and we're known this year for our aggressive serves. They were taking us for a runaround, and we didn't know what to expect. Springdale gave us a run for our money, and our girls responded back very well."
The Lady Tigers (16-2-2, 4-0) were forced to do some different things since they were without senior co-captain Haley Seyfarth, who was in a walking boot and considered "day-by-day" by Smith. That showed in the first two sets as Bentonville never completely pulled away with a big scoring run.
Springdale (3-8, 0-4) did fall behind 17-10 at one point in the first set, only to have Mack fire off four kills and a block and pull the Lady Red'Dogs back within 21-17. Bentonville used five straight points in the second set and took the lead for good on LeDuc's back-to-back kills, but Springdale was never out of it thanks to Mack -- who had 10 unofficial kills -- and Goodsell, who had four kills and a block in the second set.
"I thought the first couple of games, we were right there with them," Springdale coach Kylie Moad said. "We missed some crucial serves that we can't afford to miss, and we had some hitting errors that we can't afford to make.
"I just wished we could have finished. I was proud of our effort with the way we came out and was proud of our intensity. It's a proud coaching moment when you can get some girls to come out there like that."
Bentonville finally picked up some breathing room in the third set as the Lady Tigers run off 12 straight points and grabbed a 14-4 lead. LeDuc provided a big hand in the run with four kills and a block, while Lauren Bareis also fired a pair of aces.
Both teams return to conference action with matches Thursday night. Springdale will host Fayetteville, while Bentonville travels to Fort Smith Southside for the rematch of last year's Class 7A State Championship.
Sports on 09/17/2014