ROGERS -- Fort Smith Southside started slowly, but the Confederettes finished just fine Tuesday night.
Southside climbed out of early holes in the first two sets, but rolled late to claim a 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-18) win over Rogers Heritage in 7A-West Conference volleyball at War Eagle Arena.
Juniors Marika Stiles and Greer Rogers got the Confederettes (9-2, 3-1 7A-West Conference) going in the first two sets. Stiles had a six-point service run, including two aces, which turned a 12-9 deficit into a 15-12 lead, finishing it with an ace.
The 5-foot-11 Rogers also had a couple nice kills out of the middle in that run. She added two more big kills in a 4-0 spurt in the second set to turn a 7-4 deficit into an 8-7 lead.
Southside then took control of the match with an 11-4 spurt and never looked back. The Confederettes jumped to a 16-4 lead in the third set and cruised to the three-set sweep.
Southside coach Steve Haaser was pleased with his team's play.
"We were a little sluggish, but we did what we needed to do," Haaser said. "It was a good win for us. Greer Rogers was hot and effective for us in that first set. She got us going early.
"Our setter Sarita Stegall is always so steady out there. She's a senior and always does a good job for us. You don't hardly notice her out there, but she gets to a lot of balls and gets them in good position for our hitters to get a swing."
Senior Mackenzie King finished with a match-high 12 kills, while Claire Wilson added nine and the 5-11 Rogers chipped in eight. Stegall dished out a match-high 38 assists, while Stiles contributed 27 digs, also tops in the match.
Heritage coach Sarah Miser acknowledged Southside played well, but said her team could have played much better.
"We are better than what we showed," Miser said. "Is Southside a good team? Yes. Should we have given them a better game? Yes. I told the girls this could be a good thing. We still have three more games left before the first round of conference is over.
"It can be a character developer for us. We have to push forward even when we aren't on our game."
Elleson Dunagin led Heritage (7-5-1, 2-2) with nine kills, while Alye Darter had a team-high 17 digs.
Heritage plays host to Springdale Har-Ber on Thursday, while Southside hosts Bentonville in a big league match.
Sports on 09/17/2014