SPRINGDALE -- Springdale Har-Ber will take some momentum into the second half of conference play.
Har-Ber withstood an early challenge and defeated Springdale High 3-0 (25-18, 25-9, 25-21) Thursday in 7A-West Conference volleyball action at Wildcat Arena.
How They Scored
Springdale Har-Ber 3, Springdale High 0
Springdale^18^9^21
Har-Ber^25^25^25
Sophomore Klaire Trainor had 13 kills for Har-Ber, which began the week with a 3-1 win at Rogers.
Springdale (6-11-2, 1-6) came into the match on an upswing after earning its first conference victory with a 3-0 sweep against Fort Smith Northside. Desiree Mack had 14 kills and Elaina Pack 10 digs to lead Springdale.
Tiffani Ray added 20 assists and Emily Doss 11 digs for the Lady Wildcats.
"I thought our kids stayed calm and played Har-Ber volleyball," Har-Ber coach Shyrah Schisler said. "They were consistent and they did their jobs."
Har-Ber (16-5-1, 5-2) can now concentrate on big games next week against Fort Smith Southside and Bentonville. The Lady Wildcats will host Southside at home Tuesday after beating the defending state champions at Fort Smith earlier this year. Har-Ber will then play Thursday at Bentonville, which has four wins in two years over Har-Ber.
Bentonville beat Har-Ber three times last year while finishing as state runners-up to Southside.
"I'm really proud of our first half of conference and how we finished," Schisler said. "We get to play the big dogs again and I think we'll be hungrier and more prepared for those games."
Har-Ber appeared on the way to an easy win in the first set when the Lady Wildcats scored eight consecutive points to lead 10-2. But Springdale fought back and the game was in doubt when the Lady Bulldogs pulled to within 22-17.
Har-Ber regained possession after a service error and Kim Huff finished Springdale off with a hard serve that the Lady Bulldogs returned out of bounds.
Har-Ber jumped ahead in the second game, this time by 10-3 to prompt a timeout by the Lady Bulldogs. But Springdale was unable to recover a second time and Har-Ber won 25-9 after a kill by Huff at match point.
"We struggled to cover their hitters," Springdale coach Kylie Moad said. "We get behind and fight back, but we have a hard time finishing up."
Springdale took a 9-8 lead in Game 3 before Har-Ber tied it with a kill by Paige Williams. The play sparked the Lady Wildcats, who took a 15-11 lead after another kill by Huff. Springdale tied the game late but the Lady Bulldogs could not prevent the sweep by Har-Ber, which scored five of the last six points.
Sports on 09/26/2014