SPRINGDALE -- Springdale Har-Ber is still unbeaten, but its latest victory wasn't easy.
The Lady Wildcats improved to 8-0 with a 3-2 victory (25-16, 22-25, 25-21, 25-27, 15-10) over Fort Smith Southside on Thursday in the 7A-West Conference opener at Wildcat Arena.
Lauren Thompson had 19 kills and Klaire Trainor 18 kills to lead Har-Ber, which won a tournament at Broken Arrow, Okla., last weekend. Elizabeth Williams had 30 assists and Bailey Baxendale 26 assists while Emily Doss contributed 24 digs for Har-Ber against Southside.
Har-Ber jumped to a 7-0 lead in the deciding fifth game but Southside (6-4) still refused to fold. Southside got to within 10-8 before Har-Ber pulled out a 15-10 victory after another kill from Thompson, a sophomore outside hitter.
"We had our backs against the wall sometimes, and I was proud of the way we came through," Har-Ber coach Shyrah Schisler said. "When Lauren needed to make something happens she did it. Paige Williams also did a great job and Klaire, when we needed to put the ball away, she did it."
Southside (6-4), which lost in five games to Greewnood on Wednesday, played Thursday without head coach Steve Haaser, who stayed home with a touch of the flu. Greer Rogers had 15 kills to lead Southside.
"I was very proud of our girls because Har-Ber is an excellent team," Southside assistant coach Natalie Throneberry said. "You don't get balls down on them very easy. For us to come back from a five-game loss (Wednesday) and go five games again, that shows how much we battled."
Har-Ber used a 6-0 surge to take control in game one. Southside had a chance to tie but a serve into the net gave Har-Ber a 12-10 lead. The Wildcats then went on offense with kills by Emily Thompson and a combination block by Lauren Thompson and Paige Williams to take a 17-10 lead.
Southside got to 19-14 on a kill from Rogers before Har-Ber pulled away again on won 25-16 on a kill by Makiah Martin and an ace from Baxendale.
Southside outplayed Har-Ber from the outset in game two and won 25-22. Southside forced a Har-Ber timeout after Jenny Tipton scored an ace to give the Confederettes a 10-4 lead. Har-Ber rallied to within 22-21 but Southside pulled out the victory to even the series.
Har-Ber won the pivotal game three behind the play again of Lauren Thompson and Trainor, who ended the game with a kill. Southside fought back to take game four before Har-Ber finally secured the home victory with a 15-10 win in the deciding game.
Har-Ber will continue conference play at Bentonville on Tuesday.
Sports on 09/04/2015