BENTONVILLE -- Sadie Pate was having fun on the floor, then she decided it was time for Thursday's volleyball match to come to an end.
Kayton Coffee set the ball right where Bentonville's senior co-captain wanted it, and she fired a shot between two Fort Smith Southside players as the Lady Tigers came from behind to claim a 3-2 victory during 7A-West Conference action in Tiger Arena.
"I just wanted to get it over with," Pate said following the 23-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-15, 15-13 decision. "We had fought so hard to get to that point, and we had such good competition. I just wanted to finish it.
"First of all, I had an amazing set by Kayton. She put it exactly where I could hit it, and I put it down where the digger wasn't there. Our teammates really helped."
Bentonville (10-4, 5-0) scored five straight points in the decisive fifth set to take an 11-9 lead on an errant Southside kill attempt. The Confederettes answered and tied the score at 12 but gave up the next two points when they were called for four hits and couldn't return a Brooke Prime serve moments later.
Mikayla Dietz pushed over a crosscourt shot to pull Southside within 14-13, but Pate dug the ball to Coffee and set the stage for her winning kill.
"That was a match to go down in the books," Bentonville coach Michelle Smith said. "Coming back from 2-0, that shows a lot of character in our seniors. They get a lot of credit, and my babies stepped up in the third and fourth games and brought the momentum back to our side."
Southside's wins in the first two sets didn't come easy as the score was tied nine times in the first set and Bentonville pulled within 23-22 in the second set. The Confederettes (13-6-1, 3-2), which h even had an 11-7 lead in the third set before the Lady Tigers staged their comeback and eventually caused the match to go the distance.
Southside then appeared ready to take over the fifth set when Bentonville was called for four hits on a ball and broke a 6-6 deadlock. Madison Teal added a block and a push to give the Confederettes a 9-6 lead before the Lady Tigers made their last and most crucial push.
"That was a tough loss," said Southside coach Steve Haaser, whose team has now been on the losing end of five matches that have gone the full five sets this season. "They played their hearts out and came up just a little bit short.
"It's disappointing, but you have to give Bentonville credit. They fought and had a remarkable comeback. We certainly had our chances. They kept making the plays, and we made mistakes."
Sports on 09/18/2015