SPRINGDALE -- Fayetteville junior Ella May Powell admitted the Lady Purple Bulldogs weren't real sharp in their Class 7A state volleyball quarterfinal win over Van Buren on Wednesday.
It was a different story Thursday as the defending state champions easily punched their ticket back to the finals.
The Lady Purple'Dogs never trailed in crushing North Little Rock 3-0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-15) in 53 minutes in the semifinals at Wildcat Arena.
Fayetteville (29-6) will now get a rematch of last year's state finals against 7A-West Conference foe Springdale Har-Ber at 5 p.m. Saturday at Bank of Ozarks Arena in Hot Springs.
"I think after yesterday it was a slap in the face to us to treat every team with respect and we definitely prepared well for North Little Rock," said Powell, who was the state tournament Most Valuable Player a year ago. "We went into the game very prepared and we knew exactly what we needed to do."
Despite a 3-0 win over Van Buren in the quarterfinals, Fayetteville made several unforced hitting and serving errors. The Lady Purple'Dogs had the offense clicking on all cylinders, finishing with 34 kills in the three sets with just four hitting errors.
"They blistered it," Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said. "It was a really solid performance from our team. I thought we came out with good energy and were able to really stay aggressive throughout the match. As a coach, there was not a lot to harp on after that one."
"We get to end our season where we want to in Hot Springs. Mission accomplished there."
Haley Warner and Abbey Kathol led Fayetteville with 10 kills each, while Faith Waitsman chipped in nine kills and a team-high three blocks. Kathol, a 5-9 senior, came up with a double-double notching 10 digs. Powell dished out 23 assists and also added four aces.
Libero Olivia Wales added nine digs. Fayetteville also excelled from the service line, finishing with 10 aces as a team.
The Lady Purple Bulldogs, the No. 1 seed from the West, jumped out to big leads in each set and just cruised past a North Little Rock team that swept Bentonville in the quarterfinals. Fayetteville also played well defensively, limiting the Charging Wildcats to just a dozen kills over three sets.
North Little Rock coach Leslie Joshua-Johnson said her team just never got going against a talented team.
"I think we came a long ways and that's the good thing," Joshua-Johnson said.
Sports on 10/28/2016