HOT SPRINGS -- Fayetteville's firepower at the net is well known, but the Lady Purple Bulldogs also brought the defense to claim their second consecutive Class 7A state volleyball title Saturday at Bank of the Ozarks Arena.
Five Lady Purple'Dogs registered double figures in digs led by senior libero Oliva Wales with 34 to help Fayetteville rebound from a second-set loss for the 3-1 (25-18, 21-25, 25-18, 25-19) win over 7A-West Conference foe Springdale Har-Ber.
Junior right side hitter Haley Warner enjoyed a huge night with a match-high 27 kills to go with 18 digs, one of three Lady Purple'Dogs who registered a double-double.
Fayetteville (29-6) trailed only briefly in each of the final two sets, after Har-Ber (32-5) controlled the second set to even the match at a set apiece.
Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said her team responded well, after the Lady Wildcats evened the match.
"I thought they came out with a lot of passion from the get-go and just a really solid performance," Phelan said. "Obviously Har-Ber's a very talented team. They beat us in the regular season. It's a team we have a lot of respect for. So we knew it was going to be a real challenge.
"I thought we responded. When they made a push, we were able to come back. Oh, man we just had so many individual performances that stood out in my mind. Just collectively as a group, they really wanted to get ou there and fight for each other. Warner had big night and Abbie Kathol was awesome with a double-double. But Oliva Wales, wow, that was a big deal."
Senior Abbie Kathol also came up big with 18 kills and 16 digs. Setter Ella May Powell dished out 52 assists to go with 11 digs. Faith Waitsman added 13 kills and four blocks.
Fayetteville put together a 9-1 run behind the play of Warner and Powell to turn a 6-4 deficit into a 13-7 advantage en route to the win in the third set. Har-Ber's last lead of the match came at 4-3 in the third set. Fayetteville countered with five in a row and went on to the victory.
Juniors Powell and Warner, who have verbally committed to Washington and Florida respectively, acknowledged there were a few butterflies being the defending champions, but the group has become very close-knit over the course of the season and they stayed strong because of each other.
"There's always that target on our back since we won the past year," said Powell, who earned MVP honors a year ago. "We always have nerves, but they're good nerves. We'll remember playing together and growing so close. We're not just a team, we're a family. We spend so much time together, not just during the game but before and after the game.
"I think we definitely deserved it," Warner said. "We played like a team that had each other's back and we had lots and lots of passion. We've definitely grown up together."
After dropping the opening set, Har-Ber grabbed an early lead in the second set and never relinquished it. The Lady Wildcats put together a 5-1 spurt keyed by Klaire Trainor and Lauren Thompson for a 7-4 advantage and managed to keept the advantage, closing out the set on a Fayetteville hitting error.
Har-Ber coach Shyrah Schisler was happy with the way her team played despite giving up some height to Fayetteville.
"I'm pleased with my girls, I wouldn't trade'em for anybody, any team," said Schisler, whose team lost for the second consecutive year in the finals. "We're 5-8, maybe one girl 6-foot. Do our very best to put the best block we can. We play as big as much as we can. So I was very proud of the effort we put in."
Thompson led Har-Ber with nine kills and 12 digs, while Trainor added eight kills and three blocks. Setter Arika Johnson contributed 35 assists and three blocks. Libero Emily Doss finished with 21 digs.
Sports on 10/30/2016