ROGERS -- Springdale Har-Ber had to battle from behind a bit, but still came away with the 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-22) road win over Rogers High to open 7A-West Conference volleyball play on Thursday night at King Arena.
The Lady Wildcats (9-1, 1-0 7A-West) trailed 13-11 in the second set, but finished with a 14-2 spurt for the win. Har-Ber also trailed 10-3 at one point in the third, but battled back and scored the final three points to close out the match.
Lauren Thompson and Klaire Trainor formed a nice 1-2 punch offensively for Har-Ber. Thompson finished with double-double , hammering a match-high 16 kills with no errors on 27 swings. She also chipped in 11 digs and two blocks. Trainor added 13 kills.
Trainor came up with back-to-back kills to break a 22-22 tie in the third set and the Lady Wildcats finished the match with a service aces.
Har-Ber coach Shyra Schisler said her team didn't play its best, but dealing with adversity is part of growing as a team, she said.
"It's good for us, we know how to learn to handle those situations," Schisler said. "Frustrating, but also one of those things that makes us better in the long run. It's conference and everybody's playing a little bit harder. Rogers did a great job tonight and I think they're only going to improve.
"We have to do a better job of no matter where we play or who we play of doing our things better."
Senior libero Emiy Doss tied for match honors with 15 digs and three aces. Setter Arika Johnson dished out 41 assists.
Rogers (3-1, 0-1) saw a 10-3 lead vanish in the third set, but traded points with the defending 7A state runner-up from 17 to 22 before the Lady Wildcats surged.
Rogers coach Christina Lawrence likes her team, but acknowledged struggles in serve receive are tough to overcome against a good team.
"Har-Ber is a great team, but I'm telling you we're better than what people think," Lawrence said. "Our passing killed us again. We had control in that third game and we gave them four points on serve receive and you just can't do that. I'm proud because our team has a lot of growth to do."
Kassidy Wall and Hannah Martin led the Lady Mounties with 12 kills each, while Madison Sherrill enjoyed a good night with 25 assists, 15 digs and two block assists. Sophomore Anna Randels also had a game-high four aces for the Lady Mounties.
Springdale High def. Rogers Heritage 3-2
Springdale High opened conference play in a big way Thursday night, winning the final three sets against Rogers Heritage to complete the comeback (29-31, 19-25, 25-18, 25-17, 15-13).
Following a lengthy back-and-forth first set, Heritage looked to be in control after taking the second set, but Springdale's Keke Turner and sophomore Zoe Schmidt rescued the Lady'Dogs. Turner finished her night with a match-high 21 kills, four in the fifth set alone to help seal the win, and Schmidt pitched in six key kills.
Next up for Springdale is a trip to rival Springdale Har-Ber on Tuesday. Heritage will host Rogers High on Tuesday in its conference home opener.
Van Buren def. Bentonville West 3-0
West's inauguration into 7A-West Conference play didn't go the way the Lady Wolverines intended as Van Buren claimed a 25-16, 25-15, 25-15 victory in Wolverine Gymnasium.
Game statistics weren't available as of press tiime.
West returns to conference action with a home match against defending state champion Fayetteville.
Sports on 09/02/2016