Volleyball: Fayetteville sweeps Bentonville for Phelan's 300th victory

Ella May Powell (15) and Faith Waitsmaa (12) of Fayetteville go up for a block Tuesday against Bentonville in Bentonville.
Ella May Powell (15) and Faith Waitsmaa (12) of Fayetteville go up for a block Tuesday against Bentonville in Bentonville.

BENTONVILLE -- Haley Warner put on a hitting display and helped Fayetteville volleyball coach Jessica Phelan notch her 300th career victory.

The junior outside hitter recorded a team-high 20 kills and did it in a variety of ways to lead the Lady Purple'Dogs to a 3-0 sweep of Bentonville High during 7A-West Conference action Tuesday night in Tiger Arena.

"I thought she worked hard to be an option," Phelan said after Fayetteville's 25-15, 25-18, 25-16 decision. "She had a good night -- hitting from the front, hitting from the back row, taking full swings and mixing up with a tip here and there.

"I thought it was a solid and smart performance from her and a good start to the second half of conference play."

While Warner was brilliant on offense, she and her Lady Purple'Dogs teammates added a solid defensive performance. Fayetteville (20-6, 7-1) never let Bentonville score more than three points in a row at any time during the match.

Meanwhile, the Lady Purple'Dogs put together offensive runs to take control of each set, starting with a 10-3 run in the first set to turn an 8-5 deficit into a 15-11 lead. Fayetteville's 7-1 spurt in the second half came early, and it closed out the third set and the sweep with a 9-3 run.

"Haley is a force to be reckoned with, and we now that," Bentonville coach Michelle Smith said. "I felt our girls did a much better time this time around than the first meeting, and I don't think the scores showed how much we worked.

"There were some moments of greatness and defensive moves I hadn't seen them do all year. We struggled as a team with our unforced errors, so we would have a great play then make a goofy mistake. That's not common for us."

Faith Waitsman added 10 kills for Fayetteville, while Olivia Wales had 21 digs and Abbie Kathol added 14. Lauren Holmes contributed five blocks, and Ella May Powell had 32 assists.

Tymber Riley had 13 kills and 15 digs to lead Bentonville, while Tori Lowry had 19 digs and Emma Palasak chipped in 10. Baylee Barganier contributed 33 assists.

"I think we've had some great teams over the years, and it's fitting that it comes at Bentonville -- against one of our big rivals," Phelan said on her milestone win. "I'm just part of the equation. We've had great kids and a great staff here who's been with me for most of those."

Van Buren def. Bentonville West, 3-1

West split the first two sets with Van Buren before dropping a 25-15, 22-25, 25-8, 25-14 decision in Van Buren.

Kerryann Ptacek had 11 kills for the Lady Wolverines (2-18, 1-7), while Emily Evans added four kills.

Springdale High def. Rogers Heritage, 3-2

The Lady Red'Dogs started the second half of 7A-West Conference volleyball with a hard-fought 3-2 (25-19, 24-26, 25-11, 22-25, 18-16) win over Rogers Heritage on Tuesday at War Eagle Arena.

Junior middle Keke Turner led Springdale (6-13-2, 3-5 7A-West) with a match-high 21 kills. She had four kills and a tough serve that forced a violation late in the fifth set. Springdale turned back four match points late, including a big ace by senior Margaret Petueli that hit the tape, but crawled over and fell on the other side for a 14-14 tie.

Sophomore setter Annalia Slater had a big night from the service line with 10 aces, and also contributed 13 assists. Petueli tied with match honors with 15 assists. Springdale libero Kaleigh Breathitt finished with a match-high 37 digs.

Lora Brown led Heritage (1-13-1, 0-8) with 10 kills, while CJ Landram added nine kills, six blocks and six digs. Brooklyn Head also tied for match honors with six blocks. Erika Reeser chipped in four aces.

Springdale Har-Ber def. Rogers High, 3-0

League-leading Har-Ber swept Rogers 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-10) on Tuesday night.

Kassidy Wall led the Lady Mounties (13-10, 4-4 7A-West) with 10 kills and three blocks. Hannah Martin added eight kills, seven digs and four blocks, while Emily Harris chipped in six blocks and four kills. Setter Madison Sherrill contributed 28 assists.

Emily Doss led Har-Ber with 18 kills, and Lauren Thompson and Klaire Trainor added 14 and 13 kills, respectively. Lauren Law chipped in seven kills and two blocks as well.

Harrison def. Siloam Springs 3-2

Siloam Springs couldn't hold on to a 2-0 lead and wound up losing to Harrison 3-2 (18-25, 18-25, 25-17, 25-19, 15-11) in a 6A/5A-1 Conference match on Tuesday.

Ellie Lampton led the Lady Panthers (8-10, 5-3) with with 15 kills, six block assists and six aces, while Shaylon Sharp had 11 kills, 18 digs, four aces and two block assists. Chloe Price had nine kills, 12 assists, 11 digs, three blocks and four aces.

Meg Gray had 23 assists, three aces and one kill.

Andrea Lowry led the Lady Panthers defensively with 50 digs, while Kelsey Lewis had 35 digs.

The Lady Panthers host Clarksville on Thursday, while Harrison (14-3, 5-2) plays at Russellville.

Sports on 09/28/2016

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