BENTONVILLE -- Fayetteville looked to have Bentonville High on the ropes on Thursday night in the battle of volleyball heavyweights, but the Lady Tigers came back strong to claim a hard-fought 21-25, 21-25, 25-13, 27-25, 15-13 five-set victory.
Senior Emma Palasak pounded down a team-high 20 kills, but teammates Jaclyn Pfeifer and Tymber Riley came up with 20 digs each to anchor the defense to help fend off the Lady Purple Bulldogs late.
Bentonville (7-3, 1-0 7A-West Conference) scored five of the last six points in the fourth set to claim the 27-25 win and force a fifth set, then outlasted the visitors in the final set. Fayetteville (2-1, 0-1) erased a 13-10 deficit for the tie, but Bentonville scored the final two points for the win.
The Lady Tigers overcame a huge offensive effort from Fayetteville's 6-foot-2 senior Haley Warner. The Florida commit blasted a match-high 33 kills and also contributed 16 digs.
Bentonville coach Michelle Smith credited her team's senior leadership, which allowed them to keep their composure after dropping the first two sets.
"The third game was obviously the turning point for us," Smith said. "For them to gain some confidence back and for our seniors to start believing in themselves. That was a big wall falling down for us. Seniors can do a lot of stuff. I always talk about senior magic and they had that tonight and it showed.
"Fayetteville, with some of their younger players, did a great job and they surprised me. Kudos to Fayetteville for keeping our girls on their toes and at times on their heels and pushing us to the limit tonight."
Tori Lowry came up with a double-double with 14 kills and 15 digs for the Lady Tigers, while setter Baylee Bargainer added 41 assists, five kills and 15 digs.
Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said her team, which had several players participating in their first 7A-West Conference match ever, will grow from the experience.
"I think that's a classic Bentonville-Fayetteville battle. It's going to come down to one or two plays. I thought much credit to Bentonville. They are a senior-laden team. They kept fighting, kept coming at us. What a great learning experience for my team."
Ella May Powell, a Washington commit, also came through with eight kills, 43 assists and 12 digs for Fayetteville. Libero Carley Galloway also finished with a match-high 30 digs.
Springdale Har-Ber 3, Rogers High 0
The Lady Wildcats swept Rogers High 25-20, 25-19, 25-11 in the 7A-West Conference opener for both teams on Thursday evening.
Ole Miss commit and senior Lauren Thompson led the Lady Wildcats (8-2, 1-0) with 18 kills, her ninth match with double digit kills this season, nine digs and seven aces. Jayci Carpenter and Halle Roberts each added seven kills.
The Lady Mounties (4-5, 0-1 7A-West) were led by Hannah Martin with five kills, two blocks and two aces, while Anna Randels added 11 digs and two aces. Maddie James chipped in two blocks.
Bentonville West 3, Van Buren 0
Kortney Puckett had a team-high 15 kills as West wins its 7A-West opener with a 25-21, 25-11, 25-17 sweep at Van Buren and matched the number of victories it had last season.
Emerson Traweek added six kills and Kerryann Ptacek five kills for the Lady Wolverines (4-5, 1-0). Avery Kniss contributed with five blocks, while Shea O'Brien delivered four aces.
Springdale High 3, Rogers Heritage 0
The Lady Red Bulldogs claimed a hard-fought 25-22, 32-30, 25-20 win on the road on Thursday night.
Zoe Schmidt led the way with 16 kills, while KeKe Turner added 13 kills and six digs. Annalia Slater also contributed 18 assists.
Sports on 09/01/2017