BENTONVILLE -- It was the classic cat-and-dog fight, except it took place on a volleyball court Thursday night.
Bentonville made one last run and scored seven of the last eight points Thursday night as the Lady Tigers retained their share of second place in the 6A-West Conference standings with a 3-1 victory over Van Buren in Tiger Arena.
Freshman Trinity Hamilton recorded the kill to give Bentonville (11-12, 6-3) the lead for good in the fourth game, and Savanna Riney capped her big night with a block at the net to clinch the 25-23, 25-21, 21-25, 25-21 win over the Lady Pointers (9-7, 5-4).
"It was a fight," Bentonville coach Michelle Smith said. "The scores, they obviously show a win. But they don't show the fight that happened between both teams -- every single point, every single game.
"Van Buren played amazing volleyball. We played amazing volleyball. It came down to a few points at the end, and luckily the win was on our side. The momentum kept shifting in games three and four. Even in game three, with those insanely long rallies that were never-ending, I thought they would be in our favor, but Van Buren wouldn't give up."
Riney, who had a team-high 17 kills, snapped a 22-22 tie with one to help Bentonville win the first game. The second game ended with the Lady Tigers scoring four straight points as Hamilton recorded one of her 12 kills and finished it with back-to-back aces.
Bentonville appeared to be on the edge of a sweep with a 20-16 lead before Van Buren gained some moment. The Lady Pointers went on a 9-1 run to take the third game, with Madalyn Doolittle's kill putting Van Buren in front.
"If I was a fan, I would have loved to watch this game," Van Buren coach Brent Reeves said. "We came out on the wrong end of it, and it hurts a little bit. But we played hard, and Bentonville played great.
"I thought we dug down, and that was one of the best games we've played all year long. When we looked like we might get swept, I told them we needed every point we can in order to get the tie-breaker. If we get that game, it will take care of that."
The fourth game went back and forth as both teams tried to get the upper hand. After Riley Robbe's kill gave Bentonville an 18-17 lead, Van Buren responded with kills by Doolittle and Bailey Brooks to take a 20-18 lead before Bentonville put together its one last run.
"It was point-for-point until the very end," Smith said. "When Trinity went back to serve and everybody came together as a team, we played some balanced volleyball."
Six Bentonville players had at least 11 digs, with Cait Hudgens and Kloey Eakin recording 19 apiece. Doolittle led Van Buren with 10 digs, followed by Grace Doolittle with nine and Alex Dupree with eight.
Springdale Har-Ber 3, Rogers Heritage 0
Tori Sugg and Kat Cooper put down eight kills each as the Lady Wildcats remained alone in first place in the 6A-West Conference with a 25-19, 25-14, 25-19 win over the Lady War Eagles.
Jayci Carpenter and Mackenzie White added seven kills each. Molly Kingston also contributed 11 digs and five aces, while Lauren Cloud had 17 assists and nine digs for Har-Ber (16-6, 8-1).
Kyndall Strickland led Heritage with seven kills, while Tayonna Wilson added three blocks. Berenice Morales also added 21 digs.
Bentonville West 3, Springdale High 2
Kortney Puckett had a game-high 29 kills as West outlasted Springdale for a 25-22, 21-25, 26-24, 17-25, 15-9 win in Bulldog Gymnasium.
Winnie Spurlock and Lexi Carter each had 23 assists for the Lady Wolverines (12-11, 6-3), while Shea O'Brien contributed 22 digs and Baylea Lester added 19.
Greenwood 3, Greenbrier 0
Camryn Presley enjoyed a solid all-around match with nine kills, 16 assists and four digs to lead the Lady Bulldogs to a 25-14, 25-13, 25-23 5A-West Conference win.
Abby Cagle had a match-high 12 kills, while Zoie Benton added eight kills and 10 digs. Izzy Davis also contributed a match-high 16 digs for Greenwood (14-4, 8-0).
Fort Smith Southside 3, Cabot 0
Sophomore Avery Fitzgerald hammered a match-high 17 kills to lead the Mavericks to a 25-16, 25-14, 25-19 6A-Central win over the Lady Panthers.
Hannah Hogue also contributed five kills, 14 assists, 14 digs and three blocks. Hannah Holland added 10 kills and four aces and Emily Bass had a match-high 25 digs for Southside (20-2, 9-0).
Sports on 09/28/2018