ROGERS -- Senior setter Madison Sherrill wasn't at full strength, but she and the Rogers Lady Mounties were good enough to claim a 3-1 (25-21, 25-15, 21-25, 25-11) win over Van Buren in 7A-West Conference volleyball Tuesday evening at King Arena.
Sherrill suffered an ankle injury during a tournament in Springfield, Mo., on Saturday and played in just one match. She limped at times on Tuesday and was subbed out some, but the Lady Mounties' offense was strong enough, despite a lull in the third set.
Hannah Martin hammered a match-high 20 kills, but she had plenty of help as Kassidy Wall added 12 and middles Alex Parish and Emily Harris chipped in nine each. Sherrill finished with a match-high 48 assists. Sophomore libero Anna Randels anchored the defense with a match-high 20 digs.
Rogers (7-6, 2-2 7A-West Conference) controlled the first two sets, but struggled with consistency in the third. However, the Lady Mounties scored the first five points of the fourth set and never looked back.
Rogers coach Christina Lawrence said Sherrill is important. But she also wanted to make sure the senior would be able to go on Thursday against Bentonville.
"She's on every ball," Lawrence said. "We never call help and have someone else set. But we wanted to keep her rested. We don't want her sore on Thursday."
Lawrence said the 6-foot-3 Harris and junior Maddie Tauai were strong on the court.
"Emily had a great game. She blocked well," Lawrence said. "Maddie is serving very well for us and she's passing well. She's gotten so much better. So we'll focus on that."
Van Buren coach Brent Reeves said his team can play well in all facets of the game at times, but passing was inconsistent against Rogers and that ultimately was a killer.
"We got people that can hit. We got people who can set. We got people who can pass," Reeves said. "They made the plays and we didn't. When we had the pass we did well, but when we didn't have the pass they did the best they could. Their passing was good and I think that was the difference."
Emilee Aaron, a 5-11 senior middle, led Van Buren (5-6, 2-2 7A-West) with nine kills, three blocks and two aces.
Rogers continues league play on Thursday at Bentonville, while Van Buren hosts Springdale High.
Fayetteville def. Rogers Heritage 3-0
Fayetteville remained undefeated in 7A-West Conference play with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-12, 25-11) win over Rogers Heritage.
Haley Warner finished with 11 kills and seven digs for the Lady Bulldogs. Mary Grace Heil added 10 kills in the win for Fayetteville (12-0, 4-0 7A-West) and Ella May Powell contributed a match-high 27 assists. Hope Von Gremp led Heritage (1-9-1, 0-4 7A-West) with six kills. CJ Landram added seven assists and Erika Reaser two aces.
Springdale Har-Ber def. Bentonville West 3-0
The Lady Wildcats bounced back from a weekend loss at Conway to sweep Bentonville West on the road Tuesday night (25-11, 25-17, 25-8).
Springdale Har-Ber improves to 12-2 overall and 4-0 in 7A-West play as it hosts powerhouse Fayetteville tonight. Bentonville West falls to 1-10 this season, 0-4 in league action.
Lauren Thompson led the Lady Wildcats with 13 kills and Emily Doss tallied 15 digs. Kortney Puckett had six kills for the Lady Wolverines.
Bentonville def. Springdale High 3-0
Bentonville (9-4, 2-2) earned its second sweep in as many nights Tuesday, taking down Springdale High on the road (25-13, 15-15, 25-14).
Emma Palasak had 13 kills and nine digs for the Lady Tigers, while Tymber Riley added nine kills and nine digs. Kalli Stephens added four aces, while Baylee Barganier had 32 assists and Grayce Joyce added two solo blocks and three assisted blocks for Bentonville.
Next up for the Lady Tigers is a home conference match with Rogers High Thursday. As for Springdale, a trip to Van Buren awaits Thursday. The Lady'Dogs fall to 5-8-2 overall and 2-2 in 7A-West action.
Russellville def. Siloam Springs 3-1
Siloam Springs saw its four-match winning streak end on Tuesday with a loss (25-10, 25-19, 15-25, 25-22) to Russellville in a 6A/5A-1 Conference match at Cyclone Arena.
The Lady Panthers won game three 25-22 to avoid the sweep, but the Lady Cyclones finished the match with a win in game four.
Siloam Springs (5-8, 4-1) hosts Greenwood on Thursday in a conference match at Panther Activity Center.
Sports on 09/14/2016