ROGERS -- Bentonville scored the final five points of the third set to rally for a hard-fought 25-23, 25-27, 26-24, 25-16 win over Rogers High in 6A-West Conference volleyball on the road Tuesday night.
Rogers (9-21, 3-9 6A-West) was on the verge of taking a 2-1 lead, leading 24-21, but didn't score again as the Lady Tigers (14-12, 9-3) seized the momentum in the back-and-forth match.
Senior Kennedy Pate served up back-to-back aces to give Bentonville the win in the all-important third set, after Savanna Riney found a hole down the line for the 24-24 tie.
Riney finished with a match-high 17 kills to key the Bentonville attack along with 10 digs, but coach Michelle Smith said the Lady Tigers' strong work at the service line was the key to the win.
"They (Rogers) have a pretty big offense, and we were able to pull them out from time to time," Smith said. "When it mattered the most, our servers literally stepped up to the line."
Pate and Meagan Atchison finished with three aces each for the Lady Tigers. But Atchison also came up with a double-double with 21 assists and 13 digs. She was one of five Bentonville players to notch double figures in digs led by freshman Trinity Hamilton with 18.
Freshman Ryley Martin led Rogers with 13 kills, while Anna Randels added nine kills and four aces. Alexa Albarran also contributed a team-high 20 digs and Tori Bayles 17 assists. Freshman Kate Miller also added four blocks.
Springdale Har-Ber 3, Van Buren 2
The Lady Wildcats dropped the first two sets but rallied for the 15-25, 13-25, 25-23, 25-12, 15-8 win over the Lady Pointers to clinch a share of the 6A-West conference title and the No. 1 seed in the state tournament.
Tori Sugg led a balanced attack with 14 kills, while Mackenzie White added 12 kills for Har-Ber (19-6, 11-1 6A-West). Lauren Cloud dished out 31 assists, while Molly Kingston contributed 30 digs.
Alex Dupree led Van Buren with 14 kills, while Madalyn Doolittle added 10, Bailey Brooks nine and Grace Doolittle eight. Mikelle Porter also dished out 33 assists for the Lady Pointers.
Fayetteville 3, Springdale 1
Sophomore Rosana Hicks hammered 20 kills to lead the Lady Purple'Dogs to a 25-23, 19-25, 25-17, 25-20 win over Springdale High.
Arianna Walter added nine kills, while Laney Daniels contributed 16 digs and five aces. Gracyn Spresser also added 30 assists for Fayetteville.
Bentonville West 3, Rogers Heritage 1
Kortney Puckett delivered 19 kills as West claimed a 25-27, 25-19, 25-20, 26-24 victory over Heritage in Wolverine Arena.
Kerryann Ptacek added 11 kills and 12 digs for the Lady Wolverines (16-14, 8-4), while Lexi Carter added 19 assists. Winnie Spurlock chipped in 20 assists and four aces, while Shea O'Brien contributed 19 digs and Baylee Lester 11.
Tayonna Wilson had eight blocks and six kills for Heritage (5-22-1, 0-12), while Kyndall Strickland had seven kills. Brittany Ware had a team-high 25 digs and Berenice Morales added 16, while Josie Stitt contributed 16 assists.
6A-Central
Fort Smith Southside 3, Mount St. Mary 0
Sophomore Hannah Hogue put up a triple-double with 10 kills, 16 assists and 15 digs to lead the Mavericks to a 25-23, 25-16, 25-17 win over the Belles to clinch a share of the conference title and the No. 1 seed for the state tournament.
Sophomore Avery Fitzgerald finished with a match-high 20 kills, while Hannah Holland added 10 kills. Emily Bass contributed 25 digs for Southside (26-3, 12-0 6A-Central).
5A-West
Greenwood 3, Russellville 0
Junior Zoie Benton had 13 kills, while Abby Cagle and Camryn Presley added 12 each to lead the Lady Bulldogs to a 25-22, 25-16, 25-15 win over Russellville on the road in a match that was interrupted because of severe weather.
The teams and fans were evacuated to a storm shelter after the first set was completed, Greenwood coach Jennifer Golden said. They remained there for 20-25 minutes until the storm passed, Golden said.
Izzy Davis also contributed 21 digs for Greenwood, which has now won 15 straight matches and improved to 20-4 overall and 10-0 in the 5A-Central.
Siloam Springs 3, Vilonia 1
Siloam Springs picked up a 5A-West road victory at Vilonia 25-11, 19-25, 25-20, 25-12 on Tuesday night.
Ellie Lampton led the Lady Panthers (16-10-1, 8-3) with 19 kills, nine digs and two aces. Chloe Price had nine kills, 23 assists, four aces and 12 digs, while Makenna Thomas had 13 assists and six digs.
Reigan Brown added nine kills, six aces and six digs, while Katie Kendrick and Jael Harried each had four kills. Kelsey Lewis led Siloam Springs defensively with 31 digs along with two aces.
Sports on 10/10/2018