ROGERS -- Rogers High volleyball coach Christina Lawrence decided to move three freshmen up to the varsity team a couple of weeks ago and they are paying dividends.
Ryley Martin put down a match-high 10 kills, while Kate Miller added seven kills and Abby Harris six to lead the Lady Mounties to a 25-16, 25-18, 25-16 win over crosstown rival Rogers Heritage on the road in 6A-West Conference play Thursday evening.
The three freshmen keyed the Lady Mounties attack, despite playing on their fourth conference match at the varsity level. But Lawrence especially liked the way her team was able to stop the opponent's momentum and put away Heritage in three straight sets.
"I do believe we are playing together more as a team," Lawrence said. "We're still making some silly errors at times, but tonight we finally stood up and quit letting them get a run on us. We actually put the ball down and sided out really well.
"Right now we're passing a little bit better, and we're able to run a more balanced offense. We have some young setters coming in and even one on the bench who are keeping the offense spread. I felt like everyone felt comfortable. We played our game. Props to them. They are coming in here, all of them doing something new. So it's a lot of pressure."
Rogers (6-15, 2-5 6A-West) used an 11-2 run in the opening set to take control, then slowly pulled away in the final two to close out the match.
Sophomore Gracie Carr chipped in eight kills, while sophomore Cameron Brockhoff had a match-high 17 assists and two aces. Libero Alexa Albarran added a team-high nine digs.
Rogers Heritage coach Lindsey Biocic said her team was just too inconsistent.
"Not enough runs, consistency," Biocic said. "We have moments of greatness when I'm like 'Yes, that's the potential of the team that I know that we can be.'"
Kyndall Strickland led Heritage (1-12, 0-7) with seven kills, while Brittney Ware had a match-high 12 digs. Tayonna Wilson chipped in two blocks.
Van Buren 3, Springdale High 0
Bailey Brooks had 11 kills and Alex Dupree added to 10 lead the Lady Pointers to a 25-20, 25-19, 25-14 win over the Lady Red Bulldogs.
Mikal Porter dished out 29 assists for Van Buren, which improved to 9-5 overall and 5-2 in the 6A-West.
Zoe Schmidt slammed down eight kills to go along with 14 digs for the Lady Bulldogs. Faith Morgan added 12 assists, 10 digs and six kills, Jesslyn Wells had 12 digs, Lauren Bench had six kills and 11 assists and Lillie Cooper had two ace serves.
Springdale Har-Ber 3, Fayetteville 0
Jayci Carpenter put down 13 kills and Mackenzie White added 11 to lead the Lady Wildcats to a 25-22, 29-27, 25-22 win over the Lady Purple Bulldogs and are now alone in first place in the 6A-West Conference midway through league play.
Molly Kingston added 10 digs and three aces, while Skylar Fernandez contributed 17 assists, seven digs and five aces for Har-Ber (12-4, 6-1 6A-West).
Bentonville West 3, Bentonville High 0
Kortney Puckett had 14 kills and had assists on five blocks as West recorded a 25-17, 25-18, 25-21 victory over Bentonville in Tiger Arena and knocked the Lady Tigers out of their share of first place.
Kerryann Ptacek returned to the lineup and added seven kills and nine digs for the Lady Wolverines (11-10, 5-2) while Jayden Lindsey chipped in six kills. Lexi Carter and Winnie Spurlock contributed 18 and 14 assists, while Shea O'Brien had seven digs and Emerson Traweek had four blocks.
Savanna Riney had 10 kills and shared the team lead with eight digs for Bentonville (7-10, 5-2), while Meagan Atchison had 12 assists and Taylor Shapley had 10 assists.
Greenwood 3, Beebe 0
Abby Cagle hammered 18 kills, while Camryn Presley registered a double-double to lead the Lady Bulldogs to a 25-18, 25-15, 25-17 win on Thursday.
Presley had 10 kills and 12 digs, while Izzy Davis added a team-high 20 digs and four aces for Greenwood, which improved to 12-4 overall.
Fort Smith Southside 3, Fort Smith Northside 0
Sophomore Avery Fitzgerald hammered 18 kills to lead the Mavericks to a 25-12, 26-24, 25-17 win over their cross-town rivals.
Emily Bass contributed 17 digs and four aces, while Hannah Holland added nine kills and two aces. Sophomore Hannah Hogue finished with seven kills, 14 assists and 16 digs for Southside (17-2, 7-0 6A-Central).
Sports on 09/21/2018