BENTONVILLE -- Savanna Riney timed her leap perfectly, and her last cross-court shot eventually went into the stands and propelled Bentonville High's volleyball into the 6A-West Conference lead.
The Lady Tigers' matches against Fayetteville are never easy ones, and Thursday night's showdown with the Lady Bulldogs was no exception. Bentonville, however, stood tall at the end and took sole possession of first place with a 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 19-25, 25-23) victory in Tiger Arena.
"That was a fight until the end," Bentonville coach Michelle Smith said. "That's the type of volleyball I love, and I told the girls after Game 1 that's the speed we like, that's the environment we like. Win or lose, this one was going to be a fight. They fought to the end, and I'm proud of them."
Bentonville (18-6, 10-1) had a 20-17 lead in the fourth set after a Callie Neumann kill, only to have Fayetteville respond and tie the set at 21 on Madison James' block. Both teams then traded points before Trinity Hamilton put the Lady Tigers up 23-22 on a hit to the back corner, then Bentonville thought it had a two-point cushion when a Fayetteville kill attempt was ruled out.
The call was reversed, however, which led to a 23-23 deadlock. Bentonville regained the lead moments later on an Ava Hoyord kill before Riney's kill ended the match.
"I think moments like that, in a game, it frustrates me as a coach," Smith said. "It just fires the girls up even more. So, in a negative situation, something positive came out of it because it fired them up without me having to call a timeout and talk to them."
Fayetteville (21-4, 9-2) appeared to be in trouble after Bentonville won the first set then rallied from a 19-14 deficit in the second set to claim 2-0 cushion. The Lady Bulldogs, however, bounced back and had the lead for the entire third set, then briefly led early in the fourth set before the Lady Tigers went on a 9-1 run and took an 11-9 lead after a Trinity Hamilton kill.
Fayetteville then recovered and eventually tied the game on eight different occasions in the fourth set before Bentonville scored the last two points.
"Certainly, there has been some great Fayetteville-Bentonville fights," Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said. "We feel good in the fact that this was a much more complete effort than our first go-around.
"That being said, we have some little things that we can continue to improve and hopefully to continue to peak through October and be playing our best volleyball at the end of October."
Hamilton led Bentonville with 15 kills and 13 digs, while Riney added 13 kills and 14 digs. Taylor Shapley added a double-double with 42 assists and 14 digs, while Kloey Eakin and Jamie Myrick had 19 and 16 kills, respectively.
Rosana Hicks led Fayetteville with 22 kills, followed by Amelia Whatley with 13. Gracyn Spresser added a team-high 24 digs for the Lady Bulldogs, and Kennedy Phelan chipped in 52 assists.
Springdale Har-Ber 3, Bentonville West 0
Sophomore Caylan Koons came up big with a triple-double to lead the Lady Wildcats to a 25-9, 25-18, 25-9 win over Bentonville West.
Koons finished with 10 kills, 18 assists, 13 digs and five service aces as the Lady Wildcats cruised. Kyler Greenlee added 10 kills and Mackenzie White nine, while Trinity Sharp contributed 12 digs.
Rogers High 3, Springdale High 0
Gracie Carr finished with 11 kills, 8 digs and 2 aces to lead the Lady Mounties to the 26-24, 25-20, 25-15 win over Springdale High.
Ella McLeod added seven kills, while Lilly Dennis dished out 13 assists for Rogers. Brooke Park also added 15 digs.
Van Buren 3, Rogers Heritage 0
Grace Doolitte led the way with 15 kills to lead the Lady Pointers to a 26-24, 25-11, 25-11 6A-West Conference win.
Madalyn Doolittle added 11 kills, while Brianna Ball dished out 19 assists.
Fort Smith Southside 3, Bryant 0
Avery Fitzgerald finished with 11 kills, 5 digs and 3 blocks to lead the Mavericks to a 25-17, 25-14, 25-16 6A-Central Conference win.
Toree Tiffe added 12 kills, 8 digs and 3 aces, while Hannah Hogue contributed 32 assists and 8 digs.
Sports on 10/11/2019