FORT SMITH -- Fort Smith Southside turned the tables on Fayetteville and knocked the Lady Purple Bulldogs from the unbeaten ranks Tuesday night.
The Lady Mavericks were the aggressor and set the pace much of the night to earn a 25-15, 20-25, 25-22, 25-21 victory over Fayetteville at Chaffin Junior High.
Mississippi State commit Avery Fitzgerald put down a match-high 21 kills. The 6-0 senior had several of her patented howitzer-like shots, but she fooled the defense by taking something off at times and was extremely effective.
That's something Southside coach Natalie Throneberry emphasized in practice recently.
"I really think we went to town on small ball and how to be more than just power hitters," Throneberry said. "And I could tell even in practice there was a little bit of frustration, having to really slow down the pace and work on a little bit of finesse.
"But I think it paid off tonight. I think we swung incredibly efficiently. I thought we blocked very poorly the first time we played Fayetteville and I think we really turned that around. We've been waiting on this whole team showing up at the same time and being on the same page. I'm just so proud of them for all the setback we've had this season."
Fayetteville defeated Southside 27-25, 27-25, 25-23 in three hotly contested sets a few weeks ago. The Mavericks even had set point in two of those sets, but couldn't find a way to close the deal. That wasn't a problem Tuesday night.
The opening set was all Southside (9-2, 7-1 6A-West), but Fayetteville (13-1, 8-1 6A-West) used a big 8-0 run to take the second set. The final two sets were close but Fayetteville led only briefly in the third and not all in the fourth.
Middle blocker Aleigha Johnson chipped in nine kills and four blocks, while Toree Tiffee chipped in seven kills and a team-high 12 digs. Arkansas commit Hannah Hogue ran the offense and contributed 29 assists. Olivia Melton had a team-high five blocks.
Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said her team never really got clicking and credited Southside's aggressive serving for keeping them scrambling much of the night.
"Southside served very well tonight and put a lot of pressure on us," Phelan said. "Their pins were really tough. We were able to regain momentum at times but we were never really able to sustain it. That's a hard thing to do on the road but at the same time, we want to grow from this game.
"It's a good opportunity for us to refocus and get back to work."
Throneberry liked the way her team competed and how several different players contributed. But the Mavericks haven't hit their peak yet, she said.
"That was the most fun and carefree volleyball we've played all season and I think that was all the difference," Throneberry said. "I think we hold such high expectations for ourselves it was hard to roll with those small setbacks. We did so much better from bouncing back from mistakes."
Rosana Hicks and Brooke Rockwell each finished with 14 kills each for the Lady Purple'Dogs. Gracyn Spresser was strong defensively with a match-high 27 digs.
Bentonville High 3, Rogers Heritage 1
Maddie Hill had 13 kills to lead a trio of Bentonville players in double figures as the Lady Tigers earned a 25-14, 16-25, 25-19, 25-16 6A-West victory over Heritage in Tiger Arena.
Trinity Hamilton added 12 kills and 24 digs while Reagan Tunnell had 10 digs for Bentonville. Jamie Myrick contributed 26 digs while Alexis Smith had 4 of the Lady Tigers' 11 aces.
Shiloh Christian 3, Farmington 0
The Lady Saints improved to 13-0 in 4A-Northwest Conference play with a 25-23, 25-16, 25-21 win over the Lady Cardinals.
Emerson Traweek led the way with a double-double (10 kill and 11 digs), while Madelyn Sestak added 10 kills and three blocks for Shiloh Christian (15-2). Kat Murphree and Katelyn Simpson combined for 33 assists and Avery Porter anchored the defense with 10 digs.
Fayetteville 3, Shiloh Christian 0
The Lady Purple Bulldogs cruised to a 25-15, 25-13, 25-18 nonconference win over the Lady Saints.
Perry Flannigan led Fayetteville (13-0) with 15 kills, while Brooke Rockwell added 12. Gracyn Spresser keyed the defense with 12 digs.
Siloam Springs 3, Alma 1
Because of the loss of a starter to covid-19 quarantine, the Lady Panthers pivoted to a new offense Tuesday and defeated Alma 25-19, 11-25, 25-15, 25-19 on Tuesday at Charles B. Dyer Arena.
Setter/hitter Makenna Thomas moved to a primary setter position as the Lady Panthers ran a 5-1 offense and dished out 34 assists to go with three kills.
Emma Norberg led the Lady Panthers with a career-high 14 kills, while Clara Butler had nine kills,
Fullerton led defensively with 21 digs, while Micah Curry had 14 digs, Torres and Thomas nine digs each.
Paul Boyd can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAPaulb.