ROGERS -- It looked as though Bentonville High had wrestled the momentum away when it won the third set, but Rogers High turned the tables and earned a hard-fought five-set 6A-West Conference victory.
The fourth set was all Lady Mounties and they pulled away midway through the fifth to claim the 25-20, 20-25, 19-25, 25-15, 15-12 win in King Arena on Tuesday night.
Rogers coach Christina Lawrence said she talked a little bit about the opponent in the huddle following the third set.
"I kind of focused a little bit on the other team," Lawrence said. "Bentonville, they just work hard every point. I made a comment saying they're playing like they're at home and taking way this opportunity from you because they're playing hard."
"I think it really made the girls think and self-motivated to work harder, do the little things. We kinda get caught waiting to get points free from the other team. And this time I think we just stepped up and started to earn them.'
Rogers, which is playing only its second match after being off for two weeks because of covid-19 quarantine, definitely responded. The Lady Mounties (8-4, 3-4 6A-West) jumped to a 12-4 lead in the fourth set and cruised to force a fifth.
Bentonville forced a 9-9 tie in the fifth but Rogers came back to score the next two and went on to the victory.
Gracie Carr led Rogers with 17 kills, while Abby Harris and Kate Miller chipped in seven each. Madison Rhea anchored the defense with 27 digs. Phoenix Bailey was also a force at the net with eight blocks.
Bentonville coach Michelle Smith said her team showed some effects from a five-set win over Bentonville West on Monday.
"That fourth set was kinda hard, they just sorta ran out of gas," Smith said. "Two nights back-to-back and going to five. But in the fifth the fire came alive again. Honestly, we talked about it as a team. Defense carried the load tonight and our offense needs to go back to the drawing board."
Trinity Hamilton led Bentonville (10-6, 4-6) with a match-high 24 kills and 20 digs, while Maddie Lee and Gloria Cranney chipped in eight each. Jamie Myrick anchored the defense with 33 digs. Maddy Hughes dished out 46 assists and added 11 digs.
Fort Smith Southside 3, Springdale Har-Ber 2
Avery Fitzgerald put down 24 kills to lead the Lady Mavericks to a tough 22-25, 25-20, 24-26, 25-23, 17-15 win over the Lady Wildcats.
Toree Tiffee added 15 kills and eight digs, while Hannah Hogue contributed a double-double with 41 assists, 15 digs and five kills. Tinsley Freeman also contributed 15 digs.
Kyla Clubb led the Har-Ber attack with 18 kills, while Kat Cooper added 14. Caylan Koons registered a double-double with 47 assists and 10 digs.
Bentonville West 3, Rogers Heritage 0
Trinity Luckett recorded 14 kills and four blocked shots to lead West to a 25-21, 25-20, 25-19 victory over Heritage in Wolverine Arena.
Riley Richardson added six kills and Ally McCasland recorded a trio of aces for the Lady Wolverines, who will close out the regular season Thursday at Fort Smith Southside.
Greenwood 3, Siloam Springs 0
Larkin Luke and Hannah Watkins crushed 10 kills each to lead the Lady Bulldogs to a 25-15, 25-12, 25-17 win over the Lady Panthers.
Setter Anna Johnson dished out 40 assists, while freshman Myia McCoy finished with a team-high 13 kills. Jocelyn Sewell led the defense with 14 digs and Maddi Pugh added 13 for Greenwood (14-1, 11-0 5A-West).
Shiloh Christian 3, Huntsville 0
Madelyn Sestak and Emerson Traweek hammered nine kills each to lead the Lady Saints to a 25-13, 25-6, 25-16 4A-Northwest Conference win over Huntsville.
Ryan Russell and Rylee Kallesen added seven kills each for Shiloh Christian (17-2, 15-0). Avery Porter also added six aces and Ryli Russ contributed nine digs. Setters Katelyn Simpson and Kat Murphree combined for 29 assists.