CONWAY -- Bryant looked and played nothing like a fourth-seeded team Tuesday.
The Lady Hornets' activity gave the Bentonville West Lady Wolverines trouble from the start as they ran away to a 25-13, 25-23, 25-20 victory in the opening round of the Class 6A state volleyball tournament at Buzz Bolding Arena.
Four players had at least six kills for Bryant (14-12), with junior Harper Sellers leading the way with 10. However, it was the Lady Hornets' reluctance to give up anything consistently around the net that ultimately enabled them to extend their season.
Oakley Escobar had eight kills while Izabella Lockhart added seven kills for Bryant, which had dropped three of its last four matches and was awarded the No. 4 spot from the 6A-Central. But the Lady Hornets were steady from the beginning against the fifth seed from the 6A-West and will now take on three-time defending state champion Fayetteville at noon today in the second round.
Gracie Brown also had seven kills in the match for Bryant.
"These girls have worked very hard," Bryant Coach Leigh Ann Back said. "We hadn't seen [Bentonville West] before this one so it was a lot of film watching. From everything we saw, their offense was a little bit slower than ours, but to be honest, we just played our game.
"Fortunately for us, it worked."
Bryant also recorded 21 blocks and was able to keep several possessions in play, which allowed it to attack West (13-20-1) whenever it got the opportunity.
The Lady Hornets scored the first six points of the match and never let up in easily winning the opening set. They carried that momentum over into the second set until the Lady Wolverines finally got going.
West trailed 15-8 before a winner from Olivia Thornton started a 15-7 run. A hard smash down the middle from Emma Wheatly put the Lady Wolverines ahead 23-22, but three consecutive kills by the Lady Hornets, including one from Lockhart that skated just inside the line, gave them a two-set cushion.
Bryant led by as much as 22-11 in the final set until West strung together nine consecutive points to get closer. However, the Lady Hornets regained control and eventually put the match away on an unforced error in the net by the Lady Wolverines.
"This was a really good win for these girls, but we know we've got another tough one," Back said. "We've got to play our game and make sure we stay level-headed. We've played it one point at a time all year, and we've got to do that [today].
"This is a young team, but we've got some great upperclassmen that are really good leaders. I've got a phenomenal senior [Tione Freeman] that is as even-keeled as they come so that makes a huge difference, especially with such a youthful group."
Autumn Jordan had 13 kills for West. Wheatly finished with six kills and seven blocks.
BENTONVILLE 3,
JONESBORO 0
Pin-point serves powered Bentonville (19-14), which won in straight sets 25-14, 25-17, 25-19 and moved on to face Cabot at 2 p.m. today.
The Lady Tigers finished with 11 aces and never trailed in either of the first two sets. Jonesboro (4-19), though, stormed back in the third set and at one point, held an 18-16 lead. But an errant shot by the Lady Golden Hurricane started a match-closing 9-1 run for the Lady Tigers.
Madison Hooper had 11 kills, and Victoria Otter notched 10 kills for the Lady Tigers, the No. 3 seed from the 6A-West. Evelyn Venters added six kills and five blocks.
Addie Odom collected nine blocks, and Hope Huckabee ripped six kills for the Lady Golden Hurricane, who were the No. 6 seed from the 6A-Central.
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 3, NORTH LITTLE ROCK 0
Brooklyn Ware blasted her way to 14 kills for Har-Ber (20-9), which found itself behind for all of seconds as it advanced with a 25-12, 25-8, 25-15 win.
After cruising in the first set, the Lady Wildcats scored the first 11 points of the second frame to sprint away. North Little Rock (8-15), which was the No. 5 seed from the 6A-Central, scored the first point of the third set but gave up 10 of the next 12 and was never able to close the gap for the remainder of the match.
Har-Ber, the No. 4 seed from the 6A-West, finished with 12 aces, with Reese Erickson getting seven of those. Korlynn Hall added six kills and six blocks for the Lady Wildcats, who'll play Conway at 4 p.m. today.
Tammara Gooseberry led the Lady Charging Wildcats with seven kills and nine blocks.
LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL 3, ROGERS 2
A huge serve from Little Rock Central's Eliza Semans led to the deciding point in the fifth set as the Lady Tigers battled back to win 25-21, 19-25, 15-25, 25-22, 16-14.
Central (18-8), the third seed from the 6A-Central, forced the decisive frame after scoring four of the last five points in the fourth set. The Lady Tigers led 14-12 in the fifth, back-to-back kills from Brooklyn Weaver and Olyvia Hall tied it for Rogers.
Still, a kill from Semans put the Lady Tigers ahead, and the Lady Mounties weren't able to return her ensuing serve, which allowed Central to advance to play Fort Smith Southside in the next round at 6 p.m. today.
Kelis Battles had 16 kills and Ava Fugitt had 12 for the Lady Tigers. Weaver had 15 kills and 15 blocks for the Lady Mounties.