Lady Bulldogs left heartbroken in loss
A playoff spot was in sight for the White Hall volleyball team on Tuesday, but the Lady Bulldogs were left heartbroken on senior night.
White Hall dropped a five-set thriller to Lake Hamilton 21-25, 25-14, 25-21, 22-25, 15-13 at home.
White Hall (7-12, 5-9 in 5A-South) would have made the playoffs with a win thanks to Hot Springs losing to crosstown rival Hot Springs Lakeside.
Lake Hamilton (7-10, 6-8) will instead take the final playoff spot, joining Lakeside, Benton and Sheridan in the Class 5A state tournament.
White Hall led 13-8 in the fifth set, needing 2 points to reach the postseason. Lake Hamilton called a timeout, and the Lady Wolves rattled off 7 straight points to steal it. Lake Hamilton sophomore Jerney Butler scored three kills during this run to help send her team to the playoffs.
White Hall coach Maddie Back said the pressure got to her young team at the end.
“There was a lot of good to pick out,” Back said. “But obviously, I’m disappointed because we should have finished. We should have finished.”
Lake Hamilton junior Lauren Scrivner led the match with 17 kills, followed by Butler with 16. White Hall junior Journey Peppers led the Lady Bulldogs with 12.
White Hall never trailed in the first set, leading by as much as 11-4 early. Lake Hamilton fought back to make it close but could never tie it. The Lady Wolves had a late 5-0 run but couldn’t finish the comeback.
Lake Hamilton responded by winning the next two sets. The Lady Wolves dominated the second, then used an 8-1 run to come from behind in the third. White Hall fought off a pair of set points but couldn’t avoid going behind 2-1 in the match.
Back said she had a simple message to her players after the third set.
“I think my exact words were, ‘We have nothing to prove, and we have nothing to lose,’” Back said. “‘Go out and have fun and just work hard.’”
White Hall came out in the fourth and took a 12-6 lead. Lake Hamilton answered with a 12-4 run, but the Lady Bulldogs responded, eventually scoring the final 3 points to send the match to the fifth.
The Lady Bulldogs honored their three seniors before the match, Ajaiah Harris, Kendyl Smith and Kaitlyn Lambert. Back said the trio have meant a lot to the Lady Bulldogs.
“All three of them have been varsity starters for pretty much the entirety of season,” Back said. “I think that it’s going to be some hard shoes to fill coming up next year.”
With just three seniors, most of the team will return next year, led by the four juniors. Several sophomores also played important roles.
Back said having so many returning players next year is the benefit of having a young team this year.
“They now have the experience of what it’s like to play in these types of matches, and I think that they want to be more successful next year,” Back said. “So, I think that that’s just going to put us in a better position for next year.”