Bentonville High rallies past Springdale Har-Ber in five sets

BENTONVILLE HIGH 5, SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 2 (21-25, 19-25, 27-25, 25-19, 15-10)

BENTONVILLE — Bentonville High turned back a pair of match points in the third set and shifted the momentum in the Lady Tigers’ favor in the 6A-West Conference opener Thursday night.

Bentonville rallied from a 24-22 deficit to take the third set and never trailed again en route to the 21-25, 19-25, 27-25, 25-19, 15-10 win over Springdale Har-Ber at Tiger Arena.

Bentonville coach Michelle Smith said her team, which struggled in its own tournament on Saturday, gained confidence as the match continued.

“When you have a young team like this, in that third game their confidence just soared,” Smith said.. “And that made that player inside that we’ve been dying to see come out.

“After Saturday, as a coaching staff we sat down, and we knew our defense had to get better. We made some very unique lineup changes to emphasize our defense more. I believe that gave us more options to run at them.”

Junior outside hitter Savanna Riney and freshman Trinity Hamilton each came up with double-doubles for the Lady Tigers (3-7, 1-0 6A-West) Riney finished with a match-high 17 kills to go with 19 digs. Hamilton added 12 kills and a matchhigh 23 digs.

Senior setter Meagan Atchison also contributed a match-high three aces, including two to start the fifth set, along with 29 assists. Atchison spurred the Lady Tigers at the service line to grab a 6-0 lead in the final set and went on to victory.

Har-Ber (6-5, 0-1) was unable to close out the third set and never really recovered. Jayci Carpenter led the Lady Wildcats with 15 kills, while Mackenzie White added 12 and freshman Kat Cooper 10. Setter Natalie Williams contributed 35 assists, 18 digs and two aces. Molly Kingston chipped in a team-best 21 digs and Halle Roberts had a match-high give blocks.

BENTONVILLE WEST 3, FAYETTEVILLE 1

Kortney Puckett pounded 14 kills to lead the Lady Wolverines to a hard-fought 25-20, 14-25, 26-24, 25-20 win to open league play on the road Thursday.

Sophomore Emerson Traweek added eight kills, while Kerryann Ptacek added five aces and Shea O’Brien contributed 10 digs.

SPRINGDALE HIGH 3, ROGERS HERITAGE 0

The Lady Bulldogs opened 6A-West action with a sweep (25-9, 25-15, 25-10) of Rogers Heritage.

Zoe Schmidt had a solid all-around match with 10 kills, three blocks and nine digs.

Faith Morgan had a total of 29 assists. Jortaka George and Bethlynn Kobeney had nine digs each. Lauren Bench had three aces and seven kills, and Taina Miller had eight kills and three blocks.

Springdale will return to action Tuesday at Bentonville West.

VAN BUREN 3, ROGERS HIGH 2

The Lady Pointers used a big fifth set to claim a tough 25-13, 21-25, 25-16, 22-25, 15-5 win over the Lady Mounties.

Anna Randels led Rogers with 14 kills, 16 digs and three aces. Gracie Carr and Allie Stephens added eight each. Phoenix Bailey also contributed four blocks, including one solo.

FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 3, CONWAY 0

Sophomore Avery Fitzgerald finished with 15 kills, while Hannah Hogue chipped in 10 to lead the Mavericks to a 25-18, 25-21, 25-17 win over Conway in 6A-Central conference play.

Emily Bass added five aces and 20 digs, while Hogue also contributed seven kills and eight assists.

NWA Democrat-Gazette/CHARLIE KAIJO Bentonville High School players react after a play Thursday during a volleyball game against Springdale Har-Ber at Bentonville High School in Bentonville.