Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Fayetteville sweeps Rogers
Lady Bulldogs get first conference victory in volleyball.
FAYETTEVILLE 3, ROGERS HIGH 0 (25-18, 28-26, 25-20)
ROGERS — Fayetteville may be turning things around after starting the season with four consecutive losses.
Rosana Hicks had 16 kills as Fayetteville earned its first 6A-West Conference victory Tuesday with a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 28-26, 25-20) over Rogers High in King Arena. The victory follows a 3-1 nonconference win over Tulsa Bishop Kelley and gives Fayetteville added confidence heading into Thursday’s league game with Van Buren.
Fayetteville (2-4, 1-1) is clearly in a rebuilding mode after winning three consecutive state championships with two players now on Division I teams. Carly Unruh and Avery Redfern added seven kills apiece while Gracyn Spresser led Fayetteville with 26 assists against Rogers.
“It was a sweep that didn’t feel like a sweep, but I’m really happy to get out of here with a 3-0 win,” Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said. “We kind of struggled with unforced errors early in the year, but tonight was a big improvement. Rosana is someone who has experience in coming back, and she had a nice night for us.”
Fayetteville won the first set 2518 after grabbing leads of 10-2 and 18-6. Rogers (2-9, 0-2) outplayed Fayetteville at the end, but the Lady Mounties could not overcome their large deficit. Rogers got to within 24-18 before a serve sailed out of bounds to clinch the victory for Fayetteville.
The second set was the most exciting of the night when Fayetteville outlasted Rogers 28-26 to take a 2-0 series lead. Rogers jumped to a 139 lead, but Fayetteville withstood the charge and the game went back-and-forth into extended play. Rosana Hicks had a kill to put Fayetteville in position at match point, and the Lady Bulldogs secured the victory when Rogers failed on an attempt at a return volley.
“The second set gave us some momentum heading into Game 3,” Phelan said. “Those tight ones can sometimes go either way. We maintained focus to come out on top in that one and carry it over.”
Fayetteville was mostly in control in the third set, but the Lady Mounties refused to make it easy for the Lady Bulldogs. Hicks had a kill to help Fayetteville to a 19-13 lead before Rogers fought back to within 19-17. But Hicks again delivered a kill, and Fayetteville won 2520 to complete the sweep.
Taylor Voight led the Lady Mounties with eight kills, while Anna Randels and Alexa Albarran
added 11 and 10 digs, respectively.
BENTONVILLE WEST 3, SPRINGDALE HIGH 0
Kortney Puckett had 12 kills to lead three West players in double figures as the Lady Wolverines enjoyed a 25-22, 25-15, 25-23 victory in Wolverine Arena.
Emerson Traweek added 11 kills and Kerryann Ptacek 10 for West (7-4), which enjoyed its first 2-0 start in league play in school history. Lexi Carter had a team-high 23 assists while Baylee Lester contributed five aces, including back-toback ones to end the match.
Zoe Schmidt led Springdale (4-4-1, 1-1) with eight kills and 17 digs, while Faith Morgan had three aces and 11 assists. Jada Potter added three kills and three blocks.
VAN BUREN 3, BENTONVILLE HIGH 0
Alex Dupree put down 12 kills to lead the Lady Pointers to a 25-17, 25-20, 25-19 win over the Lady Tigers.
Mikelle Porter dished out 25 assists, while Grace Doolittle added six kills for Van Buren (6-2, 2-0 6A-West).
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 3, ROGERS HERITAGE 0
Natalie Williams led the Lady Wildcats to a 25-16, 25-15, 25-18 sweep, hammering down nine kills with 19 assists and nine digs.
Kat Cooper added 11 kills, while Halle Roberts chipped in 10. Molly Kingston contributed 10 digs for Har-Ber (7-4, 1-1 6A-West). Kyndall Strickland led Heritage (0-2, 1-8) with eight kills and Berenice Morales added 15 digs.
FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 3, CABOT 0
Sophomore Hannah Hogue put together a strong all-around match with 10 kills, four aces and eight assists to lead the Mavericks to a 25-11, 25-9, 25-11 6A-Central win over the Lady Panthers.
Sophomore Avery Fitzgerald added nine kills, while Aleigha Johnson added eight for the Lady Mavericks (8-2). Emily Bass contributed a match-high 22 digs, while Sarah Tolbert added 17 assists and 12 digs.
SILOAM SPRINGS 3, BEEBE 1
The Siloam Springs volleyball team opened 5A-West Conference play with a 16-25, 25-22, 25-14, 25-9 victory at Beebe on Tuesday night.
Ellie Lampton led the Lady Panthers (6-3, 1-0) with 18 kills, two solo blocks, two block assists and 13 digs, while Chloe Price had 14 kills, 28 assists and three aces.
Kelsey Lewis added 14 digs, while Annabelle Van Asche contributed 16 assists as the Lady Panthers switched from a one-setter 5-1 offense to a two-setter (6-2) system during the match.
Siloam Springs returns to 5A-West action Thursday at home against Alma.