Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
FHS beats Har-Ber, forces three-way tie for first
FAYETTEVILLE — There’s a logjam atop the 6A-West halfway through conference play.
Fayetteville forced a three-way tie for first place after beating Springdale Har-Ber 3-1 (18-25, 25-19, 2523, 25-21) Thursday at Bulldog Arena. The league loss was the first for Har-Ber (14-5, 6-1), which fell into a three-way tie with Fayetteville and Bentonville High, which handed the Lady Bulldogs their only league loss.
Rosana Hicks and Perry Flannigan each had 13 kills to lead Fayetteville, which won three consecutive after losing the first set. Arianna Walter added nine blocks and Kennedy Phelan had 19 digs and 34 assists for the Lady Bulldogs (18-3, 6-1).
“When they got close, I thought we were able to come up with some big points,” Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said. “Rosana and Perry stepped up and we were real aggressive against a really good Har-Ber defense.”
Har-Ber refused to go down easy in the fourth game after falling behind 2115. The Lady Wildcats scored three consecutive points to pull within 24-21 and force a Fayetteville timeout. But the Lady Bulldogs were able to hold off Har-Ber and win the game. Kyler Greenlee had 13 kills and Kat Cooper eight kills to lead Har-Ber. Trinity Sharp had 26 digs and Skylar Fernandez 17 assists.
Har-Ber overcame an early deficit in the opener to win 25-18. Har-Ber’s front line was effective, particularly with Caylan Koons and Cooper. Cooper displayed her agility when she lunged for a ball and swatted it back just inside the back left corner for a point. Cooper also scored the winning point minutes later to give HarBer a 1-0 lead.
Fayetteville countered with strong play of Hicks, Walter, and Flannigan at the net to win the second set 25-19. Har-Ber scored four consecutive points to pull within 22-19 of Fayetteville late in the match. But the Lady Bulldogs regained the momentum after a kill by Walter and Flannigan finished the match with a kill to force a 1-1 tie after two games.
Fayetteville rallied from a 7-2 deficit in the third game to win 25-23. Hicks led the comeback with three kills to force a 13-13 tie midway through the match. Fayetteville tied the game again at 20-20 on a kill by Hicks and she was serving when the Lady Bulldogs scored to win 25-23.
Fayetteville will begin the second half of conference action with Bentonville West on Tuesday while Har-Ber plays Bentonville High.
BENTONVILLE HIGH 3, BENTONVILLE WEST 0
Savanna Riney recorded 19 kills and nine digs to lead Bentonville to a 25-15, 25-13, 25-20 victory over West in Wolverine Arena.
Taylor Shapley had 32 assists, 10 digs and 3 blocks, while Trinity Hamilton had 15 assists for the Lady Tigers (14-6, 6-1), who claimed a share of the league lead with their win and Fayetteville’s win over Har-Ber.
Avery Kniss and Reagan Ptacek each had seven kills for West (4-17, 2-5), which played the match without an injured senior standout Kortney Puckett. Trinity Luckett added five kills for the Lady Wolverines.
ROGERS HIGH 3, ROGERS HERITAGE 0
Gracie Carr finished with a match-high 13 kills to lead the Lady Mounties to a tough 25-22, 25-21, 25-22 win over crosstown rival Rogers Heritage.
Lilly Dennis dished out 14 assists, while Brooke Park finished with a match-high 19 digs. Ella McCleod served up four aces for the Lady Mounties (7-13, 3-4 6A-West)
Alli Edwards led Heritage (6-8-1, 1-6) with 10 kills, 12 digs and 2 aces. Brittney Ware contributed 17 digs and two aces, while Ava Cate Cameron dished out 19 assists.
VAN BUREN 3, SPRINGDALE HIGH 0
Madalyn Doolittle finished with 12 kills and Grace Doolittle added eight to lead the Lady Pointers to a 25-18, 25-14, 25-13 win.
Brianna Ball also dished out 28 assists for Van Buren (8-7, 4-3 6A-West).
Hannah Ogle and Amaya Johnson had 7 kills each for Springdale (3-10, 0-7).
FS SOUTHSIDE 3, FS NORTHSIDE 0
Hannah Hogue contributed a double-double with 11 digs and 35 assists to lead the Mavericks to a 25-12, 2513, 25-15 win over rival Fort Smith Northside.
Avery Fitzgerald was strong at the net with a team-high 16 kills to go with nine digs for Southside (155, 6-1 6A-Central). Bailey Vega chipped in 12 kills for the Mavericks, who share first place in the 6A-Central Conference at the halfway point of league play with Conway.