Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Fort Smith Northside sweeps Springdale
SPRINGDALE — Fort Smith Northside graduated several seniors from its team that made the Class 6A state volleyball quarterfinals a year ago, but the young Lady Bears performed like veterans in the season-opener Tuesday night at Bulldog Gymnasium.
Northside trailed only briefly and controlled the match throughout, riding a strong attack and steady defense to a 25-17, 25-14, 25-16 win over Springdale High.
Senior outside hitter Melissa Beallis and junior middle hitter Dynasty Andrews led the way with 12 kills each, while Sydney Klein added nine kills and a team-high three service aces. Andrews hit a red-hot .750 with no errors, while Klein also finished with no hitting errors on the night.
But the offense was clicking thanks to strong passing by libero Hannah Smith, Northside coach Matt Waack said. She also anchored the defense with 25 digs — a large number coming in just three sets.
“She’s a rising star and just a junior,” Waack said. “I’m super excited about her. We were in system swinging a lot. That’s a big transition for us this year.
“We tried to speed things up a little bit trying to run some faster balls with those smaller outsides and they really came alive. We were able to get them in some compromising situations. We’re young we only had two seniors out there starting the game. The rest are juniors and sophomores. I’m excited to watch how they grow over the course of the season.”
FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE 3, VAN BUREN 0
Avery Fitzgerald put down 12 kills to lead the Mavericks to a 25-13, 25-16, 25-22 win over the Lady Pointers.
Toree Tiffee enjoyed a nice all-around evening with eight kills, 12 digs, four blocks and six aces. Aleigha Johnson chipped in six kills and four blocks.
ROGERS HERITAGE 3, LITTLE ROCK PARKVIEW 0
Ashley Ware finished with eight kills and 12 digs to lead the Lady War Eagles to a 25-18, 25-11, 25-11 win over Little Rock Parkview.
Heritage (2-0) also got seven kills from Mary Kate Giesen and 14 assists from Ava Cate Cameron.
BENTONVILLE WEST 3, SILOAM SPRINGS 0
The Lady Wolverines captured their first win of the season on the road against the Lady Panthers 25-14, 26-24, 25-19 at Panther Activity Center.
Reagan Ptacek led Bentonville West (1-1) with 10 kills, while Riley Richardson and Trinity Luckett each had five kills. All five of Richardon’s kills came in the third set, while Luckett had four block assists and two solo blocks.
Ally McCasland served four aces and Anna Claire Roberts led defensively with 12 digs.
Jaedyn Soucie led Siloam Springs (0-2) with four kills. Makenna Thomas and Emma Norberg each had three kills, with Thomas leading with four aces. Maggie Torres had 15 digs.
GREENWOOD 3, SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 2
The Lady Bulldogs used a balanced attack to outlast the Lady Wildcats 25-20, 23-25, 23-25, 25-18, 15-12.
Hannah Watkins finished with a team-high 15 kills, while Caylee Ciesla added 11 and Larkin Luke 10. Watkins also added four solo blocks. Maddi Pugh led the defense with 28 digs, while Anna Johnson added 44 assists and 15 digs for the Lady Bulldogs (1-1).
BENTONVILLE HIGH 3, MOUNT ST. MARY 1
Bentonville bounced back from dropping a 3230 decision in the first set to earn a season-opening victory in Tiger Arena.
The Lady Tigers outlasted the Belles to win a marathon second set by a 42-40 score, then completed the win with scores of 25-22 and 25-17.
Other details were unavailable at press time.