Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
A clean sweep
Fayetteville downs Fort Smith Southside, claims conference title.
FAYETTEVILLE — Fort Smith Southside didn’t have an answer for Rosana Hicks on Thursday night.
Matter of fact, the Mavericks didn’t have much of an answer for anything Fayetteville threw at them. Hicks hammered a match-high 23 kills to help the Lady Purple Bulldogs to a 25-14, 25-18, 25-19 win over the Mavericks to claim the 6A-West Conference volleyball tournament title at Bulldog Arena.
Fayetteville (18-1) trailed only briefly in each of the three sets, putting Southside (14-3) back on its heels with a strong service game. Kennedy Phelan and Gracyn Spresser combined for seven of Fayetteville’s 11 aces and five in a 10-0 run in the opening set where the Lady Purple’Dogs grabbed a 2010 lead.
Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said strong serving and passing has been a key against Southside and helped the Lady Purple’Dogs win for the second time in three meetings.
“It’s kind of a tail of our two matches against Southside,” Phelan said. “We really struggled serving and passing when we went down there. I thought we passed very well this week, served well. That sets the tone for us. We’re a hard team to beat in system. We have the ability to spread the ball around.”
Setter Kennedy Phelan was able to get the ball out quickly to her hitters, which created seams in the Southside block. That was good news for Fayetteville hitters.
Hicks, a 6- foot-1 senior, who has verbally committed to Central Michigan, was dominant at the net, but she had help. Sophomore Brooke Rockwell added 10 kills and freshman Regan Harp chipped in six. Spresser also had a team-high eight digs.
Fayetteville will now carry some momentum into next week’s Class 6A state tournament, which will be played at Bulldog Arena, Phelan said.
“We had a good clean week of volleyball and we’re pleased with how we’re playing,” Phelan said. “We’re pleased to be the conference tournament champions but that being said, there’s no trophy this week. We’ll come back and work hard and build toward next week and hopefully carry some momentum.”
Avery Fitzgerald led Southside with 15 kills, while Hannah Hogue dished out 32 assists. Tinsley Freeman finished with a match-high 13 digs, while Toree Tiffee added seven kills and 10 digs.
Southside assistant coach Payton Northington said the Mavericks showed some effects from Wednesday’s five-set win over Springdale Har-Ber. But will now look to rebound and get ready for next week’s state tournament.
“I feel like after such a tough game last night, it was emotionally draining,” said Northington, who was subbing for head coach Natalie Throneberry. “I told them you’ve got to mentally prepare for what’s coming next week. We’ve got to go back to work tomorrow.
Throneberry wasn’t able to coach this week because of covid-19 quarantine.
SPRINGDALE HAR-BER 3, BENTONVILLE HIGH 0
Har-Ber clinched the league’s No. 3 seed for the state tournament with a 25-15, 25-16, 2414 victory on its home floor over Bentonville.
Kyla Clubb led the Lady Wildcats with a match-high 13 kills, while Jordan Benford added 10 and Kinleigh Hall eight. Caylan Koons dished out 30 assists and Libby Hall contributed 12 digs for Har-Ber.
Trinity Hamilton had nine kills for Bentonville (12-8), which will be the fourth seed and will play the opening match of the Class 6A state tournament Tuesday at Fayetteville. Jamie Myrick added 23 digs, while Maddy Hughes contributed 20 assists.
Har-Ber (9-4) will play its first state tournament match at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
ROGERS 3, BENTONVILLE WEST 0
The Lady Mounties (11-6) earned the No. 5 seed in next week’s state tournament with a 2520, 25-15, 25-17 win over the Lady Wolverines.
Abby Harris registered a double-double with a team-high 14 kills and 20 assists. Gracie Carr and Kate Miller added seven kills each. Camiran Brockhoff also had a double-double with a team-high 21 assists and 12 digs. Madison Rhea led the Lady Mounties with 19 digs and Phoenix Bailey added five blocks.
GREENWOOD 3, GREENBRIER 0
The Lady Bulldogs completed a perfect run through the 5A-West Conference with a 25-23, 25-16, 25-11 win to close the regular season.
Greenwood (17-1) has now won 17 consecutive matches heading into next week’s state tournament, which it will host.
Hannah Watkins led the way with 11 kills, while Larkin Luke added nine. Jocelyn Sewell and Maddie Pugh anchored the defense with 13 and 12 digs, respectively. Anna Johnson dished out 31 assists to go with three kills and an ace.
SHILOH CHRISTIAN 3, HARRISON 1
Emerson Traweek and Rylee Odell were a tough 1-2 punch at the net to help the Lady Saints claim the 4A-Northwest Conference title with an 18-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-19 victory over the Lady Goblins in the finals.
Traweek finished with a match-high 22 kills and 12 digs, while Odell added 13 kills and four blocks for Shiloh Christian (20-2). Kat Murphree and Katelyn Simpson combined for 50 assists, while Ryli Russ contributed a match-high 19 digs. Avery Porter added seven kills and 12 digs for the Lady Saints, who will play the No. 4 seed from the Central in the opening round of the Class 4A state tournament on Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. at Valley View.