Edie does it as Fayetteville earns title

JONESBORO — Aubrey Edie was too much for Fort Smith Southside.

Edie, Fayetteville’s 60 senior setter, handed out 31 assists, made 7 kills, blocked 6 shots and served 2 aces Saturday night as the Lady Bulldogs topped the Confederettes 3-0 in the Class 7A volleyball state championship game at Valley View High School.

Fayetteville won the match 25-18, 25-14, 25-18.

“What a talented young lady, and I am blessed to have coached her,” Fayetteville Coach Jessica Phelan said. “She has done such a great job of running our powerful offense. ... She makes the whole show go.”

Fayetteville won its f irst state title a year after the favored Lady Bulldogs dropped a four-set heartbreaker to conferencerival Bentonville in the 2011 championship game.

Fayetteville (33-4) got some measure of revenge against Bentonville earlier this week, winning a four-set semifinal game.

“There was definitely some pressure,” Edie said. “It’s really tough for Fayetteville to beat Bentonville in the state tournament. It was just great to get through them.”

Southside (31-7) was no pushover. The Confederettes played toe-to-toe with the Lady Bulldogs in the first set, trailing 17-15 when Fayetteville began to find its stride.

“I thought our effort and fight was tremendous,” Southside Coach Steve Haaser said. “Fayetteville is just really, really good. They come at you in all different directions. They’ve got it all, but [Edie] makes them go. They have no weaknesses.

“We played as hard as we could, but that’s a pretty talented team in Fayetteville.”

Senior outside hitter Mikayla Avery led Fayetteville with 18 kills, while senior outside hitter Hannah Pinter added 12 kills. Senior middle blocker Phlicia Hill had five blocks.

Southside junior middle blocker Drew Jones came up with a team-high 9 kills, and sophomore setter Sarita Stegall had 16 assists.

Southside, which has won 7 state titles, was playing in its 12th state title game.