Bauxite splits during week, conference questioned
HOT SPRINGS – Playing the two toughest teams in the 7-4A Conference this past week, the Bauxite Lady Miners went 2-2 in a four-day span. On Monday, Bauxite was swept by Mena, the Lady Miners turned around to sweep Magnolia in a doubleheader Wednesday, but after winning the first set Thursday over the Fountain Lake Lady Cobras on the road, Bauxite would fall in the final three games.
Fountain Lake won 3-1 (22-25, 25-16, 25-12, 25-17) Thursday in Hot Springs, with the Lady Miners standing at 12-5 overall, 9-4 in conference play.
“We came out on fire in the first set and went toe-totoe with the league leader,” Bauxite Coach Dave Carter said. “We took the lead with as close to a perfect set as we’ve played. But we couldn’t find a way to sustain it over the entire match. We played extremely
well. But not well enough to overcome.”
The Lady Miners played excellent defense in the first set, but couldn’t keep it up all the way through.
“We dug up 23 balls in the first set alone,” Carter said. “Only 28 in the next three sets combined. That stat alone tells me our intensity was spot on to begin the match. That’s the kind of volleyball I have felt we were capable off. I’ve seen it at times throughout the season. A longer sustained level of defensive intensity is what I wanted to see.
“Now, we must learn to keep that level of intensity for much longer stretches until it becomes our way of play for the entire match. Continued growth is what we strive for.”
Bauxite junior Haley Howard led the Lady Miners with 13 kills, adding eight digs, three aces and two blocks, with junior Lindsey Cross adding nine kills, six blocks and two aces. Senior Riley Larkin led the way with 13 digs, junior Victoria Lockhart had 10 digs and an ace, and junior Jaylin Rhoades had five kills, three blocks and two digs.
Sophomore setter Kayla Bubbus led the way with 31 assists, adding eight digs, while sophomore Bryley Bowman had five digs and two aces. Sophomore Lexi Bright and junior Olivia Shields added two kills each in the loss.
“I am so proud of how this team, this program, has continued to grow,” Carter said. “Continues to work. Persists in learning. This kind of commitment is what will not only continue our growth, but will escalate the momentum.”
After a slow start Wednesday in losing the first set to Magnolia, 24-26, the Lady Miners took care of business the rest of the way, winning six straight games for the doubleheader sweep (2426, 25-15, 25-13, 25-18), (25-14, 25-18, 25-14).
“We came out playing flat, uninspired volleyball and racked up a pile of unforced errors and mental mistakes,” Carter said of that first Magnolia set. “Magnolia came at us and put us on our heels. We didn’t match their intensity, nor their effectiveness in the first set, yet we fought and lost a close one.
“I wasn’t completely surprised by this as our normal routines were completely obstructed. Yet there are no excuses. We must have the maturity to be ready to play no matter what kind of pregame we must conduct. We kept grinding, kept working, kept attacking. Midway through the second set we caught our groove and established ourselves.”
Howard led the way again with 26 kills in the doubleheader, adding six aces, with Cross second with 23 kills and five aces. Bubbas had 70 assists and four aces for the two matches, with Rhoades adding 16 kills and three blocks. Bright added 12 kills and 11 digs, Larkin had nine digs and three aces, and Bowman had five aces and three digs.
The Lady Miners would get swept by Mena on Monday, but they put up much more of a fight compared to their first match with the Lady Bearcats back in late September. Mena would get past Bauxite 25-19, 25-19 and 25-18 this past Monday, scoring a total of 56 points, while scoring just 45 the first go-around.
“During the match earlier in the season, we started well but then failed to adjust effectively, thus were beat handily,” Carter said. “Our focus this match was to correct errors from the first matchup, close the block more aggressively at the net and cover the court better. We played fast on the attack and defended well. Not perfectly, but much improved. That is growth. We lost but we went down with a strong fight. The wins will come. We will continue to work and will find a way to beat the teams at the upper level.
Cross and Rhoades had eight kills apiece to lead the way Monday, with Howard adding five kills and 11 digs. Bubbas had 25 assists, 10 digs and three aces, with Larkin adding 13 digs and Lockhart nine digs.
With Mena and Fountain Lake with the top two seeds in conference play, the Lady Miners have clinched the No. 3 seed, which would be good for Bauxite’s first time to qualify for the state tournament, but with COVID-19 and some teams not playing their full slate of league matches due to the virus, a conference tournament may be necessary next week instead of playing the final regular-season matches.
“We are mathematically qualified for the state tournament, another first for this program,” Carter said. “However, due to AAA guidelines for qualifying this year, all teams in the conference must complete all conference games, otherwise we must conduct a conference tournament in the last week of what is our scheduled regular season.”
Those teams are still in the process of trying to get those matches played, moving “heaven and earth to reschedule postponed games,” Carter said, but it is still to be determined.
The Lady Miners are scheduled to play Arkadelphia on the road Monday for their final regular-season conference match and will play White Hall in nonconference play Thursday in Bauxite. If a conference tournament is necessary, Bauxite will play Camden Fairview or Magnolia at Fred Dawson Gym in Bauxite on Tuesday.