Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Fight to the finish
Fayetteville rallies in 7A-West showdown
FAYETTEVILLE — Bentonville and Fayetteville’s showdown for the top spot in 7A-West Conference volleyball was a fight to the finish Tuesday. And the team with more fight at the finish, Fayetteville, found a way to rally for the big win.
The Lady Bulldogs trailed on their home court, two sets to one, when momentum shifted in their favor late in the fourth game. A late rally in the fourth and a key defensive stop turned the tables in Fayetteville’s favor. And the Lady Purple’Dogs never let up from there, completing a whirlwind, 25-23, 18-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-6 victory over Bentonville at Bulldog Arena.
“This is always a big matchup that the girls look forward to,” Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said. “To Bentonville’s credit they kept us out of system a lot early. You could just see it wearing on us frustration-wise. But somewhere in there in game four they gained a little confidence and momentum and they were able to hold onto that the rest of the match.”
Fayetteville ( 15- 1, 7- 0 7A-West) came out sharp in the first set, building early leads of 8-3 and 13-7 before holding off Bentonville for the 25-23 win. The Lady Tigers (12-9, 6-1) took control over the next two games behind strong defense that took Fayetteville out of rhythm and led to many errors of Lady’Dogs’ offensive end.
But with the match in their grasp, leading 19-17 in the fourth set, Bentonville couldn’t close out.
Fayetteville finished the fourth set on an 8-3 run, with a Haley Warner block being the biggest momentum swing of the night as her stop put Fayetteville ahead 23-21 and seemed to put new life into the Lady’Dogs.
“We just didn’t finish,” Bentonville coach Michelle Smith said. “We started second guessing ourselves and that took over our minds. And once that happens it’s really hard to snap out of it.
“Being on your home court has its advantages, but that’s definitely not an excuse for we performed at the end. Because in the second and third (sets) our girls played fearless. But when it started getting close for comfort, they didn’t respond as well as they needed to.”
Bentonville scored the first two points in the fifth and decided set, but Fayetteville took total control after that. The Lady Bulldogs scored nine of the next 10 points, led by strong defense at the net by Faith Waitsman who provided two key blocks during 9-1 run.
“I thought Faith was awesome in game five,” Phelan said. “She came through with some big blocks and those are momentum builders for us and that helped keep the ball on our side.”
Warner had 25 kills and Ella May Powell finished with 52 assists, while Abbie Kathol added 21 digs and 13 kills for Fayetteville. Sadie Pate finished with 21 kills for Bentonville. Savannah King added 35 digs and Kayton Coffee contributed 35 assists for the Lady Tigers.
Fayetteville returns to the court Saturday at the Blue Springs (Mo.) South Tournament. Bentonville hosts Fort Smith Northside on Tuesday.