Har-Ber rolls past Springdale

SPRINGDALE — It was a sweep week for Springdale Har-Ber.

Lauren Thompson had 18 kills to lead Springdale HarBer to a 3-0 victory (25-19, 25-13, 26-24) over Springdale Thursday in 7A-West Conference play at the Bulldogs’ gym. The win followed a 3-0 sweep over Rogers High and takes some of the sting out of Har-Ber’s consecutive league losses to Bentonville and Fayetteville.

“I’m seeing our girls getting better every game and that’s what I’m most proud of,” Har-Ber coach Shyrah Schisler said. “We’re being challenged in different ways and people are scouting us to see what we do well. But when it’s difficult, we’re making the adjustments.”

Klaire Trainor added 11 kills for Har-Ber, followed by Makiah Martin with seven and Emily Thompson with six kills. Emily Doss had 32 digs and Elizabeth Williams had 43 assists. Desiree Mack had 15 kills and Maddie Mueller 25 assists to lead Springdale.

“I was proud of the fight in my kids,” said Springdale coach Kylie Moad, whose team came within one point of taking the third set. “We wanted it and I thought it was great competition between inner-city schools. We have five sophomores out there, so we have some young ones who are getting good varsity experience.”

Har-Ber used a 7-1 run to pull away for a 25-19 win in the first set. Har-Ber scored four consecutive to break a 14-14 tie. Keyarrow Turner delivered a kill for Springdale before Lauren Thompson continued the surge with two kills to give Har-Ber a 21-15 lead.

Springdale ( 7-13-1, 0- 8) called a late timeout before Emily Thompson finished off the Lady Bulldogs with a dink in the open court.

Har-Ber (14-3-2, 5-2) continued to roll in the second set behind Lauren Thompson, who had a kill from her outside hitter’s position to put Har-Ber ahead 12-6. That forced another Springdale timeout and, when play resumed, Emily Thompson took over at the net with three kills to put the Lady Wildcats ahead 16-11. Martin added two late kills as HarBer finished off a 25-13 win to take a 2-0 series lead.

Springdale did not go down without a fight in the third set. Mack led the charge as Springdale rallied from a 12-6 deficit to take a 24-22 lead. But Har-Ber rallied with four consecutive points and completed the sweep with the 18th kill from Lauren Thompson, the sophomore standout.