Copyright Arkansas Online
CABOT -- Fayetteville climbed out of an early hole en route to a 3-0 win (25-20, 25-17, 25-17) over host Cabot during the Class 6A volleyball state tournament semifinals Wednesday afternoon at Panther Arena. The Lady Bulldogs trailed 18-14 in the opening set but put together an 11-2 run to rally for the win and rode that momentum into the state final. Fayetteville (25-5), the No. 2 seed from the 6A-West Conference, will take on Conway, the No. 2 seed from the 6A-Central, in the final at 3 p.m. Saturday at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs. Conway, the defending state champion, eliminated Fayetteville in five sets in the semifinals a year ago. "I think that was one of the best performances of the year," Fayetteville Coach Jessica Phelan said. "I thought we served and passed really well. We stayed aggressive and handled a really tough Cabot team, especially that first set. We stayed very poised and composed and found our footing there. In that environment, I could not be prouder of the kids and the composure they showed." Senior Piper Batie, a Missouri commit, finished with a match-high 17 kills, 12 assists and 3 blocks. Senior Lauren Taylor and sophomore Kenzy Hogue added 10 kills apiece, while sophomore Molly Miller had 27 assists and nine digs. Fayetteville trailed 19-16 in the first set, but Batie contributed four kills as her team scored nine of the final 10 points to snatch the victory. It broke away from a 13-13 tie in the second set. A service ace by Miller started a 5-0 spurt that helped the Lady Bulldogs take control en route to the 25-17 win. Cabot, the 6A-Central Conference champion, had an early lead in the second and third sets, but each time Fayetteville charged forward and finished the sweep. Lady Panthers Coach Anna Robertson said her team had trouble responding when the momentum went Fayetteville's way early in the match. "There was a big shift and things just weren't going our way," Robertson said. "The things that we do really well we weren't able to do and Fayetteville played a great game. Fayetteville's been in this position before. We're still pretty new to the pressure. I think the pressure got to us a little bit." Alexa Robertson led Cabot (32-3) with 7 kills, 11 digs, 2 aces and 2 blocks. Sophomore Olivia Ambeau added seven kills and eight assists. Mecate Marsh contributed 18 assists and 12 digs for the Lady Panthers. Conway 3, Bentonville 1 Conway seniors Wren Jones and Anna Smith formed a strong one-two punch to eliminate Bentonville. Jones hammered a match-high 36 kills and hit .384, while Anna Smith added 22 kills to outlast the 6A-West champion Lady Tigers 3-1 (25-19, 29-27, 21-25, 26-24). The Lady Wampus Cats (29-5) trailed 23-21 in the fourth set but tied it at 23-23 and Bentonville turned back one match point for a 24-24 tie. But Conway answered with consecutive kills for the win. Bentonville had one set point to tie the match in the second set and even turned back a pair of Conway set points before the Lady Wampus Cats claimed the marathon 29-27. Conway Coach Laura Crow praised her team's strong service game and the work of Jones. "(Jones) really stepped it up today," Crow said. "She played good all the way around. I knew Bentonville was a good team, but so are we. We've been trying to instill that in our kids. We knew (Evie Venters) was a good hitter and No. 25 (Shaylee Howard) came alive. I just told our defense if it goes to the pins, all out. The little things matter. I've been telling the girls they will matter at the end of October and have carry those things over into October." Bentonville Coach Hannah Berry said her team struggled to find a rhythm. "Our ball control is something we pride ourselves on and it definitely wasn't our day today," Berry said. "Our serve receive was a little rough. We had trouble getting into system. When you play against a team that just swings at you all day, it's hard to get into a flow. That was a tough one." Venters led Bentonville with 13 kills and three blocks, while Howard added 10 kills and five blocks. Tristen Hamilton had 10 kills and 22 digs. Ady Bollinger added a team-high 22 digs, while setters Kylah Manthe and Lizzie Dorey combined for 37 assists, 19 digs and 4 aces.
