FAYETTEVILLE SWEEPS BRYANT TO OPENER DEFENSE OF 7A STATE TITLE

Defending state champion Fayetteville shook off a few early nerves to cruise past Bryant 25-16, 25-7, 25-14 in the opening round of the Class 7A state volleyball tournament Tuesday afternoon at Buzz Bolding Arena. The Lady Purple'Dogs, who are trying for their third straight state title, had trouble breaking away from the Lady Hornets, the No. 6 seed out of the Central, early in the first set. But seniors Haley Warner and Ella May Powell formed a nice 1-2 punch to help Fayetteville (24-11) dominate the final two sets. Fayetteville, the No. 3 seed from the West, advanced to the quarterfinals where it will take on North Little Rock, the No. 2 seed from the Central, at 4 p.m. today. The 6-foot-2 Warner, a Florida commit, finished with a match-high 17 kills and topped 2,000 kills for her career in the match. She and her teammates settled in as the match went on, similar to how the season has gone for the team with several newcomers, Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said. "I think the game kinda looked like how a game one at a state tournament can go sometimes," Phelan said. "We settled in. I thought we didn't pass real well early, but picked it up about middle of the way through game one and just kinda continued to roll with some confidence at that point. "We're playing good volleyball, kinda one day at a time. We're happy about every win this week and happy to get the first one under our belt." Powell, a Washington commit, dished out 28 assists to go with nine digs. Sophomore Arianna Walter added a match-high five blocks, while Warner chipped in four. Gracyn Spresser had a team-high 12 digs and Laney Daniels three aces. Warner didn't know about the career milestone until after the match, but acknowledged it's something she's worked to achieve. "I worked pretty hard and it's little goals I set for myself," Warner said. "Me and my family, we have a chart at home and it's nice to hit 2,000. I think it as a good day. We all felt excited to play at state for the first time for several of them. I thought we had a lot of confidence on the court and it showed." Springdale High 3, Mount St. Mary 1 Four players registered double digits in kills to help the Lady Red Bulldogs notch the mild upset 25-19, 24-26, 25-21, 27-25 win over the Belles. Springdale (14-11-1), the No. 5 seed from the West bounced back from losing the second set to claim their first state tournament win in about a decade by knocking off the No. 4 seed from the Central. The Lady Red'Dogs advance to face 7A-West champion Bentonville in the quarterfinals at 2 today. Jessie Davis led a balanced Springdale attack with 14 kills, while KiKi Turner added 12, Zoe Schmidt 11 and Graycie Bohannon 10.Libero Kaleigh Breathitt picked up a match-high 30 digs to top 1,000 for her career. But Daivs (24), Schmidt (16) and Brown (15) were also in double digits in digs and each registered double-doubles. Bohannon also added three blocks and Aliyah Brown contributed 25 assists

FAYETTEVILLE SWEEPS BRYANT TO OPENER DEFENSE OF 7A STATE TITLE

Photo Credit: Mike Kemp

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