Conway’s hopes at a state volleyball title again foiled by Har-Ber

Again, Har-Ber bested the Conway Lady Cats in 7A state volleyball tournament play with a 3-2 win Thursday in the semifinals at Buzz Bolding Arena. Conway took the first two sets 25-14 and 25-18, but dropped the final three sets 25-16, 25-22 and 15-12. Lady Cats assistant coach Andrea Fournier said the momentum switch gave Conway trouble. “We just had a momentum switch after the second game,” she said. “We had a hard time getting the momentum back on our side.” Conway looked like the dominant team early, going up 22-9 in the first set before putting it away at 25-14. The second set was played a little closer to the vest, never having more than six points separating the two teams until the final point. However, Har-Ber started clicking and went into another gear, putting the Lady Cats away without much struggle. The fourth set was crucial in the game for Conway, which needed to put the Wildcats away before the tide continued to turn. Instead, the Lady Cats fell behind 6-0, which proved to be too big of a hole. Conway worked to climb out, coming within two points of Har-Ber at the end of the set, but the Wildcats forced a fifth set with a 25-22 victory. “We didn’t start out how we should have in that fourth game,” Fournier said. “We gave them a six-point head start and had a hard time getting back and beating that.” The fifth game seemed to turn the tide back into the Lady Cats’ favor, leading 8-5 and then, 10-8, but Har-Ber tied it up at 11-11. The Wildcats were able to push across four more points, while Conway only scored one, which advanced Har-Ber to Saturday in Hot Springs against Fayetteville. “I feel like that fifth game was just a battle of wills,” she said. “Any day of the week, it could have gone a different way. Tonight, it just didn’t quite go our way.” Wildcats coach Shyrah Schisler said she has prepared her team for five sets in case the match lasts that long. “I told the girls, anytime we go five, we know we can out-grit,” she said. “We work hard in practice and prepare for those five- game sets. Mentally, that has been the Har-Ber hump. I’m seeing the girls fight through that, and not get rattled or frustrated with each other.” Kendahl Davenport led the Lady Cats with 17 kills and four blocks. Aryn Blumenberg added 14 digs and 39 assists. Holly Stewart had 25 digs and two aces. Jessica Gunnels had four kills. Dating back to the 2016 state tournament, Har-Ber has defeated Conway three straight times: 3-2 in the 2016 tournament, 3-1 on Aug. 29 and 3-2 Thursday. With the loss, Conway’s season ends with a 30-4-1 record.

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CONWAY’S HOPES AT A STATE VOLLEYBALL TITLE AGAIN FOILED BY HAR-BER

ANDY ROBERTSON

thecabin.net | 10/26/2017