Har-Ber outlasts Conway

SPRINGDALE -- Springdale Har-Ber Coach Shyra Schisler often puts her team in scenarios in practice where it must fight from behind. That worked paid off nicely Thursday afternoon in the Lady Wildcats' Class 7A state semifinal match against Conway. Har-Ber trailed 2-1 in the match and 7-3 in the fifth set, but fought back to earn a tough 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-23, 15-12) victory in Wildcat Arena. The Lady Wildcats (32-4) advance to the state finals for a rematch of last year's championship match against 7A-West Conference foe and defending champion Fayetteville (29-6) at 5 p.m. Har-Ber scored five of the last seven points in the fifth set and never trailed again after Klaire Trainor hammered a kill into the deep corner for an 11-10 advantage. Schisler said her team felt comfortable despite being behind because they work on it plenty in practice. But she also said the Lady Wildcats struggled against Conway's strong service game at times. "We practice our backs against the wall," Schisler said. "We always will feel like a true underdog. That mentality of that chip on our shoulders, that's what it's all about there. You don't always want to, but we practice those situations so you're prepared mentally for that in games. "We knew Conway was probably one of the best teams we've seen serving and I think we got a little shaken. I think we were over-thinking things a lot. When we said 'Oh, be patient.' We were fine." Senior middle blocker Aly Brinkley,who finished with a match-high 20 kills, got Conway going quickly in the fifth set with four kills as the Lady Wampus Cats took a 5-2 lead. Trainor and Lauren Thompson, who finished with a team-high 18 kills each, helped Har-Ber fight back to a 7-7 tie. The score was also tied at 8-8 and 10-10 before Har-Ber surged for the win. Conway Coach Laura Crow said the game plan was to serve aggressively to try and get Har-Ber out of its system and it worked for a time. But Har-Ber did what good teams do, Crow said. "Good teams just adjust," Crow said. "That's what you do. When you see something on the court, you adjust and make changes and it worked for them. I thought their hitters came through. Their defense is great. They really stepped up." The Lady Wildcats, who lost at Conway in four sets on Sept. 10, blocked well against the Lady Wampus Cats. Trainor led the way with seven, while Thompson and Jayden Williams added five blocks each for Har-Ber. Paige Williams chipped in with 10 kills. Senior libero Emily Doss contributed a match-high 38 digs, while setter Arika Johnson dished out 51 assists. Anna Lee Drennan had 19 kills for Conway (28-7). while junior libero Holly Stewart added a team-high 16 digs and four aces. Junior setter Aryn Blumenberg contributed 53 assists for Conway, the 7A-Central co-champions.

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HAR-BER OUTLASTS CONWAY

PAUL BOYD

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | 10/28/2016