Fayetteville no longer has two of the best players to ever play on one team in Arkansas, but the Lady Bulldogs are far from being void of talent and experience.
Haley Warner and Ella May Powell were high school All-Americans who led Fayetteville to three consecutive state championships. Warner is now at Florida and Powell is at Washington.
PREP VOLLEYBALL
Monday
Siloam Springs at Bentonville High, 6 p.m.; Greenwood at Fayetteville, 6:30 p.m.; Springdale Har-Ber at Broken Arrow, Okla., 4 p.m.
Tuesday
Bentonville West at Huntsville, 6:30 p.m.; Broken Arrow, Okla. at Bentonville High, 5:30 p.m.; FS Southside at Van Buren, 5 p.m.; FS Northside at Springdale High, 6 p.m.; Rogers Heritage at Greenwood, 6:30 p.m.; Rogers High at Shiloh Christian, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday
Shiloh Christian at Bentonville West, 6 p.m.; Rogers High at Siloam Springs, 4:30 p.m.; FS Northside at Springdale Har-Ber, 6 p.m.; Alma at Van Buren, 6 p.m.; Rogers Heritage at Pea Ridge, 5 p.m.; Russellville at FS Southside, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday
Early Bird Invitational at Bentonville High; Alma Invitational; Little Rock Spikefest
"Those two were highly decorated and remarkable athletes," Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said. "We're going to miss them, obviously. But we have a lot of kids who know what it takes to win a championship."
Fayetteville beat Harrison and lost to Siloam Springs in benefit action Thursday while preparing for Monday's season-opener against defending Class 6A state champion Greenwood.
Senior Carly Unruh, juniors Amelia Whatley and Arianna Walter, along with sophomore Rosanna Hicks, are among the returning players for Fayetteville this season.
"Rosanna Hicks started as a freshman and improved a ton," Phelan said. "We've got good leadership, good parts and pieces, and we're going to work very hard to improve and mesh together."
ROGERS HERITAGE
Lady War Eagles look to return to the state tournament
Coach Lindsey Biocic found out she lost one of four returning starters before preseason workouts even began earlier this month.
Brooklynn Head, a 5-foot-10 senior, suffered a knee injury while playing in a basketball camp, but seniors Kyndall Strickland, Tayonna Wilson and Bernice Morals will all be counted on heavily to help the Lady War Eagles return to the state tournament.
"Kyndall will be a six-rotation player for us and should be one of our top offensive players," said Biocic, who begins her third season at Heritage. "She's been a great leader for us so far, a quiet leader, but it's good. She's calm and collected at all times. Tayonna is one of our biggest blockers and quick enough to the pin to pin."
Morales finished with a team-high 24 digs combined in benefit matches against Shiloh Christian and Bentonville on Friday. Strickland and Yanisbeth Sanchez shared team honors with eight kills, while Wilson had four blocks and Kayly McClain added six aces.
Kariann Haney, a 5-11 junior, attended Lifeway Christian School in Centerton last year, but could also contribute on the front row.
Junior Josie Stitt and sophomore Marykate Giesen will anchor the setting duties, Biocic said. Junior Brittney Ware played some on the back row some last season but could play a bigger role.
The Lady War Eagles haven't been to the state tournament since 2015 and haven't won a 7A-West Conference match since that season. They open the season at Greenwood on Tuesday.
ROGERS HIGH
Lady Mounties look to overcome lack of size
Coach Christina Lawrence knows she doesn't have the biggest team, but the Lady Mounties will try to work together to make their third straight state tournament appearance.
"We'll have to outwork everybody, that's for sure," said Lawrence, who begins her third season at the helm. "We are a small team, but they have really great team chemistry. We've lacked that in past years. They are willing to work hard and learn."
The Lady Mounties return five players who saw varsity action on last year's state quarterfinal team. Senior Anna Randels started at libero last season but will shift to outside hitter this year. Senior Alexa Albarran will play libero, while Taylor Voight and 5-10 Allie Stephens will also contribute on the front row. Tori Bayles will also hold down the setter position.
Lawrence said Albarran is a much-improved player, while Randels has stood out in several phases of the game.
Randels finished with six kills and 13 digs in the Lady Mounties' benefit match on Thursday against defending Class 6A state champion Greenwood. Stephen also added six kills and a team-high three aces, while Albarran had a team-high 16 digs as the Lady Mounties got swept by the Lady Bulldogs.
Rogers opens the season at Shiloh Christian on Tuesday.
-- Paul Boyd • @NWAPaulB
FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE
Southside optimistic about season
Steve Haaser returns for his 40th season at Fort Smith Southside, which finished 23-12 last year and advanced to the state quarterfinals before losing to Springdale Har-Ber.
Southside swept Fort Smith Northside Thursday in a benefit game to prepare for Tuesday's season-opener at Van Buren.
Seniors Emily Bass and Hannah Holland return along with sophomores Hannah Hogue and Avery Fitzgerald, who led Southside with 15 kills against Northside. Senior setter Sarah Tolbert is also a three-year starter for the Mavericks.
"We're pretty excited about the season," Haaser said. "We've got good returning players and a good mix of younger players who'll help. We have five sophomores on the team and three of them will start."
-- Rick Fires • @NWARick
Siloam Springs
Lady Panthers beat Fayetteville, lose to Har-Ber
Siloam Springs' volleyball team got off to a hot start Thursday night in its benefit matches, followed by a tough finish.
Overall, though, the Lady Panthers have a lot to build on heading into their season-opener, according to coach Joellen Wright.
Siloam Springs swept defending 7A champion Fayetteville in straight sets to open the night before losing 2-0 to Springdale Har-Ber to close out the night.
"We have something to build on," said Wright, who's entering her second season as head coach."Now that we've seen what they can do in the mix when the ball is live and there's a referee calling it and not Coach Wright calling it. It was good. I was pleased. Definitely, something to build on."
Siloam Springs came out on fire in front of its home fans and picked apart Fayetteville in the opening match, winning 25-16 and 25-17.
Lampton finished with five kills against Fayetteville, while Price and Brown each had three apiece,. Overall the Lady Panthers hit at a .389 clip against Fayetteville.
Siloam Springs opens the season Monday at Bentonville High.
-- Graham Thomas • @NWAGraham
SPRINGDALE HIGH
Lady Bulldogs split at Alma
Springdale High earned a straight-set win against Alma on Thursday in a benefit tri-match, which has coach Meagan Thompson feeling confident heading into Tuesday's season opener at home against Fort Smith Northside.
The Lady Bulldogs split with Huntsville before downing Alma 25-20, 25-15. Lauren Bench had 11 kills in the Alma match and senior setter Faith Morgan had 12 assists. Sophomore Taina Miller and senior Zoe Schmidt combined for 14 blocks.
"I feel like our team still has a lot of room to grow, but it's still really early," Thompson said. "That's what preseason and nonconference games are for."
Thompson said she likes the balance of this team with a lot experienced seniors and younger players.
A pair of sophomores have made the move from junior high to the varsity quickly, Thomson said. Besides Miller, 5-9 sophomore Amaya Johnson has also elevated her game and had six kills against Huntsville.
"She is raw, but she has gained an edge quickly," Thompson said. "She's getting more comfortable and you can see she and Taina are gaining a lot of confidence."
-- Chip Souza • @NWAChip
BENTONVILLE HIGH
Lady Tigers look to reload instead of rebuild
An outsider may glance at Bentonville's roster and think the Lady Tigers must rebuild after the graduation of 11 seniors off last year's team.
That might not be the case, according to coach Michelle Smith.
"It will be a young, but exciting team," Smith said. "We still have some returning seniors, and I'm excited to see what this season holds. They have moments of just greatness that, from a young team, is unexpected.
"So I'm really interested to see how things unfold as we get a test from our tri-match with Rogers Heritage and Shiloh Christian, then head forward into our season."
Smith said Cait Hudgens, who goes from a role player last season to a senior captain, is one of three players that may never leave the floor this season. The other two will be junior Savanna Riney, Bentonville's most experienced player, and Trinity Hamilton, one of two freshmen on the roster.
Senior Riley Robbe, a left-hander, also gives the Lady Tigers some experience, while Megan Atchison will play a more prominent part after being in a part-time role last year. Atchison and Taylor Shapley will split time as setters, while Maddie Breed and Isabella Santone will share time in the middle.
"I would like to say we are reloading," Smith said. "We have a lot of young talent that needs some tweaking and some coaching. It's not going to change overnight.
"Our motto this year is 'process over product.' If they believe in the process, then they will get the product."
Bentonville opens its season Monday with a home match against Siloam Springs.
BENTONVILLE WEST
Lady Wolverines can finally count on experience
West coach Julie Rowan has watched her players endure growing pains through their first two years, and now the Lady Wolverines can finally have experience on their side during their third season.
"The expectations are high," Rowan said. "We finally have the experience and the maturity it takes to compete in this conference. We're looking to our seniors for a lot, only on the court but off as well. They have the skill, the strength and what it takes to lead this team."
West already had eight seniors on its roster this fall, but the Lady Wolverines welcomed a ninth one when Courtney Reed, a 5-foot-11 transfer from Texas, joined the team just days ago. One of those seniors, Lexi Carter, will play a bigger role as the team's setter, while fellow seniors Paddi Gudivada and Grace Perkins are expected for more contributions.
Meanwhile, Shea O'Brien moves into a full-time role at libero after sharing those duties last season. Kerryann Ptacek, another senior who stared much of last season, will get some help in younger players such as juniors Kortney Puckett and Avery Kniss and sophomore Emerson Traweek, who is progressing well after suffering an injury in the offseason.
"We're looking for something from Paddi and Grace this year," Rowan said. "It will be exciting to see how they step up and play, and our younger girls too. Emerson has been with us for a year and Kortney for two, and now we are looking for big things on the court from them.
"This year will be a much exciting year for us. I'm looking forward to it."
West opens its regular season Tuesday with a nonconference match at Huntsville.
-- Henry Apple • @NWAHenry
Sports on 08/19/2018