Bentonville volleyball sweeps Siloam Springs
Posted on Wednesday, August 27, 2008
SILOAM SPRINGS - In a battle of defending state champions, the experience of the 7 A Bentonville Lady Tigers overwhelmed 5 A Siloam Springs on the Lady Panthers' home court.
For the third consecutive season, the Lady Tigers, who are ranked No. 1 in Conference 7 A, swept top-ranked 5 A Siloam Springs, 3-0 Tuesday night at the Panther Pit.
"We got an eye-opening experience against a very, very good Bentonville team," Siloam Springs head coach Rose Cheek said.
Siloam has won the past four 5 A state championships, dating back to 2004. But against Bentonville, the youth of the Lady Panthers showed in two of the three games.
"We can't dwell on how we played in Games 1 and 3," Cheek said. "What we have to do is look at what we did in Game 2 and build on that foundation."
Bentonville took advantage of the Lady Panthers from start to finish in Game 1, cruising to a 25-14 victory.
Tatum Fredeen, a 5-foot-7 senior outside hitter, was flawless at the net and fierce from the outside, leading the Lady Tigers with 12 kills and four blocks.
Several times during the match Fredeen used her powerful right arm to pound her kills through the middle of Siloam's defense, which was led by junior Hannah Allison and sophomore Lizzy Briones.
"Bentonville is very experienced and loaded with several strong hitters," Cheek said. "We've only been together and practicing for three weeks, whereas Bentonville has been working out for nine months."
Bentonville took its largest lead in Game 1 at 18-10 when Kassie Rounsaville and Katelyn McCarthy combined to block Maci Lewis's kill attempt from the right side.
From that point on, Bentonville would outscore Siloam Springs, 7-4, including the final three points on two service aces and one Lady Panthers service error.
A see-saw battle in Game 2 turned in favor of Siloam Springs when Fredeen's kill attempt fell short, putting the Lady Panthers' ahead, 9-6.
Allison's firepower from the outside raised the roof inside the Panther Pit, extending the Siloam Springs lead to 10-7.
Bentonville kept charging back and eventually regained the momentum on Briones's net violation, which put the Lady Tigers ahead, 21-19. Bentonville would go on to score four consecutive points to escape with a 25-20 win in the second game.
Bentonville's game plan going in was to limit the number of touches from Siloam's talented junior leader Allison. In Games 1 and 2, Allison's role in Siloam's offense was primarily to be used as a setter, meaning her kill attempts were very limited.
The Lady Panthers'offense found success in spurts, thanks to the strong middle play of Briones and the outside hitting of junior Staci Williamson and sophomore Courtney Matthews, who is a first-year transfer from Oklahoma.
In Game 3, Cheek could see her team's focus changing directions.
"We were letting Bentonville dictate the tempo of the match and our girls were giving up," Cheek said.
Bentonville jumped out to a 14-4 lead, highlighted by four service aces, including a pair from Shanna Seyfarth.
The Lady Tigers' margin increased to 20-7 when Shelbi Johnson's serve found a hole in the Lady Panthers'defense.
Danielle Betts reeled off a powerful kill and Jamie Haworth followed with an exhilarating return from Briones to cap off the sweep.
The win was Bentonville's first on the year, while Siloam Springs dropped its seasonopener.
The Lady Panthers continue non-conference action at 5 p.m. Thursday against 7 A-West rival Fayetteville.
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