Southside completes sweep after fast start

BENTONVILLE -- Fort Smith Southside started fast and completed a sweep against Bentonville Thursday night. The Lady Rebels dominated the first set and beat Bentonville 3-0 (25-11, 25-19, 27-25) in 6A-West Conference action at Tiger Arena. Avery Fitzgerald had 14 kills to lead Southside (8-2, 6-1). She was followed by Toree Tiffee with eight and Aleigha Johnson with seven kills. Trinity Hamilton had seven kills to pace Bentonville. Southside, which swept Rogers on Tuesday, continued its strong play with a 25-11 victory in the first set against Bentonville. Tinsley Freeman had two aces and Johnson one to set the pace for Southside, which surged to an 11-3 lead. Bentonville (7-4, 2-4) twice called timeout but the Lady Mavericks increased their lead to 21-6 following kills by Tiffee, Avery Fitzgerald, and Hayley Hall. [GALLERY: Bentonville vs Southside volleyball » arkansasonline.com/102volleyball/] "Bentonville's a great team and for our kids to come in and jump out to a big lead was really impressive," Southside coach Natalie Throneberry said. "I like how we played in the first set, but I'd like to see us continue that in the second and third set next time." Down 2-0, Bentonville turned in its best performance in the third set while taking a 21-19 lead on a kill by Hamilton. Southside forced a tie before Bentonville eased ahead again 25-24. The Lady Mavericks then made the plays at the end, including a kill by Fitzgerald, to complete the sweep. After losing badly in the first set, Bentonville pulled to within 16-15 of Southside following a kill by Maddie Lee. But Southside took over again spurred on by two kills by Johnson at middle blocker position. Tiffee added two kills and an ace before Avery Fitzgerald crossed up the Bentonville defense with a dink in open court to complete a 25-19 victory for the Lady Mavericks. "Our middle (blocker) Aleigha Johnson has really matured since the end of last season," Throneberry said. "I like how confidently she swings. When that ball goes to her we all kind of hold our breath because we know something big is going to happen."

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SOUTHSIDE COMPLETES SWEEP AFTER FAST START

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nwaonline.com | 10/2/2020