Fayetteville denies FS Southside, wins Class 6A state volleyball title

Fayetteville libero Kennedy Phelan (7) and the rest of her team celebrate their 3-1 victory over Forth Smith Southside Saturday in the Class 6A state volleyball final at Bank OZK Arena. - Photo by Justin Cunningham of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Fayetteville libero Kennedy Phelan (7) and the rest of her team celebrate their 3-1 victory over Forth Smith Southside Saturday in the Class 6A state volleyball final at Bank OZK Arena. - Photo by Justin Cunningham of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

When Fayetteville senior outside hitter Rosana Hicks went down with a knee injury in the fourth set, sophomore Madeline Lafata stepped right in to fill her shoes, helping to lead the Lady Bulldogs to win their fourth state title with a 3-1 win.

The Lady Bulldogs (20-1) trailed Fort Smith Southside, 4-1, when Hicks left the game, and Lafata immediately came in and had two powerful kills to show that while young, she had a message to send to their 6A-West conference foes.

"She had six kills and 11 swings and showed out," Fayetteville head coach Jessica Phelan said of Lefata. "She got put in a really high pressure situation. ... She has battled a couple injuries herself, and so for her to be able to come back and have that moment. Obviously, you know, you don't want to see a senior go down in that situation in a big tournament. It's hard, but I was proud of how the team responded and were able to keep fighting and pushing."

Lafata added four more kills after her initial two, and a six-serve run by senior Arielle Higginbottom gave the Lady Bulldogs an 11-8 lead. The Lady Mavericks battled back to take a 15-14 lead before senior Avery Fitzgerald misjudged and overshot a serve to give service back to Fayetteville.

Sophomore setter Kennedy Phelan served up a pair of points, including a combo with Lafata for a 17-15 lead before losing service, but she teamed up with Lafata again to turn service over to sophomore Ashley Ruff, who put up three straight, including an ace to take a 21-16 lead. Neither team managed to keep service in the final stretch of the match, and Phelan connected with freshman Regan Harp for the match-winning kill, 25-20

"If anything (they) dialed it in a little bit (after Hicks' injury), played good defense and kept the pressure on them serving," Phelan said. "We played good team volleyball, and I'm really proud of our kids for, you know, coming in the gym today. ... You know, you worry you have so many youngsters out there that they're going to, you know, be overwhelmed by the moment. I thought they started the match really like loose, and I thought they played aggressive."

Fayetteville quickly took control in the first set with a 25-12 win before taking a 25-23 win in the second, but the Lady Mavericks were not to be denied as they fought from behind to take a 25-20 win over the Lady Bulldogs in the third.

"I think Fayetteville did a fantastic job in that first set of just getting rolling," said Lady Mavericks head coach Natalie Throneberry. "A huge testament to our team to keep fighting back and find a way to win that third set. I think fourth set, we had our chance, and we just came up short, but I'm proud overall of our effort. The fact that we made it to the state championship with the year and the season that we had -- the quarantines, the no gym, playing at a junior high all year, and to be here for the third year in a row, I'll never hang my head about that."

Senior Aleigha Johnson led the Lady Mavericks with 13 kills, junior Toree Tiffee and 12 kills and 15 digs and Fitzgerald had 12 kills and 17 digs. Sophomore libero had 20 digs, senior setter Hannah Hogue tallied 36 assists, junior Olivia Melton had six blocks and senior Hayley Hall had five.

Hicks led the Lady Bulldogs with 20 kills, Rockwell added 18, and Harp had 12 along with six blocks. Senior libero and MVP Gracyn Spresser tallied an impressive 23 digs, Ruff had three aces, and Phelan had 58 assists.

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