GRITTY MAVS STUN HAR-BER

Har-Ber had Southside on the ropes in Thursday’s 6A semifinals. Not only did the Mavericks trail, 24-19, in the third set, and were in danger of falling behind 2-1, but they were also out of rotation. Middle blocker Aleigha Johnson found herself serving, leaving a gap on the front row. Advantage Har-Ber? Not exactly. Johnson started serving, the Mavericks started running off points, and when Avery Fitzgerald hammered one of her 21 kills, Southside had miraculously stunned the Lady Wildcats as part of a 23-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-19 victory at Cabot’s Panther Arena. Southside (31-5) faces longtime volleyball power Bentonville on Saturday in the 6A finals at BankOZK Arena in Hot Springs. “Aleigha killed it with the serves,” fellow middle blocker Bailey Vega said. “That was so cool. That is the grittiest we’ve ever been.” “We’ve been working on coming from (behind) 18-to-22 a lot in practice,” Johnson said. “We knew that might be a scenario we might have to go through, and it really paid off.” Grit, tenacity, perseverance. Coach Natalie Throneberry was still shaking her head following the match. “I’m still trying to figure that one out,” she said. “We had our middle blocker serving, and playing middle-back defense. We’ve done a lot of stuff this year trying to work on our mindset after last year, and the last thing we talked about Tuesday (at the end of practice) was predator verses the prey. “We don’t want to be the prey.” Har-Ber almost did the exact same thing in the opening set, erasing a 22-18 deficit for a 25-23 victory. Southisde won the second game, and appeared to be well on its way in the third game after one of Johnson’s nine blocks gave the Mavericks a 17-13 lead. But Har-Ber then outscored the Mavericks, 11-2, and was on the cusp of grabbing a 2-1 lead. The Mavericks shook free of a 13-12 lead in the fourth set thanks to a series of blocks. Johnson and Hannah Hogue’s combo block gave the Mavericks a 17-13 lead, and Johnson followed with another block to make it 19-13. Har-Ber pulled within 20-17, but Hogue’s tip and a Har-Ber hitting error extended the Mavericks’ lead to 22-17. Vega followed with back-to-back kills for a 24-18 lead. Southside’s middle blockers came up huge, with Vega and Johnson combining for 15 kills and 10 blocks. “They don’t get the attention and credit they deserve, because when they’re not swinging, they’re holding those blocks for the outsides (hitters),” Throneberry said. “They’ve played well.” In addition to her 21 kills, Fitzgerald added 16 digs and a pair of blocks. Hayley Hall had three aces, four blocks and 10 digs. Hogue finished with 40 assists and 17 digs. Teammate Kelsey Hamilton finished with 20 digs. Toree Tiffee had seven kills and 18 digs.

GRITTY MAVS STUN HAR-BER

KEVIN TAYLOR

Times Record | 11/1/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Fort Smith Southside High School Athletics