By Chris Morgan
The Bryant Lady Hornet junior varsity volleyball team hosted central Arkansas rivals, the Little Rock Central Lady Tigers Tuesday night. The Lady Hornets took control of the match early and carried the momentum to a 2-0 victory, ending game one 25-13 and game two 25-12.
Bryant fell behind early from an attacking error but recovered with a set by Alyssa Hernandez to Ashlynn Oyemola for the kill. The Lady Hornets then rallied for six straight points, with back to back aces from Shaylee Carver, and three passing errors from the Lady Tigers forcing Central to use a timeout.
The Lady Hornets broke their hot steak with an attacking error but came back to rally for six more taking the score to 13-2.
The Lady Tigers would answer, scoring a quick two, but a tip by Carver and back to back passing errors pushed the Lady Hornets up 16-4. A serving error and a Lady Tigers’ block brought the score within 10 points, but Central could not break the score down to single digits.
Both teams traded points until a miss hit would allow the Lady Tigers to pull within 20-11. They picked up two more unanswered points with a block and a Bryant hitting error moving the score to 20-13, but two late aces from Erin Thompson helped put game one away for the Lady Hornets, who endied the first game with five unanswered points.
Bryant jumped out to an early 4-0 lead assisted by back-to-back aces from Thompson. A serving error stopped the Lady Hornets’ hot streak, but they continued raising the score 9-1. A Lady Hornet hitting error allowed for another Central point and a Bryant serving error would move the score 11-3.
The first Lady Tiger offensive point of the game came off an ace, and two Lady Hornet errors allowed for a three-point rally, making the score 11-6. A quick tip from Erin Key ended the Lady Hornets’ drought, but the Lady Tiger would go on a 2-4 run, bringing the game to four-point difference, 14-10.
A Central service error set up a Bryant answer, kicked off by two aces from Kiarra Beard. The Lady Hornets managed five unanswered points, finishing with an ace from Thompson and ending with a service error making the score 20-12.
Bryant went on to dominate the Lady Tigers in the front with Jaiyah Jackson and Carver picking up kills late in the game. Before the final dagger came from Oyemola to end the game 25-12, and the match 2-0.
