The Bryant Blue Lady Hornets of Bethel Middle School won the eighth grade game against the rival Bryant White Lady Hornets of Bryant Middle School on Monday night, while Bryant White captured the seventh grade match at the Bethel gym.
In the eighth grade match, Blue prevailed 25-16, 25-16, as the team improved to 9-0 on the season.
“This is the best start we have had at Bethel,” noted Blue coach Melissa Bragg. “The girls come ready to play every time they step on the court. They are a great group to coach.”
Bryant White coach Deanna Ward saw improvement too.
“The girls are starting to get some confidence back,” she said. “We are getting better every day. We still need to work on passing. We lost one of our best passers, Gabby Bonvillain, to a season-ending injury so I was worried we would struggle. But we served well and were aggressive at the net. The girls player hard.”
For Bethel, Ashlyn Lee served up 10 aces. Reagan Dabbs had five, Kaycee White, Regan Ryan and Tori Allen two each with Lauren Hart and Lauren Brantley adding one ace apiece.
Brantley, Brittney Warner, Abby Henson and Macie Morton pitched in with a kill each.
Ward noted, “Kyla Baker started off strong serving points 1-5 with a three aces. Raven Loveless and Erin Chappell were strong at the net with a couple of blocks. Alexis Hendrickson played well. She had a two kills in the second set.”
Bryant White won the seventh grade match 25-14, 22-25, 15-9.
“The seventh grade team looked good,” Ward said. “I was pleased with our progress. Lindsey Maxwell was 100 percent from the serving line with 7 of 7 serves. Faith Stone was 7 of 9.
“We are starting to set the ball and attack,” she mentioned. “I like seeing us come together as a team.”
For Bryant Blue, Kenya Rideout and Alyssa Bowers served up an ace each.
“They get better every time they step on the court,” Bragg said of her team.
Both eighth grade teams are set to play at Benton on Thursday. The Bethel seventh grade team plays at a jamboree in Conway on Saturday. The Bryant White seventh grade team is set to return to action on Saturday, Sept. 28, at a jamboree at Bethel.
