For more photos of this event by Rick Nation, go here
By Chris Morgan
Erin Thompson serves. (Photo by Rick Nation)
The Bryant Lady Hornets junior varsity volleyball team hosted the Fort Smith Northside Lady Grizzlies on Thursday night and won the match 2-1, 25-23 in game one, 26-28 in game two and 15-10 in the third.
The Lady Hornets had four serving errors in the in the first game with four aces, two from Alyssa Hernandez, and two from Aslynn Oyemola, one of which put game one at game point. The Lady Hornets were given three serving errors by the Grizzlies and allowed one ace.
The team found success killing early when Madelyn Hoskins gave the Lady Hornets their first lead at 3-2. Both teams continued to trade points until the Lady Hornets’ lead was reopened after a diving save by Kiarra Beard cleared the top of the net and the returning Lady Grizzly strike was blocked back by Oyemola.
Bryant struggled in the middle of the game, allowing Northside to retake the lead with a block of their own and having two poorly stuck tip-over hits. The Lady Hornets’ luck shifted as Hoskins delivered a strong kill to retie the match at 15-15.
Three aces by Oyemola separated the teams towards the end of the set allowing the Lady Hornets to pull away 22-19. Northside put a rally together towards the end of the game, scoring three unanswered points with the Lady Hornets on match point. Erin Thompson put an end to the set with a soft tip-over kill into a gap in the Lady Grizzly defenses.
In their second game, Bryant had a slow start falling behind 1-4 before bringing the score back with a four-point unanswered drive. Bryant would build on the lead, capped off with an ace from Hernandez moving the Lady Hornets up 12-9.
They were up 19-13 lead before having a 4-10 turn bring the game even at 23-23. Northside would get to match point first, but a kill by Oyemola tied the match as 24-24. T
he Lady Hornets would go on to lose the game despite two aces with one serving error, while allowing three aces and receiving three points from Northside serving errors.
Bryant had two aces in game three matching the Lady Grizzlies. While the Lady Hornets had three total serving errors, Northside only had two, but the Lady Hornets still walked away with the game 15-10 with the help of some key blocks.
The Lady Grizzlies garners a four-point hot streak pulling away from the Lady Hornets 3-6. But Bryant continued to fight, pushing the lead 13-9 before a Oyemola attack was recovered by the Lady Grizzlies. But the put-back was blocked by Ella Reynalds and the Lady Hornets were at match point. A kill from Reynalds would end the match.
Next Tuesday, Bryant continues 6A-Central Conference play on the road against Mount Saint Mary Academy.
