Lady Hornets ascend to tie for second with Belles after beating them in their gym
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LITTLE ROCK — With their fourth win in a row and fifth victory on the road this season, the Bryant Lady Hornets have pulled into a tie for second place in the 7A/6A-Central Conference with the Mount St. Mary Academy Belles.
Bryant came into the contest at McCauley Center, trailing the Belles by one game in the standings. After Bryant eked out a 15-13 win in the rubber game of the match, both teams are 6-3 in league play behind Conway, which remained unbeaten in the conference.
Bryant’s 3-2 win went 17-25, 25-23, 25-18, 19-25, 15-13.[more]
The top two teams in the league will get a first-round bye at the Class 7A State Tournament.
“The girls played great tonight,” declared Lady Hornets coach Beth Solomon. “We started game one a little down compared to how we should have been playing. The girls were quick to pick it up though. They fought hard for every point.”
Courtney Davidson led the Lady Hornets with 13 kills on 28 good attacks in 31 attempts. Brianna White contributed five solo blocks and three assists. Hannah Rice produced 30 assists (108 of 121) while Maggie Hart was good on 21 of 23 serves with two aces. Lauren Reed picked up 30 digs.
“Bree White had a great match,” Solomon noted. “Her blocking just seemed to be there on a lot of balls that we needed her on.
“Our hitters were on tonight,” she added. “I was very impressed with Courtney Davidson. Amber Cope played well tonight too. Her senior leadership definitely played a role in how the girls played.”
The Lady Hornets, who broke a home drought with a win over Little Rock Central at the Hornets Nest on Tuesday, will try to continue that trend on Tuesday, Oct. 5, against Cabot.
“I fully expect the girls to continue their level of play against Cabot,” stated the coach. “The girls are fighting for every point that they play and are playing smart when they’re on the court. Tuesday should be no different.”
In a junior varsity match-up, Mount St. Mary prevailed 25-13, 25-16.
For Bryant, Alyssa Anderson had five kills on 12 of 18 attacks. Brooke Howell was good on all seven of her serves including one ace. Taylor West produced six digs and six assists.
“JV did not get the job done tonight,” Solomon commented. “It felt like there were only two or three girls pulling the entire team.
“Our passing was really off,” she noted. “Mount’s gym has a really low ceiling that definitely didn’t help the girls tonight. We had some good runs in the second game, but the lulls that we had during both games ended up keeping us from a win.”
