Lady Hornets extend win streak to six at Russellville
EDITOR’S NOTE: Because the look back at each day in Bryant athletic history has been so favorably received during the time when there was no sports during the COVID-19 shutdown, BryantDaily.com will continueposting past stories of Bryant athletics either posted on BryantDaily.com (from 2009 to the present) or published in the Bryant Times (from 1998 to 2008).
RUSSELLVILLE — Make it six in row.
The Bryant Lady Hornets volleyball team continued its late-season surge and season-long road dominance Thursday by posting a 3-2 win over a Russellville Lady Cyclones team that was just a game behind them in the 7A/6A-Central Conference.
The win, 22-25, 25-15, 25-19, 20-25, 15-10, improved Bryant to 9-5 overall and 8-3 in conference, tied for second in the league as they vie to earn a first-round bye at the Class 7A State Tournament. And winning at Russellville improved their record on the road to 6-1.[more]
Their lone road loss, by the way, was at Conway. The Lady Wampus Cats, still unbeaten in conference play, come to Bryant on Tuesday, Oct. 12.
“Once again, we pulled out a win after losing the first game,” noted Lady Hornets’ head coach Beth Solomon of the Russellville match. “We’ve done this with every win, excluding the first round with Cabot, so I wasn’t worried when we lost the first game.
“The girls did what they always do,” she added. “They pulled it together and played like a team to get the win.”
McKenzie Rice piled up 18 kills in the match. Courtney Davidson and Brianna White had 10 each. White also had a whopping eight solo blocks to go with three blocking assists. Maggie Hart added three solo and eight assisted blocks.
“Our outside hitters, McKenzie and Courtney, had a great night,” Solomon stated. “They really helped pull our team to a victory.”
Hannah Rice contributed 32 assists and 29 digs. Lauren Reed came up with 27 digs. Reed and both Rice sisters pitched in with two aces while serving.
The Bryant junior varsity also captured a victory, 23-25, 25-18, 15-12, sparked by the serving of Taylor West who was good on 13 of 14 with five aces.
Alyssa Anderson was 21 of 24 at the net with seven kills. Britten Hays added three kills and came up with 13 digs. Kaylon Wilson led with 14 digs and West contributed 17 assists.
“Taylor had a great night setting and serving,” Solomon said. “Britten really stepped up for us as a hitter as well.
“We’re starting to see that this new rotation with Kaylon as libero is really working for our JV team,” she added.
“I’m happy with both teams,” the coach stated. “They werren’t playing to their potential in either first game but were able to clear their heads and become the team that I know they’re capable of being. The girls are a fighting team and they proved it.”
This Saturday, the Lady Hornets varsity travels to Conway for the Lady Cat Invitational. They’ve been placed in a pool with Little Rock Christian, Siloam Springs and Brookland. There are 24 teams in the tournament, which will be contested on three courts.
Bryant will be at the old high school west gym initially. They’ll play Little Rock Christian at 8:30, Siloam Springs at 10:10 and Brookland at 11:50. Bracket play will begin at 2 p.m., with the top two seeds from each pool advancing to the Gold Division bracket at the Conway Arena. The third seeds out of pool play will compete in the Silver Bracket at the old high school gym with the fourth seeds advancing to the Bronze Division bracket at Carl Stuart Middle School.
