Solomon: Lady Hornets show what they’re capable of at Spikefest
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).
File photo by Kevin Nagle
LITTLE ROCK — Disappointed with the way they played on Thursday in a loss to Fountain Lake, the Bryant Lady Hornets bounced back on Saturday with an impressive run at the annual Little Rock Spikefest.
In pool play, the Lady Hornets won a match and split two then advanced to the Gold Division of the 32-team event, which included Silver and Bronze divisions as well. There, they defeated Jonesboro Westside, 25-17, 25-20 to advance to the quarterfinals. In a three-set battle, Bryant was edged by the North Little Rock Lady Charging Wildcats, 25-20, 15-25, 12-15.
“I am very proud of the way the girls played and how they showed themselves what they are capable of,” stated Lady Hornets head coach Beth Solomon. “That was the best part of the day, despite being tired after playing volleyball for nine hours, they proved something to themselves. The second round of the Gold bracket is a big change from last year. I’m ready to see some redemption on our home court Tuesday night.”
That’s when they host Lake Hamilton.
In pool play, Bryant split with Greenbrier, 23-25, 25-19, and followed up by splitting with a strong Texarkana, Texas team, 19-25, 25-23. Against Central Arkansas Christian, the Lady Hornets prevailed, 25-22, 25-22.
“The girls played really hard with Texas High,” Solomon noted. “After we beat Westside, we won game one against North Little Rock and played hard in game two but couldn’t pull it off. Then in game three, we fought but couldn’t pull out the win. It was a great game and a great day.
In all, Bryant won seven of 11 sets on the day.
Individually, Raven Loveless finished with 44 kills and 10 blocks. Faith Stone had 30 kills and four blocks. Kristen Boyle added 14 kills, Ashlyn Lee 10 and Truli Bates seven to go with 11 blocks. Boyle had five blocks.
Lee supplied 64 assists and Lexi Brown 17 to go with 10 digs. Kyla Baker had eight digs, Cassie Ray five and Erin Thompson four.
At the service line, Lee was good on 44 of her 45 serves. Baker was 34 of 36 for the top percentages. Reagan Dabbs got in 34 of 38 and Thompson 35 of 39. Ray was 35 of 40 and Brown was 34 of 39.
Thompson led the team with five aces. Baker had four, Dabbs three, Brown two and Lee one.
