FORT SMITH — Coming off a vital win at Little Rock Central on Tuesday, the Bryant Lady Hornets made the long trip to Southside to face one of the hottest teams in the 7A-Central Conference. The result was a 15-25, 11-25, 14-25 setback against the Lady Mavericks.
“The scores don’t necessarily reflect the way we played,” said Bryant coach Beth Solomon. “The girls had great energy and they worked really hard. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t get the points to fall in our favor.”
Bryant was limited to just 15 kills as a team, led by senior Raven Loveless with six. Faith Stone, Kristen Boyle and Ivory Russ each had three. Ashlyn Lee had 11 assists and Lexi Brown three.
The Lady Hornets were good on 37 of their 41 serves but the Lady Mavs dug up every one. Bryant had no service aces in the match.
Of the team’s 17 digs, Cassie Ray had five and Kyla Baker four. Erin Thompson added three, Lee and Ashley Davis two each and Shannon Stewart one.
“We had a few rotations that we really need to focus on,” Solomon said. “We play all day Saturday in the Conway Tournament, so we will have lots of opportunities to get things fixed.”
The Lady Hornets will play in a pool with Pulaski Academy and Batesville starting at 9 a.m., against PA. Pool play will determine which bracket the teams will compete in later in the day. Top seeds will play in the Gold, second seeds in the Silver and thirds in the Bronze bracket in the afternoon.
Bryant then faces a crucial match for their post-season plans when they host Cabot on Tuesday, Oct. 10.
In a JV match at Southside, the Lady Hornets fell 14-25, 15-25.
