ROGERS -- Madison Sherrill set the pace early for Rogers High School.
Sherrill recorded four aces during an early 8-0 run in the first set that jump-started the Lady Mounties to a straight set 25-11, 25-21, 27-25 victory over Siloam Springs in a nonconference volleyball match in King Arena on Thursday night.
Sherrill also keyed a run with four-straight service points in the second set and the junior finished with 13 digs as Rogers (3-0) remained undefeated. Siloam Springs fell to 0-2 on the year after a season-opening loss to Bentonville.
"Madison helps us so much because she gets her serve in," said Rogers coach Jeana Breedlove. "Madison getting her serves in and us getting that run really gave us the momentum in that first set. She has a good, aggressive serve and she did a good job the rest of the game getting her serve in."
Hannah Lloyd and Hannah Martin had three aces each for Rogers. Martin also came up big in the third set after Siloam Springs had taken a 17-15 lead after back-to-back kills by freshman Ellie Lampton and sophomore Shaylon Sharp.
Martin stopped the run with a kill and the sophomore then delivered two aces to give Rogers an 18-17 lead. Martin then ended the match with an ace in the 27-25 third set win.
"I can move Martin to any position and she could play that position," Breedlove said. "I have her on the right side because she is so good at blocking. She is great at serving and she plays great defense. She is an all-around player."
Samantha Lassiter and Kassidy Wall had nine and eight kills, respectively, as the Lady Mounties dominated at the net.
Siloam Springs has just two returning players in a lineup that features two freshmen and a sophomore, and coach Rose Cheek said she was pleased with her team's effort, especially late in the contest.
"We were way out-sized," Cheek said. "In game two and three, we did not give up and they gave everything they had. They started doing the things they needed to do."
Bentonville 3Siloam Springs 0
Michelle Smith watched her Bentonville volleyball team fall behind in the first game against Siloam Springs, then called a timeout to regroup the troops Tuesday night.
The strategy worked for the defending Class 7A state champion, who suddenly bounced back and proceeded to take a three-game sweep over the Lady Panthers in the season opener for both teams at the Panther Athletic Center.
Sadie Pate had 13 kills and Savannah King added 25 digs to lead the Lady Tigers, who only trailed one other time in the 25-17, 25-10, 25-13 victory.
"Siloam came out and pounced on us pretty quick," Smith said. "I thought we did a good job of stepping back, gathering our thoughts and cutting back on our unforced errors and taking control of the game.
"Siloam was a disciplined team at times, but it helped us in their serving department. We took advantage of it."
Bentonville rallied with eight of the next nine points for a 12-8 cushion, with Pate picking up two kills and an assisted block with Kathryn Charlson during the run. The only other time the Lady Tigers trailed again in the match was on a service error to start the third quarter as Bentonville piled points on in groups on several occasions.
Siloam Springs didn't help its cause by not putting together any scoring runs after its six straight points early in the first game. The Lady Panthers' biggest run after that came after Bentonville had a 13-5 lead in the third game as Ellie Lampton -- one of two freshmen on Siloam Springs' varsity roster -- picked up a kill, followed by back-to-back aces by Shaylon Sharp.
"It was our youth and inexperience," Siloam Springs coach Rose Cheek said. "We start one freshman and two sophomores, and at one point we had two freshmen and a sophomore on the net. We're young and smaller than most teams we play.
"When we do the right things, we're in the game. The first game, I wasn't too disappointed, especially the first 15 or 16 points. We competed, but in service receive, they just annihilated us."
Bentonville aided its cause with nine aces, with Brooke Prime picking up three of her four in a row. Tymber Riley added three aces, while Pate chipped in two to go with her kills.
-- Henry Apple
Up next
The Lady Panthers were scheduled to play in the Bentonville Tournament on Saturday. Results were not available at presstime. The Lady Panthers play at Fort Smith Northside in a nonconference match on Tuesday.
Sports on 08/30/2015