Har-Ber fends off late Pointer rally

Har-Ber volleyball coach Cassie Loyd knows winning five straight 6A-West matches to open the season is something to build on. But it doesn’t mean the season’s over, either. Har-Ber’s Kyler Greenlee had 14 kills and Kat Cooper finished with 13 kills and a huge block in the fourth set to give the Wildcats a 25-16, 17-25, 25-18, 25-21 win over the Lady Pointers at Clair Bates Arena. “I’m very, very happy to be 5-and-0,” Loyd said. “I think this conference is an incredible conference, and coming to Van Buren and beating Van Buren, at Van Buren, is incredibly difficult. To come out of here with a win is always a good thing.” Har-Ber (10-3, 5-0) dominated the opening set, though the Lady Pointers didn’t put up much of an early fight. “I thought we came out flat,” Van Buren coach Brent Reeves said. “That’s one of those things you can’t explain.” Van Buren flipped a switch, however, in the second set to even the match. They might also caught the Lady Wildcats off guard. “We had a lot of unforced errors; that was our big problem,” Loyd said. “We had eight or nine unforced errors early, and Van Buren didn’t quit. I think we may have expected them to die down a little bit, and they were ready to battle. “We weren’t quite ready for the battle in the second set.” Down 2-1 following a 25-18 loss in the third set, the Lady Pointers dug themselves a 15-10 hole in the fourth set. But the Pointers rallied behind Zoe Morrison and Madelyn Doolittle, and took a 21-20 lead. But Har-Ber took advantage of a poor serve, and Cooper’s block made it 24-21. “Volleyball’s all about runs,” Reeves said. “You try to keep them from having runs, and you try to have some yourself.” Doolittle finished with 12 kills, and Morrison added 10. Brianna Ball finished with 23 assists. Reeves likes the Pointers’ position, however. The team is 2-3 with two matches left to play in the first round. “We’re still good,” he said. “I think everybody’s going to beat up on each other. Our goal is always to make state. We just have to get better and better and go from there.”

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Van Buren High School Athletics

HAR-BER FENDS OFF LATE POINTER RALLY

KEVIN TAYLOR

Times Record | 9/20/2019

PHOTO CREDIT: Jamie Mitchell