Arkansas volleyball 6A state championship: Fayetteville outlasts Conway

FHS takes its fourth straight state title

HOT SPRINGS — The Fayetteville Lady Bulldogs showed they were willing to do whatever it took to win their fourth consecutive Class 6A state championship Saturday at Bank OZK Arena. 

Fayetteville (25-8) defeated Conway (31-5) 25-16, 22-25, 25-18, 21-25, 16-14 to win the state championship.

The fifth set, which featured 10 ties and five lead changes was forced to 16 when Conway’s Wren Jones came up with a kill to tie it 14-14. State championship MVP Regan Harp, who had 29 kills, had her last one to put Fayetteville up 15-14. Isabella Street came up with the last one to seal the match.

“We worked really hard. What a way to get four in in a row,” said Fayetteville head coach Jessica Phelan, who won her eighth title. “It was certainly back and forth. They dug in and kept with it. Toward the end of set four, we regained our composure and chipped away and took that in to the fifth set. I through both sets played really well.”

Quincy Schaffer had 45 assists and 16 digs for Fayetteville.

Conway, which was looking for its first state title since 2018, was led by Emily Zimmerman, who had 14 kills. Kim Quinit had 19 digs.

“It hurts, but I’m proud of them,” said Conway head coach Laura Crow. “They fought with everything they had.

3 Takeaways 

1

Conway, which trailed 2-1 going in the fourth set, jumped out to a 21-11 lead in fourth set before Fayetteville used a 9-1 run to close to 22-20 with Conway head coach Laura Crow calling timeout twice to try and stop Fayetteville’s momentum. Conway got the set under control when Megan Smith and Ava Gipson had kills to make it 24-20. After Lauren Taylor had a kill for Fayetteville to make it 24-21, Lauren Goforth answered for for Conway to end it at 25-21.

“I told them it was due or die and they came back and responded,” Crow said.

Going in the fifth set, Harp said it was important to send a message to Conway. “I told them that they’re riding high after winning that fourth set and we need to hit them hard,” she said.

2

 Fayetteville, lost five seniors from a team that went 37-2 a year ago, including Kennedy Phelan, a Florida State signee, who was state tournament MVP and a Gatorade All-American. Jessica Phelan credited the players who didn’t play much in recent years for maintaining a strong attitude and believing it was their turn to compete.

“For these kids they had a chip on their shoulder. It is our turn and don’t count us out,” said Phelan. “If anyone doubted them, it was not the kids in the locker room. It’s not about the players we lost. We had a really great team. The chemistry has been great and they don’t care who gets the credit.”

3

Harp, who has committed to Central Arkansas, said winning four in row was special especially with all the talent the Lady Bulldogs lost a year ago. “This feels so good and I feel like I’m living in a dream. I’m so proud of being able to prove so many people wrong.”

Phelan said Harp’s performance was amazing considering that so many opponents know Harp is getting the ball and build their defense around that.

“To the extent, Conway has a defense with a good block and they knew we were going to her. I’m proud of her sticking with it. Their libero is so good. They dug a lot of balls and kept a lot of balls alive,” said Phelan.

-- Jeff Halpern

Photos by Tommy Land