Gentry overcome at net by Pea Ridge

Gravette wins two matches, defeating Huntsville and Berryville

Gentry sophomore Jordan Olds attacks the ball in play against Pea Ridge on Thursday. Emilia Barrick and Josie Graves are in the background.
Gentry sophomore Jordan Olds attacks the ball in play against Pea Ridge on Thursday. Emilia Barrick and Josie Graves are in the background.

— The Lady Pioneers put forth a strong effort but came up short at the net in play on the volleyball court against Pea Ridge on Thursday.

Gentry took the lead early in the first set, but the Lady Blackhawks came from behind and tied up the set. Scores were tied at 24 each and 25 before the Pea Ridge girls got a break and won the set 27-25.

The first set win invigorated the Lady Blackhawks, enabling them to dominate the second set and hold the lead throughout, winning it 25-15.

But down 2-0, the Gentry girls didn’t give up in the third. They caught up to the Lady Blackhawks and tied it at 16 all. From there, they pulled ahead to win the set 25-19.

All was at stake for Gentry in the fourth set, but they weren’t able to get it together to tie the match. Pea Ridge played strong and won the final set 25-15, and the match 3-1.

“I felt like we started well and could have won in the first set,” said Gentry coach Darren Ward, “but our serves didn't hold up and that allowed Pea Ridge to get back in the game. If we had won the first set, we would have been confident enough to win the game, but we came up just short.”

“I was proud of the team for coming back to win the third set and continuing to compete,” Ward added.

“Individually, I thought Gosheng Her and Jordan Olds' hits were outstanding, and Brittany Coffee did a great job of setting them up consistently for us. They played really well,” Ward said.

Though the team has struggled, Ward remains confident that they will yet “put a complete game together” and “get some momentum heading into the district tournament.”

Gentry was to play Berryville in an away game on Tuesday (after Press time). On Thursday, they travel to Southwest in Missouri.

Gravette wins two

The Gravette girls continue to play strong at the net and beat Huntsville in 3 out of 4 sets and Berryville in 3 straight.

Sports, Pages 10 on 10/05/2011