Clean Sweep: Lady Hawks upend Lady Leopards

Liberty-Eylau's Keeley Norris takes on Pleasant Grove's Natalie Hale and Madi Morris during their varsity volleyball match Tuesday night at Hawk Gym. The Lady Hawks swept the Lady Leopards, 25-10, 25-18, 25-9.
Liberty-Eylau's Keeley Norris takes on Pleasant Grove's Natalie Hale and Madi Morris during their varsity volleyball match Tuesday night at Hawk Gym. The Lady Hawks swept the Lady Leopards, 25-10, 25-18, 25-9.

Pleasant Grove gave Liberty-Eylau all it could handle.

The Lady Hawks swept the Lady Leopards, 25-10, 25-18, 25-9, at Hawk Gym Tuesday in a District 14-4A volleyball match.

"It was exciting watching the girls because they were clicking on all cylinders," Pleasant Grove head coach Amy Collvins said. "Every one of them had a great night, and it is a good time for them to be peaking going into the playoffs. We will continue to take care of us and that is really all we can control."

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This is a 2014 photo of Drew Smyly of the Detroit Tigers baseball team. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Britton Anderson put down 15 kills and had seven digs, Macey Adams served in 20 points, made seven digs and had nine kills, and Kaylee Kelley had 22 assists for the Hawks. Macey Young added 10 assists, Sydney Hopkins had 11 digs, and Madeline Haak served in 11 winners.

Kaliyah Thompson had four service points for Liberty-Eylau, teammate Kelly Cigainero had 10 digs and eight assists, Taylor Crabtree contributed 12 digs, and Daycoria Meadows added eight digs. Kyana Norman had 11 blocks, and Derrica Henderson had 10 blocks.

"We weren't focused and a part of me wondered if we showed up at all tonight," Leopard head coach LaTasha Harris said. "They fought at moments, but I really felt like our confidence level was down in this match. We are going to get our confidence back up and will be ready on Friday; it's a learning curve."

After an Adams kill, Adams took the service box and caused two Liberty-Eylau serve receive errors as she slapped in six in a row to give Pleasant Grove a 7-0 lead in the first set.

Later in the set, Adams put a kill down the left baseline and Hopkins took the server's box. Hopkins served in five straight winners to put the Hawks up 19-5. The set ended on an Anderson kill down the back line.

Haak served in six points in a row to give PG a 11-3 edge in the second set. Georgia Cobb hit three straight kills during Haak's service flurry, and Anderson had a pair of tips and a kill that went for winners.

L-E never recovered in the set, although it did close the gap to a 5-point Hawk lead when Norman forced a Pleasant Grove serve receive error at 16-11. The Hawks battled and built a 21-12 lead in the second set.

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Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/CELIA STOREY Arm wrestler Rebecca Sample demonstrates a strengthening exercise done on a cable machine at Michael Todd's home gym in Cabot, Jan. 29.

After a serve in the net in the third set, Adams served in eight consecutive points and caused three Leopard serve receive errors. The Hawks went up 9-0. Later in the set, Anderson served in five winners, including an ace, and PG was up 19-4.

The Hawks went on to finish out the set on an unforced hitting error.

Abbie Flournoy had seven service points as the Hawks swept the Leopards in the junior varsity match, 25-23, 25-19.

Liberty-Eylau (20-12, 4-4) hosts Pittsburg Friday at 4:30 p.m., varsity only.

Pleasant Grove (23-12, 6-2) hosts Atlanta Friday at 4 p.m., varsity only.

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