Heritage High School has only been around for five years. Naturally a lot of the sports teams are still working to catch up to the rest of the 7A West and that's especially true for the volleyball team. But last week the Lady War Eagles kick started a special season. They defeated Fayetteville, the defending 7A Champion, in their conference opener.
Fayetteville dropped its first conference match at home since 2009 last Thursday. The team to end the streak? Heritage.
"It's so amazing," said Elleson Dunagin. "It's just a great feeling to have."
"It's great," said Connor McNulty. "Our football team hasn't even beat Fayetteville yet, so it's a big deal and I'm really excited."
Starting conference play 1-0 is one thing, but to beat a team for the first time in program history? That's another.
"To win that builds a lot of confidence," said Head Coach Sarah Miser. "It builds momentum going into the season. It means a lot to beat Fayetteville at their home especially since that hasn't happened and we have yet to beat Fayetteville ever until this year."
"We are so ready for this game today, because of our win last week against Fayetteville," said Nikki Van Wilpe. "We know we can't underestimate anybody."
From top to bottom the 7A West is stacked with talent. In order to compete for a conference title this year, Heritage must play more consistent.
"We have the talent," said McNulty. "We are good offensively. We have great back row defense. We just need to work on consistency, not getting down after we make a mistake or lose a match. Just being consistent is what we need to work on."
When the Lady War Eagles reach their full potential, the sky is the limit to what they will accomplish this season.
"I've seen them play at their high and I've seen them play at their low," said Miser. "At their high when all of the girls are playing on they can beat any team in the state of Arkansas."