FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Fayetteville's volleyball program has asserted itself as one of the best in the state.
The Volleydogs captured their sixth state title in 10 years when they defeated Har-Ber on Saturday in Hot Springs.
It's a special group for head coach Jessica Phelan. Fayetteville came into this season as defending champs, and as a result, with a target on their back in the bid to repeat.
But this year's group was one that Phelan said did all the right things.
"They live up to all the mantras you talk about as a coach," Phelan said. "Trust the process. Keep playing in the moment. You wanna go out there and do it for the girl next to you... That's what Saturday felt like, and they bought in."
And buy in is certainly what they did, just like several Volleydog teams have done before, a credit to the hard-working nature of Phelan's squads.
"There's no magic secrets to, it just takes what it takes," Phelan said. "I'm really proud of how hard these kids work. Not just on that one day, but to reach that level of play."
"It takes a lot of hard work from a lot of people... More than anything that's what we're about. Working hard and playing for each other."