Bailey Vega is a coach’s dream.

The Southside senior isn’t the hardest-hitting player on her team. She doesn’t have the experience some of her teammates have, either.

But she’s a testament to the old cliche that hard work wins out.

Veva had seven kills Thursday to help the Mavs finish off North Little Rock, 25-19, 26-24, 25-16, at Southside Gym.

Southsidse (7-4, 2-1) travels to Bryant on Tuesday.

“Bailey’s kind of your dream kid,” Southside coach Natalie Throneberry said. “She has put in so much work in the off-season — as a ninth grader coming into Southside, as a sophomore and as a junior.

“Even last spring, she pushed it really hard.”

Bailey has waited three years to get significant playing time.

“This is my first year on varsity; I’m really excited,” she said. “I feel like I’ve grown a lot being in this program. As a team, we’ve really grown together. We still have a lot of work to do, but we’re getting there.”


Hayley Hall helped jump-start a crucial run in the first set with a trio of aces that spurred a game-ending 18-12 run.

Vega, Avery Fitzgerald and Toree Tiffee helped the Mavericks build a methodical 15-7 cushion in the second set with a series of kills and aces.

But North Little Rock took advantage of sloppy play and turned an eight-point deficit into a 22-19 lead.

Tiffee’s ace clipped the net and fell through for an ace, and another ace by Aleigha Johnson and Fitzgerald’s kill gave the Mavs a 24-24 lead.

Vega’s smash broke a 24-24 tie, and a hitting error sealed the Mavs comeback in the second game.

Southside had an easier time in the third set to give themselves back-to-back 6A-Central wins.

“It really boosted our morale,” Vega said. “I think we needed a couple of wins to just get back together. We had a hard loss (Conway), and I think getting these two wins will help get the team together.”


“We needed that,” Throneberry said. “We’ve stayed very, very competitive and have faced a roller coaster of adversity. To come back and have a road win (Tuesday at Cabot), on one of our longest trips, and then take care of a very scrappy North Little Rock team, it feels great.”

Fitzgerald finished with a dozen kills and three aces. Tiffee, who missed some time before returning this week, had 10 kills and four aces.

Hannah Hogue had 32 assists and Kelsey Hamilton added 15 digs.
