The Alma Lady Airedales don’t have the swagger first-year coach Joshua Stark wants. Not yet, anyway.

But they’re getting close.

Alma rallied to erase a 15-10 deficit in the second set for a 25-20, 25-22, 25-18 sweep of Russellville in the 5A-West opener for both teams on Tuesday.

At 6-0, the Lady Airedales keep adding to their school-record start.

“They (Russellville) were right there with us in the second game, and we started making some mistakes, but we got together and started serving to the right spots, and they (Alma players) stopped playing so scared and got up a couple (points),” Stark said. “We’ve got to have a strut (swagger), and once we get that, we’re going to be really good.”

Among the more impressive numbers, six games is the number of sets the team’s actually lost - three.

“They keep playing hard and every game they surprise me,” Stark said. “The first conference game, that’s a good statement. But yes, we’re surprised to be 6-and-0.”

Sophomore Ryleigh Floyd, who leads the team with 3.1 kills per set, said she’s not surprised by the team’s hot start.

“I’m not surprised,” she said. “Our team deserves this. Our new coach has made us become more of a team. We’re playing more as a team; we’re more of a family. We started to play for each other last year (spring practice), and it’s carried over.”

With just two seniors on its roster, Alma figures to become even more of a threat next year.

“I feel like there is more of a connection,” Floyd said. “They’re (Jadea Cahoon and Bailee Oliver) really good leaders. They help us on the court if we need help. Everyone is just working as a team.”

Alma travels to Greenwood later this week and returns home Sept. 15 to host Siloam Springs.

Football

Alma quarterback Jay Lemieux threw an 80-yard touchdown to Quinton Broadway, and junior running back Dallas Perkins rumbled for a career-high 242 yards and four touchdowns to pace Alma to a 56-35 win over Russellville last week.

The Airedales, who return home Friday to play Vilonia, got 290 yards passing from Jay Lemieux, with Dylan Jackson catching two of his four touchdown passes.

Tied at 28 early in the second half,  Alma outscored Russellville 28-7 the rest of the way to give first-year coach Jeremie Burns his first win as the school's coach.

Brooks Belcher set up a short Perkins TD run with an interception.  Kicker Cade Moore set up another score by recovering his own onside kick.