Volleyball fans should take a trip to Conway Saturday.
That’s because 14 teams — No. 1 Fort Smith Southside, No. 3 Shiloh Christian, No. 4 Little Rock Central, No. 6 Brookland, No. 7 Benton, No. 8 Conway, No. 9 Baptist Prep, No. 10 Bryant, No. 15 Springdale Har-Ber, No. 16 Cabot, No. 17 Valley View, No. 18 Greenbrier, No. 19 Fort Smith Northside and No. 23 Episcopal Collegiate — in this week’s Natural State Sports Network poll are participating in the Lady Cat Invitational.
“We are excited to have 24 of the best teams from Arkansas coming to Conway,” said Conway Coach Laura Crow. “We want to make it a great experience for all of the teams, coaches and officials. There will definitely be some high level volleyball to help us all prepare for finishing conference play and state as our seasons are winding down. We are excited about hosting such a great day of volleyball!”
Of the eight pools, five have two ranked teams. Pool B has FS Southside and Baptist Prep. Pool C has Episcopal and Brookland. Pool F has Bryant and Valley View. Pool G has Greenbrier and Springdale Har-Ber. Pool H has LR Central and Shiloh Christian. There will be some good teams that won’t make it to the Gold bracket.
Other matches of note this week: Shiloh Christian travels to Bentonville on Monday; LR Central hosts Bryant on Tuesday; Fayetteville travels to FS Southside on Tuesday; Bentonville West travels to Fort Smith Northside on Thursday.
Three teams moved into this week’s rankings: No. 12 Bentonville West, No. 13 Bentonville and No. 23 Episcopal Collegiate. Three teams dropped out: No. 16 Mount St. Mary, No. 21 Mansfield and No. 22 Harding Academy.
Served by Arkansas Select Volleyball.
1. FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE (19-3)
Previous rank: No. 1
Lady Mavericks had a big week, topping Bentonville in five sets, overcoming a 2-1 deficit and winning the fifth set 20-18 and finishing the week by winning the Fort Smith Invitational.
“To be down 2-1 especially after being up in that third set and losing momentum, I was incredibly proud of the toughness of these girls. They played their guts out. Things weren’t going right for us in stretches, but they never lost their fight. Bentonville did an incredible job. Their defense was insane. Hats off to them for continuing to fire away at the ball. I go back to every practice that was filled with frustration, every drill that they didn’t like because it made them mad, every time we asked them to be uncomfortable… the hard work shows up in five-set battles like this one. Very proud of all of them. … This week was a grind with three big matches during the week. We saw our middles really stretch themselves this week. Defense has really worked hard this week. All around, it was a great week of volleyball. Winning the championship was icing on the cake. ” — Fort Smith Southside Coach Natalie Throneberry
2. HACKETT (26-0)
Previous rank: No. 3
Libero Lily Oxford, a Christian Brothers (Tenn.) University commit, becomes the school’s all-time leader in digs. The Lady Hornets win the Paris Lady Eagle Invitational with victories over Bauxite, Atkins, Lavaca, Conway Christian and No. 19 Paris.
“I am so proud of my team! 13 sets played in a nine-hour time frame. I felt like we played consistent volleyball all day. The finals match against Paris was awesome and hard fought by both teams. We stepped up when it mattered and got the job finished.” — Hackett Coach Bridgett Freeman
3. SHILOH CHRISTIAN (20-2-1)
Previous rank: No. 4
Lady Saints defeated 5A-West foes Farmington and Van Buren. They travel to Bentonville Monday night.
4. LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL (16-2-1)
Previous rank: No. 5
Lady Tigers overcome a 2-0 deficit on the road and beat No. 20 Fort Smith Northside in five sets. Central has two big 6A-Central matchups at home with Bryant and Cabot this week.
“It was definitely a hard fought win. Northside came out stronger than we anticipated and they earned the win for those first two sets. Coming into the third set, I made some offensive and defensive changes that I think helped us out. I put in one of my JV middles and she really stepped up and changed our momentum. The girls were excited to see her do well and that brought us some much needed energy and momentum change. Then the girls just did what we do and that was do whatever it takes to win. Super proud of the way my girls fought back from those first two sets!” — Little Rock Central assistant coach Jessica Cantrell on the victory over Fort Smith Northside.
5. FAYETTEVILLE (16-5)
Previous rank: No. 2
Lady Bulldogs got swept by Bentonville West. It was their first sweep in 6A-West Conference play since Sept. 17, 2019 when they lost 3-0 to Bentonville. They responded by going 3-1 at the Lee’s Summit (Mo.) North Bronco Invitational with the only loss coming to Liberty North, which is 17-6.
“Every match on the road is difficult and West has a team that has a lot of experience and was clicking. Every season has ebbs and flows and we look forward to the opportunity to keep growing together through the second round of conference play. … We really showcased resilience and determination, battling through gritty matches to secure a 3-1 record vs some high quality teams.” — Fayetteville Coach Jessica Phelan on the loss to Bentonville West
6. BROOKLAND (20-3)
Previous rank: No. 6
Lady Bearcats take care of business with victories over Paragould, Highland and Blytheville.
7. BENTON (18-3-1)
Previous rank: No. 7
Lady Panthers don’t drop a set in sweeping Sheridan, No. 9 Cabot and El Dorado.
8. CONWAY (17-7)
Previous rank: No. 8
Lady Cats sweep Little Rock Southwest and North Little Rock and will host Cabot Tuesday before hosting their tournament.
“The Lady Cats did well on the road tonight (vs. North Little Rock). We were able to execute some back row offense in trouble situations. We have been working on attacking more from the back row in practice. We were able to serve tough and take them out of system.” — Conway Coach Laura Crow
9. BAPTIST PREP (22-5-1)
Previous rank: No. 8
After losing in four sets to Bryant, Lady Eagles defeat Bauxite in four games and sweep Pulaski Academy.
“We knew coming down to Bauxite was going to be tough and it was good to get a win here. We had a busy week and with homecoming this week, it’s tough. We’ve been playing a tough schedule which is getting us ready for the state tournament.” — Baptist Prep Coach Krista Spoon
10. BRYANT (14-6-1)
Previous rank: No. 12
Lady Hornets beat No. 8 Baptist Prep, Jonesboro and No. 16 Mount St. Mary in four sets as they now set their sights on a big one at No. 4 Little Rock Central Tuesday night.
“We have a tough one Tuesday night (at Little Rock Central) and hopefully we won’t be going five (sets) on that one. We are giving away too many points and too many runs. That is hurting us in the long run. I think we’re almost where we need to be and that’s all I can ask for. That win (over Conway) made a huge difference and now they can do it. We have to play with that confidence.” — Bryant Coach Leigh Ann Back
11. MARION (18-5-1)
Previous rank: No. 9
Lady Patriots suffer their first 5A-East loss in 24 matches when it fell in five sets to Batesville; host No. 6 Brookland Monday night.
12. BENTONVILLE WEST (17-10)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Lady Wolverines had a productive week highlighted by sweeping No. 2 Fayetteville and finishing runner-up at the Fort Smith Invitational.
“This team played with confidence and grit tonight. We are proud of our offense and our ability to read defensively. Our setter, Kate Schofield, spread our offense and our hitters took care of the ball. Pragathi Nagappa and Audrey Calva were aggressive and consistent. That momentum carried us. Our serve-receive stats are consistent and allowed us to stay fast paced. We were up 2-0 and started the third set down 1-8. The team never stopped and attacked more aggressive to win that third set. I’m proud of this group. They believe in themselves and each other.” — Bentonville West Coach Britney Davis on the win over Fayetteville
13. BENTONVILLE (11-7)
Previous rank: Not ranked
After dropping a five-set match at No. 1 Fort Smith Southside in which the final game was decided by a score of 20-18, the Lady Tigers play their way back into the rankings with a sweep of No. 13 Springdale Har-Ber, a five-set victory over Webb City (Mo.) which is 20-4-1 and a sweep of St. Mary’s-Colgan (Kan.).
14. PRAIRIE GROVE (18-3-1)
Previous rank: No. 14
Def. Ozark Monday 3-0; def. Berryville 3-0; def. Green Forest 3-0 at Fort Smith Tournament: def. Sylvan Hills 2-1; lost to No. 21 Fort Smith Northside 3-0; lost to No. 1 FS Southside 2-0; lost to Siloam Springs 2-0.
Lady Tigers notch 4A-West victories over Ozark, Berryville and Green Forest before falling Siloam Springs, No. 1 Fort Smith Southside and No. 20 Fort Smith Northside in the Fort Smith Invitational with three starters playing with a fever. Emma Vertz topped 2,000 career assists on a day in which three starters were battling fevers.
15. SPRINGDALE HAR-BER (13-9)
Previous rank: No. 13
Lady Wildcats suffer a pair of sweeps to No. 1 Fort Smith Southside and Bentonville. Lost to No. 1 Fort Smith Southside 3-0; lost to Bentonville 3-0. Har-Ber hosts Northside and goes to Fayetteville this week.
16. CABOT (14-9)
Previous rank: No. 9
Tough week for Lady Panthers who lost to Jonesboro and No. 7 Benton before beating Little Rock Southwest. Lady Tigers have two big ones on the road at No. 8 Conway and No. 4 Little Rock Central.
17. VALLEY VIEW (14-7-1)
Previous rank: No. 15
Lady Blazers sweep Paragould in their pink-night match as Riley Owens and Mary Kate Rees combine for 29 assists and 7 digs. Valley View has busy week with home matches against Searcy, West Memphis and Marion before heading to Conway for the Lady Cat Invitational.
18. GREENBRIER (13-7)
Previous rank: No. 17
Madison Crum leads the way in sweep of Mount St. Mary with 19 kills while hitting .472 with 8 digs, while Marlie Crossman had 35 assists.
19. FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE (15-8)
Previous rank: No. 20
Lady Bears suffer five-set loss to No. 5 Little Rock Central after leading 2-0. Notch victories over No. 14 Prairie Grove, Sylvan Hills and Siloam Springs in Fort Smith Invitational.
20. FARMINGTON (12-6)
Previous rank: No. 18
Lady Cardinals suffer 5A-West defeat to No. 4 Shiloh Christian before sweeping Alma. They rallied to win silver bracket at Fort Smith Invitational.
21. PARIS (23-6)
Previous rank: No. 19
Lady Eagles suffer five-set loss to Episcopal after leading the first two sets; advance to finals of Lady Eagles Invitational and become third team this year, along with Pottsville and Shiloh Christian to take a set from Hackett before losing in the finals.
“We got into a hole off the bat and that’s too much to overcome. They had conference and everything going and we made some errors. When you battle, sometimes you make errors. We were lucky to win the first two sets because we had to come from behind.” — Paris Coach Jerry Fulmer on the loss to Episcopal.
22. POTTSVILLE (18-9-1)
Previous rank: No. 23
Lady Apaches have sweeps of Morrilton and Clinton before going falling to No. 1 Fort Smith Southside in the semifinals despite missing a couple starters.
“Considering we were down two starters we had some girls step up and play some volleyball we don’t get to see everyday, we played very well.” — Pottsville Coach Kacie Stabler
23. EPISCOPAL COLLEGIATE (12-8)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Lady Wildcats sweep Bald Knob and Riverview and overcome 2-0 deficit to beat Paris in five sets. Lady Wildcats are not afraid of playing teams in higher classes as losses have come to Baptist Prep, Van Buren, Bryant and Little Rock Central.
‘It was a really good game. We were worried after the second set, but our girls understood some of the problems were our own errors. We made a couple changes and that gave us some momentum. This shows when we play teams like Central, Baptist and Bauxite who have more power and experience it makes us more prepared and ready. When we face that type of pressure, we don’t fold. A win is a win and I don’t care how ugly it is.” — Episcopal Collegiate Coach Paige Gantar on the victory over Paris.
24. GRAVETTE (12-5)
Previous rank: No. 24
Lady Lions get 4A-West Conference victories over Huntsville and Gravette defeated Huntsville 3-2. Laney Chilton gets her 1,000th career dig in the victory over Huntsville.
25. CONWAY ST. JOSEPH (13-4)
Previous rank: No. 25
Lady Bulldogs get sweeps of Maumelle Charter and Magnet Cove.
DROPPED OUT
No. 16 Mount St. Mary, No. 21 Mansfield, No. 22 Harding Academy
