Coverage presented by Arkansas Select Volleyball.
4A
For the first time since the third week of the season, there is a change at the top of the Class 4A volleyball rankings.
Baptist Prep (20-10, 7-0 4A-5), which was the preseason No. 1 team, moves back to No. 1 after reaching the semifinals of the silver bracket at the Conway Lady Cat Invitational with a win over Jonesboro Westside before falling to Benton. They also lead the 4A-5 by two games over Pulaski Academy (14-7, 5-2).
The Lady Eagles have played a tough non-conference schedule with matches in regular-season and tournament play against Mount St. Mary, Little Rock Christian, Conway, Mayflower, Pottsville and Hot Springs Lakeside, Cabot, Fort Smith Southside, Brookland and Episcopal Collegiate.
1. BAPTIST PREP (20-10)
Previous rank: No. 2
Last week: def. Southside Charter 3-0; def. LISA Academy West 3-0. Conway Lady Cat Invitational Saturday: def. Vilonia 2-0; lost 2-1 to Fort Smith Southside. Silver bracket: def. No. 3 Jonesboro Westside 2-1; lost 2-1 to Benton
This week: vs. Mount St. Mary Monday; at Joe T. Robinson Tuesday; at Bauxite Thursday
“I am really proud of our team. We had a long week at school and I didn’t know how they would respond. They played great this morning against Southside. Lost in the third 12-15.
We beat a very good Westside team in the first round of silver and then ran out of gas to a really good Benton team.” — Baptist Prep head coach Krista Spoon
2. POTTSVILLE (19-5-3)
Previous rank: No. 1
Last week: def. No. 6 Bauxite 3-2; def. Clarksville 3-0; def. Ozark 3-0 Conway Lady Cat Invitational Saturday: lost 2-0 to Bryant, lost 2-0 to Little Rock Christian Academy. Bronze bracket: def. Mount St. Mary 2-1; def. Episcopal Collegiate 2-1; def. Pulaski Academy 2-1
This week: vs. Heber Springs Tuesday; at Morrilton Thursday
“We had to battle really hard with tough competition. Even in pool play we were competitive with Little Rock Christian and Bryant but couldn’t come out on top. We got better throughout the day and were able to get on a roll going into the finals against PA. I am proud of how we played defensively and our offense is starting to build some confidence. Really proud of the girls for playing together and getting better. It was a lot of fun!” — Pottsville head coach Kacie Stabler
3. JONESBORO WESTSIDE (21-3-2)
Previous rank: No. 3
Last week: def. Jonesboro 3-2; def. Trumann 3-0; def. Pocahontas 3-0. Conway Lady Cat Invitational: lost 2-0 to Cabot; def. Mountain Home 2-1. Silver bracket: lost 2-1 to No. 2 Baptist Prep
This week: vs. Blytheville Monday; vs. Brookland Thursday
“I was happy with how we played in pool play. Cabot is a great team and we competed well with them. Started off a little rocky against Mountain Home but we made some last minute adjustments and I thought my girls responded well to that. They fought hard against a well coached (Baptist) Prep team and it just didn’t go our way in the end today.” — Jonesboro Westside head coach Codie Zeigler on her team’s performance in the Conway Lady Cat Invitational
4. PULASKI ACADEMY (14-7)
Previous rank: No. 7
Last week: def. No. 6 Bauxite 3-1; def. Joe T. Robinson 3-0. Conway Lady Cat Invitational: lost 2-0 to Benton, lost 2-0 to Bentonville West. Bronze bracket: def. No. 4 Brookland 2-1; def. Mountain Home 2-1; lost 2-1 to No. 1 Pottsville
This week: at Mills Tuesday; at LISA Academy West Thursday
“We played with a lot of ups and downs all day. We need to work on our consistency.” — Pulaski Academy head coach Jason Lambert
5. BAUXITE (17-9-3)
Previous rank: No. 6
Last week: lost 3-2 to No. 1 Pottsville; lost 3-1 to No. 7 Pulaski Academy; def. Mills 3-0. Conway Lady Cat Invitational Saturday: def. Mount St. Mary 2-0; lost 2-0 to Springdale Har-Ber. Silver bracket: def. Bryant 2-1; vs. Shiloh Christian 2-1
This week: at LISA Academy Tuesday; vs. Baptist Prep Thursday
“We turned it on this weekend at the Conway Invitational. We swept Mount St Mary to start the morning off for pool play and competed with a very good Har-Ber team. I felt very good after pool play. We had Bryant our first round of bracket play in the silver bracket and won in a 3-set battle. After that match, we had Shiloh Christian and lost, but competed with another very good 5A team. We played together today. I felt like each player played their role and I am very happy with how we looked going into our last week of season before we head to regionals in Magnolia!” — Bauxite head coach Haley Nelson
6. MENA (20-7)
Previous rank: No. 5
Last week: lost 3-1 to Fountain Lake; def. Camden Fairview 3-0
This week: at Magnolia Tuesday; at Malvern Thursday
Chloe Hooper had 51 assists and 16 aces in both matches this week.
7. BROOKLAND (16-12-1)
Previous rank: No. 4
Last week: lost 3-0 to Marion; def. Pocahontas 3-0; def. Highland 3-0. Conway Lady Cat Invitational: lost 2-0 to Little Rock Central, lost 2-0 to Russellville. Bronze bracket: lost 2-1 to No. 7 Pulaski Academy
This week: at Trumann Tuesday; at Jonesboro Westside Thursday
“To be honest it wasn’t our best. We struggled in serve-receive for most of the day and then couldn’t capitalize on an early lead against Pulaski Academy.” — Brookland head coach Katie Dillon on her team’s performance in the Conway Lady Cat Invitational
8. HUNTSVILLE (16-3-1)
Previous rank: No. 9
Last week: def. Prairie Grove 3-1; def. Berryville 3-0
This week: 4A-1 Conference Tournament at Berryville vs. Gravette/Gentry Wednesday
Lady Eagles win 4A-1 regular-season title. Jillian Blake and Emaline Henry combined for 29 kills, 33 digs and 5 aces. Kristyn Miller had 44 assists and 12 kills. Katie Bertrand, Kalli Bollinger and Ali Walker combined for 49 digs.
9. PRAIRIE GROVE (18-5-1)
Previous rank: No. 8
Last week: lost 3-1 to No. 9 Huntsville Tuesday; def. Pea Ridge 3-1
This week: 4A-1 Conference Tournament vs. Berryville, at Berryville Tuesday
Avery Mann had 63 assists and 43 digs in both matches. Ivey Sparkman had 32 digs. Kaydence Jinks had 21 kills and 22 digs, Emma Hix had had 17 kills and 6 blocks.
10. CLARKSVILLE (15-9–2)
Previous rank: No. 9
Last week: lost 3-0 to Pottsville; def. Heber Springs 3-0
This week: at Clinton Tuesday; vs. Ozark Thursday
Alex Rodriguez had 20 assists and 6 digs vs. Heber Springs. Addison Phillips had 22 digs in the same match.
3A
For almost a month, the Mansfield Lady Tigers (25-6, 14-0 3A-1) have been the hottest team in Class 3A.
Mansfield has won 17 of its last 19 matches and won the Prairie Grove Invitational and reached the semifinals in the Paris Lady Eagle Invitational. Combine that hot streak with the fact that Episcopal Collegiate lost three of four matches in the Conway Lady Cat Invitational, even through Episcopal head coach Paige Gantar acknowledged she was playing shorthanded in the tournament. Episcopal also lost its first match to a 3A team when it fell in five sets to Paris (25-18, 25-22, 17-25, 20-25, 13-15) Wednesday night.
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1. MANSFIELD (25-6)
Previous rank: No. 3
Last week: def. Booneville 3-0; def. Lincoln 3-1; def. Charleston 3-0
This week: 3A-1 Conference Tournament at Charleston vs. TBA
On a hot streak, Mansfield trying to set itself up for a run to Hot Springs on Nov. 1.
2. EPISCOPAL COLLEGIATE (15-7)
Previous rank: No. 1
Last week: def. No. 6 Central Arkansas Christian 3-1; lost 3-2 to No. 8 Paris def. Maumelle Charter 3-0. Conway Lady Cat Invitational: lost 2-0 to Greenbrier; lost 2-0 to Shiloh Christian. Bronze bracket: def. Wynne 2-1; lost 2-1 to Pottsville
This week: 3A-4 Conference Tournament at Harding Academy vs. TBA
“We were out three senior starters so many of my JV players stepped up to play — we didn’t win but it was fun to see a bit of what we will look like next year. They competed hard and well.” — Episcopal Collegiate head coach Paige Gantar on falling in the silver bracket semifinals in Conway
3. HARDING ACADEMY (14-4)
Previous rank: No. 2
Last week: def. Walnut Ridge 3-0; def. Bald Knob 3-0
This week: 3A-4 Conference Tournament at Harding Academy vs. TBA
Harding has won 14 of its past 16 heading into conference tournament.
4. PARIS (17-9-1)
Previous rank: No. 8
Last week: def. Lamar 3-0; def. No. 1 Episcopal Collegiate 3-2; def. Perryville 3-0
This week: 3A-5 Conference Tournament at Dover vs. Conway Christian/Dover/Atkins Wednesday
On Sept. 20, Paris was 4-9. Since then, it has gone 13-0-1 and won the 3A-5 Conference.
5. HASKELL HARMONY GROVE (24-5-2)
Previous rank: No. 5
Last week: def. Arkadelphia 3-1; def. Jessieville 3-0
This week: at Fountain Lake Tuesday; at Smackover Thursday
Four of the Lady Cardinals’ losses — Jonesboro Westside, Bauxite, Fountain Lake and Lake Hamilton — have come to teams in higher classes.
6. MAYFLOWER (16-9-1)
Previous rank: No. 6
Last week; def. No. 4 Conway Christian 3-2; lost 3-0 to Dover
This week: 3A-5 Conference Tournament at Dover vs. Dover/Lamar/Perryville
Mayflower clinched a share for the 3A-5 Conference title against Conway Christian. Loss to Dover cost them No. 1 seed for conference tournament and outright conference title. Head coach Monty Smith said his team had “no emotion” against Dover.
7. CENTRAL ARKANSAS CHRISTIAN (13-10-1)
Previous rank: No. 6
Last week: lost 3-1 to No. 1 Episcopal Collegiate Tuesday; def. Rose Bud 3-0
This week: 4A-5 Conference Tournament at Harding Academy vs. TBA
Lady Mustangs looking for another late season run like last year when it reached the state finals. Kayla Myers had 15 kills, 18 digs and 10 assists vs. Episcopal. Calleigh Atcherson had 11 kills and 11 digs in the loss.
8. CONWAY CHRISTIAN (15-10)
Previous rank: No. 4
Last week: lost 3-2 to No. 6 Mayflower
This week: vs. Conway St. Joseph Monday; 3A-5 Conference Tournament at Dover vs. Booneville/Atkins Tuesday
Lady Eagles looking to get a good seed in the North Regional Tournament.
9. CROWLEY’S RIDGE ACADEMY (16-5)
Previous rank: No. 9
Last week: def. Manila 3-0; def. Walnut Ridge 3-0; def. Helena 3-0
This week: 3A-3 Conference Tournament at Crowley’s Ridge Academy vs. Manila/Walnut Ridge Monday
Falcons looking to carry No. 1 seed into East Regional Tournament.
10. HARRISBURG (17-12-2)
Previous rank: No. 3
Last week: def. Hoxie 3-0; def. Wynne 3-1; def. Newport 3-0;
This week: 3A-3 Conference Tournament at Crowley’s Ridge Academy vs. Hoxie
Cassie Carlson had 62 kills and 29 digs in all three matches lat week.
2A
No changes in Class 2A as the top five remains in their same spots.
All five teams have conference tournaments this week As the top four from each conference tournament will advance to the regional tournaments.
The East Regional tournament (Conferences 2A-2 and 2A-4 )will be at Cotter. The North Regional (2A-1 and 2A-3) will be at Guy-Perkins. Then South Regional (2A-5 and 2A-6) will be at Taylor.
Arkansas high school volleyball coverage is sponsored by Arkansas Select Volleyball.
1. HACKETT (20-5-2)
Previous rank: No. 1
Last week: def. Charleston 3-0; def. Quitman 3-0
This week: 2A-3 Conference Tournament at Hector: vs. Hector/Mulberry/Southside Bee Branch Tuesday
Hackett’s big three leading the way. Michaelyn Freeman had 29 kills and 17 digs in both matches last week. Ryleigh Decker had 17 kills, 19 digs and 2 aces. Catelyn Edwards had 53 assists, 11 aces and 8 digs.
2. TAYLOR (23-2-1)
Previous rank: No. 2
Last week: def. Arkadelphia 3-0; def. Ashdown 3-0
This week: 2A-6 Conference Tournament at Lafayette County, vs. Lafayette County/Nevada Tuesday
Kendall Hamlin had 21 kills, 21 digs and 11 aces in both matches. Genna Braswell had 19 digs vs. Arkadelphia. Kallie McHenry had 30 assists and 10 digs vs Arkadelphia.
3. CONWAY ST. JOSEPH (21-3)
Previous rank: No. 3
This week: def. Jacksonville Lighthouse 3-0; def. England 3-1; def. Scott Charter 3-0
This week: at Conway Christian Monday; 2A-5 Conference Tournament at St. Joseph vs. TBA
Anna Nabholz had 18 kills and 8 blocks vs. England. Emily Nabholz had 13 kills and 12 digs vs. England. Kinley Freyaldenhoven had 5 kills, 22 assists, 4 aces and 3 blocks in the same match.
4. ENGLAND (12-3)
Previous rank: No. 4
Last week: def. Magnet Cove 3-2; lost 3-1 to Conway St. Joseph
This week: vs. Bauxite Monday; 2A-5 Conference Tournament at St. Joseph vs. TBA
Lady Lions start postseason hoping to end the season in Hot Springs.
5. COTTER (14-0)
Previous rank: No. 5
Last week: def. Midland 3-0; def. Cedar Ridge 3-0
This week: 2A-2 Conference Tournament at Izard County
Kenna Collins had 21 kills and 10 digs in both matches. Myah McNutt had 26 kills, 13 digs and 5 blocks. Regan Coward had 56 assists and Riley Brotherton had 10 digs and 6 kills vs. Midland.
