Coverage presented by Arkansas Select Volleyball.
6A
The 6A-West is on the line Tuesday night when Fayetteville (22-4, 13-1) hosts Bentonville (29-2, 14-0).
Bentonville won the earlier meeting 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-22) on Sept. 23. A Bentonville victory would give the Lady Tigers the season sweep and the No. 1 seed in the 6A State Tournament at Cabot. That means if the Lady Tigers meet the Lady Panthers in the state tournament, it would be in the state finals at Hot Springs. Cabot has defeated Bentonville in two of the three meetings this year, including a 2-1 victory in the finals at the LRCA Classic. All three matches, in two tournaments, went three sets.
A Fayetteville victory, along with a victory over Fort Smith Northside Thursday would give the Lady Bulldogs at least a share of the conference title. To determine which team would be the No. 1 seed for the state tournament, the first tiebreaker is sets won, which Bentonville has the edge of 3-0. The second tiebreaker is point differential and Bentonville has the edge of plus-8. Two Fayetteville victories and two Bentonville losses would give the Lady Bulldogs the outright conference title and No. 1 seed.
Both teams come in on hot streaks. Bentonville hasn’t lost since losing to Cabot on Sept. 13. Since losing to Bentonville on Sept. 23, Fayetteville has lost to Ozark (Mo.) and Lafayette (Mo.), in the Ozark Grand Slam. Those two teams that have a combined 64-3 record this season.
“Both teams are competing at a really high level right now, and it’s going to be an incredible environment,” said Fayetteville head coach Jessica Phelan. “We have a lot of respect for them as an opponent and are excited for the challenge.”
Bentonville head coach Hannah Berry, whose team won the State Line Showdown on Saturday in Overland Park, Kan., said, “Going 4-0 and only dropping one set to a strong Blue Valley team is a great accomplishment. We’ve got two big matches coming up this week, and I think this tournament was exactly what we needed to prepare us.”
1. CABOT (28-2)
Previous rank: No. 1
Last week: def. Bryant 3-0
This week: at North Little Rock Tuesday; vs. Hot Springs Lakeside Thursday
Mecate Marsh had 24 assists and 8 digs vs. Bryant while Olivia Ambeau had 16 kills, 17 assists and 4 blocks.
2. BENTONVILLE (29-2)
Previous rank: No. 2
Last week: def. Springdale 3-0; def. No. 10 Fort Smith Northside 3-0. State Line Showdown at Overland Park, Kan., Saturday: def. Park Hill (Mo.) 2-0; def. Bishop Meige (Kan.) 2-0; def. Blue Valley North (Kan.) 2-1; def. Shawnee Mission East (Kan.) 2-0
This week: at No. 3 Fayetteville Tuesday; vs. No. 6 Bentonville West Thursday
Three of the four teams Bentonville defeated in Kansas had a combined record of 42-27.
“We played some of our best volleyball this weekend. The competition at the Blue Valley North Tournament was really strong — we faced some great Kansas and Missouri teams with big hitters, strong blocking, and scrappy defense. I was really proud of how tough our girls were and how quickly they were able to make in-game adjustments. Our defense looked great, and we showed a lot of grit throughout the weekend.” — Bentonville head coach Hannah Berry
3. FAYETTEVILLE (22-4)
Previous rank: No. 3
Last week: def. Rogers Heritage 3-0; def. Springdale 3-0
This week: vs. No. 2 Bentonville Tuesday; vs. No. 10 Fort Smith Northside Thursday
Piper Battie had 20 kills in both victories while Molly Miller had 40 assists.
4. CONWAY (25-5)
Previous rank: No. 4
Last week: def. No. 7 Little Rock Central 3-2; def. No. 9 Jonesboro 3-0
This week: at Bryant Tuesday; at Benton Thursday
Five-set victory over Central keeps Lady Cats in second place in the 6A-Central.
“We made some changes in our line up and tried to match up better with our blockers vs their hitters and were able to pull out the win. Our girls did a great job serving aggressively and making smart shots against their defense. We were able to fight back in the fifth set after being down several points in the fifth set. We were able to get on a run and tie it up. Central is always a hard place to play. The ceiling is low and has lots of barriers to hit and they are a great team that is coached well. I’m glad we were able to handle the pressure in the fifth set and close it out.” — Conway head coach Laura Crow
5. FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE (21-7-1)
Previous rank: No. 6
Last week: def. No. 10 Fort Smith Northside 3-2; def. No. 5 Bentonville West 3-2
This week: at Rogers Tuesday; at Bryant Thursday
Ella Shelby had 41 digs in both matches. Hayden McCain had 40 assists, 22 digs. Julia Suggs had 45 assists and 26 digs. Addison Tharnish had 19 kills and 4 blocks. Aniya Morris had 20 kills and 7 blocks. Rachel Settle had 27 kills and 4 blocks. Leighton Cross and 21 kills, 15 assists and 13 digs.
6. BENTONVILLE WEST (19-10)
Previous rank: No. 5
Last week: def. Shiloh Christian 3-0; lost 3-2 to No. 6 Fort Smith Southside
This week: vs. No. 8 Springdale Har-Ber Tuesday; at No. 2 Bentonville Thursday
Audrey Calva had 36 kills in both matches. Laney Chilton had 46 digs. Olivia Hamm had 46 assists and Jayden Gribble had 33 assists.
7. LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL (17-6)
Previous rank: No. 7
Last week: lost 3-2 to No. 4 Conway; def. Little Rock Southwest 3-0
This week: vs. No. 9 Jonesboro Tuesday; vs. Valley View Thursday
All six of the Lady Tigers losses have come to the top six teams in 6A.
8. SPRINGDALE HAR-BER (16-12)
Previous rank: No. 8
Last week: def. Rogers 3-0
This week: at No. 6 Bentonville West Tuesday; at Rogers Heritage Thursday
Blakely Pryer had 12 digs and 8 kills vs. Rogers while Leighton Keyes had 9 kills and 5 digs and Beaux Cameron had 10 kills.
9. JONESBORO (15-9-1)
Previous rank: No. 9
Last week: def. Little Rock Southwest 3-0; lost 3-0 to No. 4 Conway
This week: at Little Rock Central Tuesday; vs. Greene County Tech Thursday
Cooper Beck had 20 assists and Emilee Than had 10 digs vs. Little Rock Southwest.
10. FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE (17-17)
Previous rank: No. 10
Last week: lost 3-2 to No. 6 Fort Smith Southside Tuesday; lost 3-0 to No. 2 Bentonville Thursday
This week: vs. Rogers Heritage Tuesday; at Fayetteville Thursday
Paisley Hogan had 32 kills in both matches. Kamdyn Flemming had 46 assists. Eden Fields had 74 digs in both matches.. Jalliyah Freeman-Rhone had 31 digs.
5A
Conference titles are taking shape as the regular season heads into ints final week.
Farmington (21-5-1, 12-0) leads Shiloh Christian (18-13-1, 9-3) by three games in the 5A-West. In the 5A-South, Benton (20-7, 12-1) leads Hot Springs Lakeside MTXE (14-7-2, 11-2) by one game after the Rams lost 3-2 (25-27, 25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 10-15) to Lake Hamilton Thursday night. In the 5A-Central, Mount St. Mary (22-8-1, 15-0) leads Greenbrier (14-11, 11-3) by four games. In the East, Marion (22-2, 14-0) leads Valley View (23-5, 12-3) and has the conference title wrapped up.
The big news this week was Valley View head coach Margie McGee getting here 750th career victory in a 3-1 victory (25-9, 24-26, 25-19, 25-17) over Mountain Home.
1. MARION (22-2)
Previous rank: No. 2
Last week: def. West Memphis 3-0
This week: at Mountain Home Tuesday; vs. Searcy Thursday
Lady Patriots able to give a lot of players playing time in a sweep of West Memphis (25-6, 25-10, 25-17).
2. VALLEY VIEW (23-5)
Previous rank: No. 1
Last week: def. Greene County Tech 3-0; def. Mountain Home 3-1; def. Nettleton 3-1
This week: vs. Searcy Tuesday; at Little Rock Central Thursday
Head coach Margie McGee gets her 750th career victory on the night the school celebrates its 100th anniversary.
“And yes I didn’t realize I was that far into getting that many wins. My husband kept up with it because he said someone was trying to nominate me for an award so we went through a few years back to figure out wins and loss records. I’m pretty sure it was 2019 when I was AVCA national coach of the year. Also I was asked on a radio sports show what my coaching record was and it drove him crazy that I couldn’t answer because I didn’t know.
We had our Valley View school 100 years night celebration against Mountain Home because their head coach, Jill Daves, played for me on our first 2003 state championship team. So we thought it would be a great honor to have her also be part of the celebration. I was emotional and so full of pride and love for these ladies that came back for us to honor them. We had a great turnout on a Tuesday night. And to be able to get 750 on such a special night to share it with my team was such an honor. We are not finished yet. Just feel extremely blessed to say “I GET TO.. BE THEIR COACH” throughout all of these years. Coaches come and go and switch jobs when the well runs dry but I am just so thankful that I have been able to call Valley View my home, my family, for all of these years. Truly humbled and blessed.” — Valley View head coach Margie McGee on getting her 750th career victory.
3. FARMINGTON (21-5-1)
Previous rank: No. 5
Last week: def. Russellville 3-0; def. Harrison 3-0
This week: at Greenwood Tuesday; vs. Shiloh Christian Thursday
Emmerson Rehkopf had 33 kills and 17 digs and Kolie Beach had 63 assists and 20 digs in both victories.
4. MOUNT ST. MARY (22-8–1)
Previous rank: No. 5
Last week: def. Baptist Prep 3-2; def. No. 9 Little Rock Christian Academy 3-1; def. Vilonia 3-1
This week: vs. Beebe Thursday
“As we get closer towards the end of the season. We are constantly scouted as I’m sure LRCA did to prep for our game. We have dove deep as a program to work on intentional reps and just minimizing other teams runs whether those be from our errors or other teams strengths.
As we continue to grow these girls are constantly adapting to this game that is constantly evolving.” — Mount St. Mary head coach Jeremy Necco on the victory over Little Rock Christian Academy
5. BENTON (20-7)
Previous rank: No. 7
Last week: def. Lake Hamilton 3-0; def. White Hall 3-0
This week: vs. Little Rock Christian Academy Monday; at Hot Springs Tuesday; vs. Conway Thursday
Isabella Gonzalez had 21 kills, 17 digs in both victories.
“it was a good team effort and we kept the pressure on Lake Hamilton with good back row defense.” Benton head coach Michelle Shoppach on the win over Lake Hamilton
6. VAN BUREN (14-7-1)
Previous rank: No. 4
Last week: def. Greenwood 3-1; lost 3-2 to Siloam Springs
This week: vs. Russellville Tuesday; at Alma Thursday
Aubrie McGhee had 34 kills and 27 digs in both matches. Maitlyn Dunn had 56 assists and 31 digs. Isabella Peters had 40 digs and 5 aces. Catie Dunbar had 45 assists and 20 digs.
7. SILOAM SPRINGS (14-10)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Last week: def. No. 8 Shiloh Christian 3-0; def. No. 4 Van Buren 3-2
This week: vs. Alma Tuesday; at Russellville Thursday
One week after dropping out of the rankings, Siloam Springs moves back in with victories over two ranked teams.
“I’m incredibly proud of the team for handling pressure well and competing at a high level after getting down 2-0. Van Buren really pushed us—they’re a disciplined, well-coached team, but we were able to work together and make adjustments to find different ways to get them out of system and to score. We had a great night defensively and behind the service line, and we showed a lot of heart and teamwork on the court that helped us secure the match.” — Siloam Springs head coach Carrie Thammarath on the victory over Van Buren
8. SHILOH CHRISTIAN (18-13-1)
Previous rank: No. 8
Last week: lost 3-0 to Bentonville West; lost 3-0 to Siloam Springs; def. Greenwood 3-1
This week: vs. Harrison Tuesday; at Farmington Thursday
Chloe Blessing injured her ankle In the Conway Lady Cat Invitational and was limited against Bentonville West. She returned with 17 kills and 24 digs in a 3-1 victory over Greenwood. Kennedy Brown had 55 assists in all three matches. Bristol Bonanno had 52 digs in all three matches.
9. LITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (17-8)
Previous rank: No. 9
Last week: lost 3-1 to Mount St. Mary Tuesday; def. Little Rock Parkview 3-0
This week: at Benton Monday; vs. Beebe Tuesday; vs. Maumelle Thursday
Lady Warriors holding on to third place in 5A-Central.
NO. 10 GREENBRIER (14-11)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Last week: def. Vilonia 3-0; def. Maumelle 3-0
This week: vs. Little Rock Parkview Tuesday; vs. Jacksonville Thursday
Lily Parker had 6 kills, 19 asset and 5 dis in the victory over Vilonia. Aubrie Aich had 14 digs and Tristyn Moseley had 14 kills and 5 digs.
DROPPED OUT
No. 6 Hot Springs Lakeside
