Coverage presented by Arkansas Select Volleyball.
6A
The only change in this week’s poll is Fayetteville and Conway switch places with the Lady Bulldogs moving from No. 4 to No. 3 after winning the Lori Endicott Invitational in Willard, Mo.
Fayetteville won four matches against four Missouri-baed teams with a combined 40-23-3 record.
1. CABOT (20-1)
Previous rank: No. 1
Last week: def. Mount St. Mary 3-0; def. North Little Rock 3-0
This week: vs. Jonesboro Tuesday; vs. Benton Wednesday; at Little Rock Southwest Thursday
Lady Panthers take down No. 1 team in 5A.
“We knew coming in that they’d be tough. They are number one for a reason. They had one of the best blocks and defensive teams we have played. We made some adjustments after the first set to focus more on playing our game and it paid off. I’m really proud of our grit and discipline to win in 3.” — Cabot head coach Anna Robertson
2. BENTONVILLE (18-2)
Previous rank: No. 2
Last week: def. No. 4 Fayetteville 3-0; def. No. 5 Bentonville West 3-2
This week: at Rogers Monday; vs Fort Smith Southside Tuesday
Lady Tigers make it through first half of 6A-West Conference play undefeated.
“Girls played hard tonight. Fayetteville put a lot of pressure on us with their offense and serving but they handled it well. We blocked well tonight and controlled the match. Serve and pass serve and pass is big for us. Staying in system and using our offense.” — Bentonville head coach Hannah Berry on the victory over Fayetteville
3. FAYETTEVILLE (13-2)
Previous rank: No. 4
Last week: lost 3-0 to No. 2 Bentonville Tuesday; def. Fort Smith Northside 3-0; Lori Endicott Invitational at Willard, Mo.: def. Eldon (Mo.) 2-0; def. 2-0;Carthage (Mo.), def. Willard (Mo.) 2-0; def. Marshfield (Mo.) 2-0
This week: vs. Bentonville West Tuesday; at Rogers Thursday
Lady Bulldogs win a tournament against four teams from Missouri with a combined 40-23-3 record.
“Tournaments are a great opportunity to continue to make progress and I think we were able to string together a series of four solid matches.” — Fayetteville head coach Jessica Phelan
4. CONWAY (16-4)
Previous rank: No. 3
Last week: def. No. 9 Jonesboro 3-0; def. Bryant 3-0
This week: at Little Rock Southwest Tuesday; vs. North Little Rock Thursday
Lady Cats 5-1 through first half of 6A-Central Conference play.
“The Lady Cats played well at home tonight. Our serving was on point in both the JV and V varsity matches. We have been working on serving tough to the seams which created a lot of free ball opportunities to improve our offense. Our defense did a great job of running through balls and keeping us in system. We were able to mix up our shots and hit the open holes on the court making our offense unpredictable.” — Conway head coach Laura Crow on the victory over Bryant
5. BENTONVILLE WEST (10-7)
Previous rank: No. 5
Last week: lost 3-2 to No. 7 Springdale Har-Ber; lost to No. 2 Bentonville 3-2
This week: vs. Rogers Heritage Monday; at Fayetteville Tuesday; vs. Springdale Tuesday
Bentonville West had Bentonville down 2-1. Claire Schofield had 20 kills in the match Laney Chilton had 22 digs and Olivia Hamm had 23 assists.
6. FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE (14-4-1)
Previous rank: No. 6
Last week: def. No. 10 Rogers 3-0
This week: at Springdale Har-Ber Monday; at Bentonville Tuesday; vs. Rogers Heritage Thursday
Ella Shelby had 19 digs and Julia Suggs had 16 assists in victory over Rogers.
7. SPRINGDALE HAR-BER (10-8)
Previous rank: No. 7
Last week: def. No. 5 Bentonville West 3-2; def. Rogers Heritage 3-0
This week: vs. Fort Smith Southside Monday; at Springdale Tuesday; vs. Bentonville Thursday
“I am so proud of my kids response tonight. We have had a tough couple of weeks and to see them rally together, be mentally tough, and play Har-Ber volleyball was a joy to watch. West is an extremely talented team and to come out with a five set win is something to be proud of.” — Springdale Har-Ber head coach Cassie Loyd
8. LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL (11-3)
Previous rank: No. 6
Last week: def. Little Rock Southwest 3-0; def. No. 9 Jonesboro 3-0
This week: vs. North Little Rock Tuesday; vs. Little Rock Parkview Thursday
Lady Tigers bounce back with two 6A-Central Conference victories. Jaxon Jersey had 21 kills in both matches.
9. JONESBORO (13-5-1)
Previous rank: No. 9
Last week: lost 3-0 to No. 3 Conway; lost 3-0 to No. 8 Little Rock Central; Jonesboro Hurricane Playday: def, Batesville 3-0; def. Walnut Ridge 3-0. Gold bracket: def. Paragould 2-1; lost to 2-1 to Dyer County (Tenn.)
This week: at Cabot Tuesday; vs. Bryant Thursday
Lady Hurricanes reach finals of Jonesboro Play Day and fall to a team that is 28-7-1.
“I’m proud of my girls for batting through injuries, fatigue and just a mentally tough week overall. Not the way we wanted to finish, but Dyer County is a great team. Looking forward to the second round of conference next week.” — Jonesboro head coach Canaan Groesbeck
10. ROGERS (9-7-2)
Previous rank: No. 10
Last week: def. Farmington 3-1; lost 3-0 to No. 6 Fort Smith Southside Wednesday; def. Springdale 3-0
This week: vs. Bentonville Monday; at Fort Smith Northside Tuesday; at Fayetteville Thursday. Mount Vernon (Mo.) Aces Tournament: vs. Mount Vernon (Mo.), vs. Aurora (Mo.), vs. Springdale Parkview (Mo.)
Izzi Anderson had 40 digs in both matches.
5A
The No. 1 spot changed hands as Valley View moves from No. 3 to No. 1 after winning the Hot Springs Lakeside MTXE Tournament, capping it off with a 2-0 victory over Hackett (25-22, 25-23), Class 2A’s No. 1-ranked team.
“Hackett is sold and tough. They’re a smart, well coached team and I think they’ll make a deep run. It was fun playing against them fighting back to the finish on the last few points,” said Valley View head coach Margie McGee.
Mount St. Mary, which had been ranked No. 1 since Sept. 8 when it defeated Valley View to win Spikefest, had a tough week with a loss at Cabot along with losses to Lake Hamilton, Jonesboro Westside and Greene County Tech in the silver bracket at the Lakeside tournament.
1. VALLEY VIEW (18-4)
Previous rank: No. 3
Last week: def. Searcy 3-1; def. Greene County Tech 3-0; def. Batesville 3-0. Lakeside MTXE Tournament: def. Beebe 3-0; def. Mena 3-0. Gold bracket: def. Hot Springs Lakeside 2-0; def. Bauxite 2-0; def. Hackett 2-0
This week: at Paragould Tuesday
Lady Blazers lose only one set all week.
“Resiliency the level of competition all day on both sides of the net has been great. You want to see some teams from different sides of the state. To have a day of great volleyball and be tested in the championship match is what you want. I told our girls to worry about our side of the court and what we did and that’s what we did. I got on to them at Searcy and told them about not playing clean volleyball. I feel like some kind of switch has flipped. Since then, they have played for each other. I’m really proud of them.” — Valley View head coach Margie McGee
2. MARION (16-2)
Previous rank: No. 2
Last week: def. Mountain Home 3-0; def. Searcy 3-0; def. Greene County Tech 3-0.
This week: at Nettleton Tuesday; vs. Batesville Thursday
Claire Brinkley 35 assists and 4 digs and Taylor Chamness 29 assists and 9 digs. Kaitlyn Austin had 23 kills and 30 digs. Abbigaiile Simmons had 35 digs. Kennedy Bullins had 26 kills and 10 blocks and Kendall Brown had 38 kills, 5 blocks and 20 digs.
3. VAN BUREN (10-5-1)
Previous rank: No. 4
Last week: def. Siloam Springs 3-2; def. Russellville 3-0
This week: vs. Alma Tuesday; at Shiloh Christian Thursday
Lady Pointers have won eight in a row.
“We’re really proud of this group and the way they’ve come together. The girls have worked hard, trusted the process, and really bought in to what we’re trying to do as a team. It’s been fun to see their effort pay off, especially being able to bounce back and get some revenge from early-season losses. We know we still have more to improve on, but this streak is a reflection of their commitment and growth. Moving up in the rankings is just a product of their hard work and preparation!” — Van Buren head coach Whitney Adams.
4. MOUNT ST. MARY (15-5–1)
Previous rank: No. 1
Last week: lost 3-0 to Cabot Monday; def. Beebe 3-0; def. Maumelle 3-0; at Lakeside MTXE Tournament: lost 2-1 to Lake Hamilton, lost 2-1 to Jonesboro Westside. Silver Bracket: def. LR Hall; lost to Greene County Tech
This week: at Little Rock Parkview Tuesday; vs. Greenbrier Thursday
Catherine Anderson and Lindley Dalton combined for 27 assists vs. Cabot. Taylor Wherry had 8 kills vs. Beebe.
5. FARMINGTON (15-5-1)
Previous rank: No. 6
Last week: lost 3-1 to Rogers Monday; def. Harrison 3-0; def. Greenwood 3-1
This week: at Shiloh Christian Tuesday; at Alma Thursday
During the week. Emmerson Rehkopf had 52 kills; Laney Brisel had 27 kills; Kolie Beach had 47 assists; and Emily Hendrick had 33 assists.
6. BENTON (11-4)
Previous rank: No. 7
Last week: lost 3-0 to Brookland; def. White Hall 3-0; def. Hot Springs 3-0
This week: at Sheridan Tuesday; at Cabot Wednesday; vs. El Dorado Thursday
Lady Panthers rebound from loss to Brookland with two 5A-South Conference victories.
“Brookland was very steady and kept coming at us. We blocked them but they got it up;
they probably had 10 aces!!!!” — Benton head coach Michelle Shoppach on the loss to Brookland
7. SHILOH CHRISTIAN (11-6-1)
Previous rank: No. 8
Last week: def. Greenwood 3-0; def. Harrison 3-1
This week: vs. Hackett Monday; vs. Farmington Tuesday; at Van Buren Thursday
Chloe Blessing had 28 kills and 35 digs in both matches. Kennedy Brown had 45 assists. Micah Unger had 33 assists and Bristol Bonanno had 33 digs.
8. SILOAM SPRINGS (9-7)
Previous rank: No. 10
Last week: def. Springdale 3-0; lost 3-2 to Van Buren; def. Alma 3-0
This week: vs. Russellville Tuesday; vs. Greenwood Thursday
Cenzi Johnson had 51 digs in three matches. Erika Ellis had 52 kills and 42 digs. Isabel Suarez had 31 kills and 23 digs. Haley Thomas had 94 assists and 32 kills.
9. GREENBRIER (8-9)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Last week: def. Jacksonville 3-0; def. No. 8 Little Rock Christian Academy 3-2
This week: at Mount St. Mary Thursday
After a rough start in the which the Lady Panthers lost their first seven matches with three coming to 6A teams — Little Rock Central, Cabot and Bentonville — Greenbrier has rebounded to win eight of its last 10 and is 7-2 in the 5A-Central. Tristyn Mosley had 27 kills and 27 digs in the victory over Little Rock Christian. Marlie Crossman had 8 kills and 16 digs and Kyleigh Briant had 18 digs and 3 aces in the victory.
10. LITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (10-5)
Previous rank: No. 5
Last week: def. Maumelle 3-0; lost 3-1 to Greenbrier
This week: vs. Bryant Monday; at Jacksonville Tuesday; at Sylvan Hills Thursday
Lady Warriors have lost two of their past three matches
DROPPED OUT
No. 9 Beebe
