Coverage presented by Arkansas Select Volleyball.
Bentonville made its case for No. 1 by going on the road and beating No. 5 Fort Smith Southside in straight sets.
This week, there are two big matches in 6A. On Tuesday, the Lady Mavericks host Fayetteville. A year ago, Southside swept Fayetteville. On Thursday, No. 2 Cabot goes to No. 3 Conway. Cabot defeated Conway 2-0 in the semifinals of the Bentonville Early Bird Invitational and hasn’t defeated Conway in 6A-Central Conference play Sept. 10, 2000.
6A
1. BENTONVILLE (8-1)
Previous rank: No. 1
Last week: def. 5 Fort Smith Southside 3-0; def. No. 6 Springdale Har-Ber 3-0
This week: vs. Rogers Heritage Thursday. LRCA Classic Saturday: vs. LR Christian, vs. Mayflower, vs. North Little Rock
Lady Tigers make a statement with a road win at Southside.
“True team effort again tonight. We have a strong offense that is hard to defend when everyone is flowing. The energy was high and it was fun to watch. Southside is always a tough place to play and they are a well coached team. They are scrappy and kept us working tonight.” — Bentonville head coach Hannah Berry
2. CABOT (8-1)
Previous rank: No. 2
Last week: def. Jonesboro 3-0
This week: vs. LR Southwest Tuesday; at Conway Thursday. LRCA Classic Saturday: vs. Harrisburg, vs. Benton, vs. Alma
Cabot has a chance to make an early statement in the 6A-Central. Mariah Bunn had 16 digs vs. Jonesboro while Mecate Marsh and Olivia Ambeau had 16 assists and Izzie Duncan had 8 kills.
3. CONWAY (7-2)
Previous rank: No. 3
Last week: def. Brookland 3-1; def. Little Rock Southwest 3-0
This week: vs. Hot Springs Lakeside Monday; at North Little Rock Tuesday; vs. No. 2 Cabot Thursday
Wren Jones had 23 kills in victory over Brookland.
“We were slow to start but were able to pick it up in the second set. Brookland was a super scrappy team with great ball control. We really had to focus on serving aggressive in the last three sets to try to keep them out of system. Our middles stepped up their offense and were able to connect better with the setters which we have been working on practice. That allowed our pin hitters to get on a roll. Our pin blockers made some adjustments on where to line up and we were able to force some easier attacks to defend.” — Conway head coach Laura Crow
4. FAYETTEVILLE (3-1)
Previous rank: No. 4
Last week: def. No. 8 Bentonville West 3-1; def Rogers 3-0
This week: at No. 5 Fort Smith Southside Tuesday; at No. 6 Springdale Har-Ber Thursday
Piper Batie had 17 kills and 21 assists in both matches while Molly Miller had 35 assists and 4 kills.
5. FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE (3-1)
Previous rank: No. 5
Last week: lost 3-0 to No. 1 Bentonville; def Rogers Heritage 3-0
This week: vs. Shiloh Christian, Monday; vs. No. 4 Fayetteville Tuesday; at Springdale Thursday; Fort Smith Invitational Saturday: vs. Farmington, vs. Gentry, vs. Little Rock Southwest
Julia Suggs had 18 assists vs. Rogers Heritage. Ella Shelby had 28 digs and 5 assists in both matches and Leighton Cross had 14 digs, 5 kills and 3 aces vs. Rogers Heritage.
“We knew that was going to be a tough match, and Bentonville did a great job of staying in system and playing clean, aggressive volleyball. They’re a very talented team and they gave us a lot to focus on in practice to improve. Being so young, we played a little tight and a little too inconsistent in stretches. We will go back to work and learn from this!” — Fort Smith Southside head coach Natalie Throneberry
6. LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL (3-0)
Previous rank: No. 7
Last week: def. North Little Rock 3-0
This week: vs. Baptist Prep Tuesday; vs. Bryant. LRCA Classic Saturday: vs. Searcy, vs. Episcopal Collegiate, vs. Baptist Prep
Lady Tigers have big non-conference matches with Baptist Prep and Episcopal Collegiate. Jaxon Jersey had 11 kills and 8 digs vs. North Little Rock while Ava Fuggit had 10 kills while hitting .318 and Sydney Crower had 23 assists.
7. SPRINGDALE HAR-BER (4-4)
Previous rank: No. 6
Last week: def. Springdale 3-0; lost to No. 1 Bentonville 3-0
This week: vs. No. 10 Fort Smith Northside Tuesday; at No. 4 Fayetteville Thursday
Lady Wildcats get swept by Bentonville. This time, they get a shot at Fayetteville. Reese Davis had 31 assists vs. Bentonville. Madi Bryant had 15 kills while hitting .733 vs. Springdale and had 8 kills vs. Bentonville.
“Bentonville is a really well rounded team. I was proud of how gritty and hard our kids played but Bentonville served really tough and played a really clean game.” — Springdale Har-Ber head coach Cassie Davis
8. BENTONVILLE WEST (5-3)
Previous rank: No. 8
Last week: lost 3-0 to No. 4 Fayetteville; def. Springdale 3-0
This week: vs. Rogers Tuesday; at No. 10 Fort Smith Northside Thursday
Addison Thurber and Audrey Calva combined for 25 kills against Springdale.
9. BRYANT (1-3)
Previous rank: No. 9
Last week: lost 3-2 to Baptist Prep; lost to Pulaski Academy 3-1
This week: vs. Jonesboro Tuesday; at No. 6 Little Rock Central Thursday. LRCA Classic Saturday: vs. Jonesboro Westside, vs. Bauxite, vs. Russellville
Losses have come against quality foes. Brooklyn Fischer, had 20 assists, 3 aces, 2 blocks and 2 against Baptist Prep
10. FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE (2-3)
Previous rank: No. 10
Last week: def. Rogers 3-1; lost 3-1 to Greenwood
This week: at No. 6 Springdale Har-Ber Tuesday; vs. No. 8 Bentonville West Thursday; Fort Smith Invitational Saturday: vs. Jonesboro, vs. Charleston, vs. Gravette
Caroline McKinney had 18 kills and 2 digs against Rogers and 12 kills, 2 aces and 6 digs against Greenwood.
5A
So much for Thursday’s matchup between Valley View and Marion being for No. 1 in Class 5A.
Mount St. Mary spoiled that by beating the Lady Blazers to win Spikefest and climb from No. 4 to No. 1.
Instead, Thursday’s matchup at Blazer Arena will give the winner a leg up in the race for the 5A-East with the second matchup coming on Oct. 9 in Marion.
1. MOUNT ST. MARY (10-1–1)
Previous rank: No. 4
Last week: def. Greenbrier 3-0; def. Jacksonville 3-0. Little Rock Spikefest: def. Ozark 2-0; tied Harrisburg 1-1; def. Greene County Tech 2-0; def. Paris 2-0-; def. Vilonia 2-0; def. Baptist Prep 2-0; def. No. 1 Valley View 2-0
This week: at Sylvan Hills Tuesday; vs. No. 8 Little Rock Christian Academy Thursday
Belles overcome two deficits in beating Valley View and beat Baptist Prep 25-22, 25-19 in the semifinals.
“I think it was really good. The girls had played great all day and had the discipline and were very consistent. They did a really good job managing who they are and fought for it. I am ready to go to state. We know what we need to work and know what our goals are and I’m going to rely on the whole program to get things done.” — Mount St. Mary assistant coach Jeremy Neco.
2. VALLEY VIEW (8-2)
Previous rank: No. 1
Last week: def. Paragould 3-0; lost 3-0 to Houston (Tenn.); Thursday. Little Rock Spikefest, Saturday: def. North Little Rock 3-0; def. Paris 3-0; def. Ozark 2-0; def. Mena 2-0; def. Harrisburg 2-0; lost 2-0 to No. 4 Mount St. Mary
This week: at West Memphis Tuesday; vs. No. 2 Marion Thursday
Lady Blazers blew a 21-16 lead in the first set before finding themselves tied at 23 and 24 and losing 26-24. I the second set, they were up 19-16 before being tied at 21, 22 and 23 and losing 25-23
“We got stuck in a rotation and they rattled off a bunch of points. We made some adjustments and figured that out. That’s why you come into tournaments like this to play teams like this. A day like this where you start plat at 9 o’clock in the morning and finish up at 9 o’clock tonight sets you through mentally. Some balls we had it beat and we pushed it that far and that’s part of letting the pressure get to you. We’re going to go to practice and work on that and work on the out of system and pressure situations.” — Valley View head coach Margie McGee
3. MARION (9-3)
Previous rank: No. 2
Last week: def. Nettleton 3-0; def. Batesville 3-0; at River City Classic, Bartlett, Tenn. Friday-Saturday: def. Bartlett (Tenn.) 2-0; def. Evangelical Christian (Tenn.) 2-0; def. White Station (Tenn.) 2-0; def. Good Pasture (Tenn.) 2-0; def. Lake Comorant (Miss.) 2-0; lost to Houston (Tenn.) 2-1
This week: vs. Paragould Tuesday; at No. 1 Valley View Thursday
Lady Patriots finish runner-up in River City Classic. Taylor Chamness had 43 assists, 4 aces and 16 digs in the tournament while Claire Brinkley had 53 assists and 22 digs. Abigaile Simmons had 12 assists, 45 digs and 7 aces. Kennedy Bullins had 9 kills, 2 blocks and 7 digs in a 3-0 victory over Nettleton. She had 40 kills, 7 assists and 22 blocks.
“We competed well the entire tournament but fell a little short against a talented Houston team.
It was a valuable opportunity for us to face quality competition and play different teams we normally don’t see. We got a lot of girls some touches and we got to get some quality time with each other on and off the court. We are getting better each time we step foot on the court and these young ladies are playing hard, playing together, and having fun! I am extremely proud of our team and excited to see how we respond.” — Marion head coach Lisa Beasley
4. BENTON (2-1)
Previous rank: No. 3
Last week: def. Sheridan 3-0
This week: vs. Greenbrier Monday, at El Dorado Tuesday; vs. Texarkana Thursday. LRCA Classic Saturday: vs. Cabot, vs. Harrisburg, vs. Alma
Anniston Fox had 19 assists vs. Sheridan while Isabella Gonzalez had 10 kills, 5 digs and 1 block.
5. GREENWOOD (5-4)
Previous rank: No. 5
Last week: def. Fort Smith Northside 3-0
This week: vs. Siloam Springs Tuesday; at Russellville Thursday
Alyssa Lowe had 12 kills vs. Northside while Abrey Jureka had 27 digs.
6. FARMINGTON (4-3)
Previous rank: No. 6
Last week: def. Paris 3-0, Tuesday; lost 3-0 to Hackett
This week: vs. Alma Tuesday; at Van Buren Thursday. Fort Smith Invitational Saturday: vs. Fort Smith Southside, vs. Gentry, vs. Little Rock Southwest
Emmerson Rehkopf had 20 kills vs. Hackett while Kolie Beach had 20 assists.
7. SHILOH CHRISTIAN (3-4)
Previous rank: No. 7
Last week: def. Rogers Heritage 3-0
This week: at Fort Smith Southside Monday; vs. Van Buren Tuesday; at Alma Thursday. Fort Smith Invitational Saturday: vs. Pottsville, vs. Rogers Heritage, vs. Mansfield
Chloe Blessing had 10 kills, 10 digs, and 3 aces against Rogers Heritage.
“We are looking forward to playing our first true road match at 6A power Southside on Monday. They have a rich tradition and are so well coached by Coach (Natalie) Throneberry, and we are looking forward to the challenge to really see how we implement the things we have been working hard on in practice this week. We are also looking forward to the very competitive tournament this weekend at Northside. It should be a great tournament and should also be extremely competitive with some great teams.” — Shiloh Christian head coach Nathan Bodenstein
8. LITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN ACADEMY (4-0)
Previous rank: No. 8
Last week: def. Sylvan Hills 3-1
This week: vs. Vilonia Tuesday; at No. 1 Mount St. Mary Thursday. LRCA Classic Saturday: vs. Bentonville, vs. Mayflower, vs. North Little Rock
Abby Robinson had 19 digs and 7 aces against Sylvan Hills.
9. HOT SPRINGS LAKESIDE MTXE (2-3)
Previous rank: No. 9
Last week: lost 3-2 to Pulaski Academy; def. White Hall 3-0
This week: at Conway Monday; at Texarkana Tuesday; vs. Hot Springs Thursday
London Jackson had 14 kills, 7 digs and 1 ace against White Hall.
10. GREENE COUNTY TECH (5-3)
Previous rank: No. 10
Last week: def. Mountain Home 3-2; def. Nettleton 3-0 at Little Rock Spikefest: lost 2-0 to Mount St. Mary; def. 2-0 to Ozark; def. 2-0 Harrisburg; lost 2-1 to Baptist Prep
This week: at Searcy Tuesday; vs. Paragould Thursday
Golden Eagles fall to Baptist Prep in the gold bracket at Spikefest.
“I think Baptist Prep is a great team so to battle with them the way we did is something I’m really proud of since we’re battling injuries and have some people filling in gaps. Overall, I’m proud of our team.” — Greene County Tech head coach Alex Hahn.
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