As the Arkansas high school volleyball season heads into the penultimate week, there is a lot at stake.
In the state’s top classification, No. 7 Conway (23-8, 10-1) hosts No. 12 Bryant (19-8-1, 9-2) on Tuesday for the 6A-Central Conference title. Bryant defeated Conway 3-2 on Sept. 26, snapping the Lady Cats’ 45-match conference winning streak.
In 5A, No. 10 Valley View (21-8-1, 12-2) and No. 13 Marion (20-7-1, 12-2) are tied for the 5A-East title. Both teams split during the regular season. Valley View goes to Searcy and Greene County Tech to close the regular season while Marion has a non-conference match at Jonesboro on Monday before hosting Mountain Home on Tuesday, then heading to Searcy on Thursday. If the two teams finish tied for the conference lead, Valley View gets the tiebreaker because the Lady Blazers defeated the Lady Patriots 3-0 on Oct. 10 while Lady Patriots won 3-2 on Sept. 16.
In Classes 2A, 3A and 4A, regional tournaments will be held for the first time as the top four teams from each regional will advance to the state tournament starting on Tuesday. The loser of the first-round match will be eliminated while the rest of the tournament will determine seeding for the state tournament.
The biggest upset of the week saw No. 20 Fort Smith Northside defeat No. 2 Fort Smith Southside 3-0 for the first time since 2006. As a result, the Lady Bears moved to No. 15. No. 23 Gravette avenged two regular-season losses to No. 13 Prairie Grove to earn the No. 1 seed in the 4A-North regional and jumped to No. 19 in the rankings.
Served by Arkansas Select Volleyball.
1. HACKETT (30-0)
Previous rank: No. 1
Lady Hornets sweep their way through 2A-5 District Tournament, beating Magazine and Quitman. First set vs. Magazine was 25-0. Catelyn Edwards served 10 aces, 10 points came off kills and 5 came off Magazine errors. Lady Hornets Coach Bridget Freeman said it’s the third time since she’s been at Hackett that her team has blanked a team in a set.
2. BENTON (28-3-1)
Previous rank: No. 3
Lady Panthers improve to 13-0 in the 5A-South after wins over Lake Hamilton, Little Rock Christian and White Hall. Will close the regular season at Conway on Thursday.
“I think I had a lot of confidence tonight in our setters and passers to get a good set. We came in a little overconfident in ourselves and we had to lose that first set to get us going. After we won the second set, we had the rhythm. We’re on a big high and playing together and that will help us come [state] tournament time.” — Benton’s Parker Stearns on the win over Little Rock Christian.
3. FORT SMITH SOUTHSIDE (26-5)
Previous rank: No. 2
Lady Mavericks lose to No. 20 Fort Smith Northside for the first time since 2006 and beat No. 15 Bentonville West in four sets. Host Rogers and No. 12 Bryant this week.
“You either win or learn, and tonight was a big learning night for us. Lydia Pitts was out sick. That put us in a bit of a bind. To Northside’s credit, they played clean volleyball. Not a lot of mistakes. We let the wheels fall off the Ferrari and made way too many unforced errors. I appreciated them stepping up into a new lineup right before the game, but we have to play more consistent than what we did tonight. We’ll take what we can from this loss and use it to push ourselves through the end of conference and into postseason.” — Fort Smith Southside Coach Natalie Throneberry on the loss to Northside
4. SHILOH CHRISTIAN (27-4-1)
Previous rank: No. 4
Lady Saints sweep Siloam Springs and Greenwood. They close the regular season at Harrison and host No. 21 Farmington.
5. BAPTIST PREP (29-7-1)
Previous rank: No. 5
Addie Fielder had 17 kills and 10 digs in a 3-0 victory over Joe T. Robinson. Ryan Rusher had 14 kills and 12 digs in a 3-0 victory over Bauxite.
6. FAYETTEVILLE (19-6)
Previous rank: No. 6
Lady Bulldogs have sweeps of Rogers Heritage and Springdale as Ella Bryan had 18 kills in both matches. Molly Miller had 38 assists in both matches.
7. CONWAY (23-8)
Previous rank: No. 8
Lady Cats get the season sweep of No. 7 Little Rock Central and will host No. 12 Bryant for 6A-Central Conference championship.
“The goal was fast transition on them. They’re a good team, really gritty and get after it. We needed that conference win. After the second set, they backed us into a corner. In the fourth set, we changed up our rotation and that put us in a good position to pull it out. Every time in October, it’s a grind, you have a lot of stuff going on. You’ve got to take care of business one game at a time.” — Conway Coach Laura Crow after the victory over Little Rock Central
8. BROOKLAND (30-5)
Previous rank: No. 9
Lady Bearcats defeat Greene County Tech, Trumann, Jonesboro Westside and Highland. They will host Westside in the finals of the district tournament tonight.
9. BENTONVILLE (19-8)
Previous rank: No. 10
Lady Tigers have their best week of the season by knocking off No. 20 Fort Smith Northside and going 4-1 at State Line Showdown in Kansas with wins over Bishop Miege (Kan.), Shawnee Mission East (Kan.), Blue Valley (Kan.) and Blue Springs South (Mo.). Their only loss was to Blue Valley North (Kan.), which is 18-8. Big week with No. 6 Fayetteville on Tuesday and No. 18 Bentonville West on Thursday.
“The girls had a great day today. It was a long, tiring day with back to back games and only minutes in between matches. We got second place only losing to Blue Valley North (Kan.) who had a very strong team and we went to three with Bishop Miege (Kan.). Tori Otter had a great day, as well as Madi Hooper and Ady Bollinger played lights out and was all over the place. Evie Venters had some big blocks and swings as well.” — Bentonville Coach Hannah Berry on her team’s performance at the State Line Showdown.
10. VALLEY VIEW (21-8-1)
Previous rank: No. 11
Lady Blazers closing in on a share of the 5A-East title after beating Mountain Home and Nettleton.
“We are playing great fundamental volleyball in our serve and pass game. I’m proud of our composure in pressure situations in dig to hit, with mixing up smart shots and going for the point. We’re heating up at the right time of the year. We are a completely different team in our mindset than what we were 2-3 weeks ago with a few changes, that have paved the way in a positive direction. They have grown as a team and we are handling the pressure by sliding into first place in the strong 5A East conference.” — Valley View Coach Margie McGee
11. LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL (20-6-1)
Previous rank: No. 7
Lady Tigers suffer 4-set loss to No. 8 Conway before sweeping Little Rock Southwest.
“My girls played hard tonight and there was a lot of good effort and hustle, but we got beat by our own errors because every set was tight. We have to keep our momentum and protect that momentum and lead. It’s something we have to work on. We need to learn how to close. Their mentality is pretty solid. We hate losing; we’re competitive and hate losing to teams we can beat. We just have to protect our energy. We have to understand we can beat any team in this conference. They’ve got it in them and they’re competitive and highly skilled. It’s a matter of finding a way to close.” — Little Rock assistant coach Jessica Cantrell.
12. BRYANT (19-8-1)
Previous rank: No. 12
Lady Hornets defeat Cabot and North Little Rock and will face No. 7 Conway for the 6A-Central Conference title.
“This is a very big match for us. This was one of our goals for the season. Conway is a great program, but I’m excited about the possible outcome. The team has put in a lot of hard work and we are looking for the positive results.” — Bryant Coach Leigh Ann Back on the upcoming match with Conway
13. MARION (20-7-1)
Previous rank: No. 14
Lady Patriots sweep West Memphis as Kendall Brown had 10 kills, Maggie Miller had 16 assists and Abigaile Simmons and Katelyn Austin had 15 digs.
14. MOUNT ST. MARY (23-9)
Previous rank: No. 16
Lady Belles drop Little Rock Christian and Vilonia and will close the regular season at Beebe Thursday.
15. FORT SMITH NORTHSIDE (18-12)
Previous rank: No. 20
Lady Bears sweep No. 2 Fort Smith Southside for their first win against their rival since 2006 before falling to No. 10 Bentonville.
“I’m super proud of my kids and their grit and determination tonight. Our defense fueled our offense and it was a beautiful sight.” — Fort Smith Northside Coach Matthew Waack on the win over Southside.
16. PRAIRIE GROVE (21-4-1)
Previous rank: No. 13
Lady Tigers were upset by No. 23 Gravette in the finals in the finals of the 4A-1 District Tournament.
“Gravette played lights out tonight. We had a lot of unforced errors at crucial times that we couldn’t bounce back from. Next week is a new season and we are excited for the opportunity to compete as the two seed from the 4A-1 district in the first ever 4A regional tournaments.” — Prairie Grove Coach Lindsey Biocic
17. SPRINGDALE HAR-BER (17-11)
Previous rank: No. 17
Lady Wildcats defeat Rogers 3-1 as Brooklyn Ware had 25 digs and 4 aces, while Macon Butler had 20 kills.
18. BENTONVILLE WEST (18-12)
Previous rank: No. 12
Lady Wolverines fall to No. 2 Fort Smith Southside 3-1. Audrey Calva had 14 kills and 14 digs, while Avery Ridge had 13 kills. Trinity Collette had 19 digs. Kate Schofield had 47 assists. Bentonville West goes to No. 17 Springdale Har-Ber and hosts No. 9 Bentonville this week.
19. GRAVETTE (16-5)
Previous rank: No. 23
Lady Lions become the first team in the 4A-1 Conference to knock off Prairie Grove and take the No. 1 seed into the 4A-West Regional where they will play Clarksville.
“My girls really showed up to play yesterday. They executed the game plan and were absolutely fearless. Every player on the team was focused to support each other. Our senior class really stepped up as leaders along with our junior libero and two freshman.” — Gravette Coach Addison Masters after beating Prairie Grove in the district finals
20. GREENBRIER (19-9)
Previous rank: No. 17
After wins over Vilonia and Maumelle, the Lady Panthers are 14-0 in the 5A-Central and have the conference title wrapped up.
21. FARMINGTON (17-6)
Previous rank: No. 19
Lady Cardinals drop Russellville and Harrison as Emmerson Rehkopf had 33 kills in both matches, while Addy Dura had 81 assists in both matches. Will close the regular season at Shiloh Christian.
22. PARIS (27-6)
Previous rank: No. 21
Lady Eagles take No. 1 seed into 3A-North Regional after beating Booneville and Conway Christian to win the district title.
23. POTTSVILLE (22-9-1)
Previous rank: No. 22
Lady Apaches earn No. 1 seed in 4A-North Regional where they will meet Pea Ridge after closing the regular season by beating Heber Springs and Morrilton.
“We are super excited going into the regional as the 1 from our conference. It is a confidence boost for us and it has been a lot of fun so far to watch, especially the last couple of weeks. Our defense is scrappy and steady and our hitters are starting to all come along at a good time. But we also know that we must take it game by game. In the postseason anything can happen and we know the biggest game coming up for us is the next one.” — Pottsville Coach Kacie Stabler
24. MENA (22-10)
Previous rank: No. 24
Lady Bearcats win the 4A-6 Conference after beating Magnolia and Malvern and will host the 4A-South Regional by meeting Joe T. Robinson.
25. CONWAY ST. JOSEPH (17-4)
Previous rank: No. 25
Lady Bulldogs win conference tournament with victories over Magnet Cove and England and will host the 2A-South Regional by meeting Foreman.
DROPPED OUT
None
REGIONAL PAIRINGS
First-round matches start Tuesday (Oct. 22)
CLASS 4A
North regional at Morrilton
1st-2 Pottsville vs. 4th-1 Pea Ridge, 1 p.m.
2nd-1 Prairie Grove vs. 3rd-2 Morrilton, 3 p.m.
1st-1 Gravette vs. 4th-2 Clarksville, 5 p.m.
2nd-2 Ozark vs. 3rd-1 Huntsville, 4 p.m.
South regional at Mena
1st-6 Mena vs. 4th-5 Joe T. Robinson, 1 p.m.
2nd-5 Pulaski Academy vs. 3rd-6 Malvern, 3 p.m.
1st-5 Baptist Prep vs. 4th-6 Fountain Lake, 5 p.m.
2nd-6 Arkadelphia vs. 3rd-5 Bauxite, 7 p.m.
East regional at Brookland
1st-3 Brookland vs. 4th-4 Forrest City, 1 p.m.
2nd-4 Lonoke vs. 3rd-3 Pocahontas, 3 p.m.
1st-4 Wynne vs. 4th-3 Highland, 5 p.m.
2nd-4 Jonesboro Westside vs. 3rd-4 Southside, 7 p.m.
CLASS 3A
East regional at Hoxie
1st-3 Harrisburg vs. 4th-2 Bergman, 1 p.m.
2nd-2 Salem vs. 3rd-3 Manila, 3 p.m.
1st-2 Valley Springs vs. 4th-3 Hoxie, 5 p.m.
2nd-3 Crowley’s Ridge Academy vs. 3rd-2 Flippin, 7 p.m.
North regional at Mansfield
1st-5 Paris vs. 4th-1 Elkins, 1 p.m.
2nd-1 Lavaca vs. 3rd-5 Mayflower, 3 p.m.
1st-1 Mansfield vs. 4th-5 Booneville, 5 p.m.
2nd-5 Conway Christian vs. 3rd-1 Lincoln, 7 p.m.
South regional at Haskell Harmony Grove
1st-6 Harmony Grove vs. 4th-4 Riverview, 1 p.m.
2nd-4 Central Arkansas Christian vs. 3rd-6 Jessieville, 3 p.m.
1st-4 Harding Academy vs. 4th-6 Cossatot River, 5 p.m.
2nd-6 Ashdown vs. 3rd-4 Episcopal Collegiate, 7 p.m.
CLASS 2A
East regional at Izard County
1st-2 Marshall vs. 4th-4 Barton, 1 p.m.
2nd-4 Marianna Lee vs. 3rd-2 Izard County, 3 p.m.
1st-4 Piggott vs. 4th-2 Cedar Ridge, 5 p.m.
2nd-2 Cotter vs. 3rd-4 Palestine Wheatley, 7 p.m.
North regional at Decatur
1st-3 Hackett vs. 4th-1 Founders Classical, 1 p.m.
2nd-1 Ozark Catholic vs. 3rd-3 Magazine, 3 p.m.
1st-1 Life Way Christian vs. 4th-3 Guy Perkins, 5 p.m.
2nd-3 Quitman vs. 3rd-1 Decatur, 7 p.m.
South regional at Conway St. Joseph
1st-6 Taylor vs. 4th-5 Magnet Cove, 1 p.m.
2nd-5 England vs. 3rd-6 Nevada, 3 p.m.
1st-5 Conway St. Joseph vs. 4th-6 Foreman, 5 p.m.
2nd-6 Columbia Christian vs. 3rd-5 Cutter Morning Star, 7 p.m.