Wright era begins in Siloam Springs

The Joellen Wright era of Siloam Springs volleyball makes its debut this week as the Lady Panthers continue to gear up for the 2017 season.

Siloam Springs will travel Thursday to Harrison High School's brand new Goblin Arena for an Arkansas Activities Association benefit match with Harrison, Fayetteville and Springdale Har-Ber.

Teams are allowed to play four games as part of a benefit match, and the Lady Panthers will play two each, first against 7A state runner-up Springdale Har-Ber at 6:30 p.m. and then 7A state champion Fayetteville afterward. Siloam Springs will not play Harrison in the benefit because it will face the Lady Goblins twice during conference play.

"It will be a great way to measure up and see where we are," said Wright, the longtime assistant to legendary head coach Rose Cheek, who retired at the end of the 2016 season. Wright was promoted to head coach in the offseason.

She inherits a team that went 18-19 overall in 2016 and 7-5 in 5A/6A District 1 play.

The Lady Panthers had a good offseason and summer and began official fall practice on Aug. 1.

In the last two weeks the Lady Panthers have been working hard to solidify positions, schemes and rotations.

Siloam Springs will open the season running a 5-1 offense, which utilizes one setter.

Those duties will fall to junior Chloe Price, who has started at the varsity level since she was a freshman.

"Chloe has a great court sense," Wright said. "Sometimes she has a stat that you can't stat. She just makes good decisions with the ball. She's definitely much improved from last year and we just seem to gel really well in that 5-1."

Price led the team with 244 assists last season in splitting setter duties with graduated senior Meg Gray. Wright said Price is also a good leader and a strong competitor.

"She also has a good feel for when to be light and funny and help people relax," Wright said. "She's a good leader and does a really good job with these young kids communicating with them on serve-receive. During plays she'll even help them with corrections.

"She can take a not so great pass and make a great hittable set out of it. She is good at finding our hitters and giving them a hittable ball consistently."

Price will often look to her junior teammate Ellie Lampton to put the ball down at the outside hitter position.

Lampton had 200 kills last year and will move into the top hitter spot while senior Shaylon Sharp recovers from a torn ACL.

"She's just so athletic," Wright said of Lampton.

Wright said Lampton is much improved from last year, specifically in blocking and back row play.

"She blocked well at camp," Wright said. "She reads the set well and gets where she needs to be. The biggest thing about Ellie is her back row play is just spot on. Some of that is she's just so long and can get those balls up. She's scrappy. She'll get on the floor if she needs to."

Lampton didn't play on the back row last year except for serving, but she's expected to play all around now.

"She'll be a hitter in the back row for us too," Wright said. "She can smoke it from back there."

Senior Allie Bowman will play the outside hitter position when Lampton rotates to the back row.

Bowman finished with 91 kills last year from the right side. She started the offseason playing at the right side before the coaches decided to move her to the outside position.

"Allie was very consistent (at the outside hitter) and much improved from last year," Wright said. "She has a variety of shots. She knows when to throw off-speed, hit down the line, tip and she's smart with the ball. She likes to hammer it too.

"Her variety of shots is hard to defend when you mix it up."

Bowman brings a lot of positive energy to the floor and could play all rotations for the Lady Panthers. She could also move back to the right side if needed.

"Allie is very unselfish," Wright said.

Sharp, who led the team with 310 kills and was an all-state performer in Class 6A, is still on the road to recovery from a torn ACL suffered in the spring.

Sharp has been released to do certain individual controlled team drills but has not yet scrimmaged live.

There is no announced timetable for Sharp's return, but the Lady Panthers will not rush her back before she's ready.

"She has had a great attitude," Wright said. "She has a vision about what she wants her senior year to look like, and I think she's doing all she can do to make that happen."

In the middle, junior Katie Kendrick returns after splitting time last year with Alexis Roach, who transferred to Farmington.

"Katie is our best talker," Wright said. "She communicates all the time, and if she's not then something's wrong with her."

Kendrick will share time at middle blocker with senior Kenlie Noel and sophomore Jael Harried, who is coming on strong.

Noel returned to the team as a senior after not playing her junior year.

"Kenlie doesn't look like she's missed a beat," Wright said. "Jael has great foot work. She can get on and off the net. She kind of looks like Bambi out there, all arms and legs. I see her down the road being able to help us."

Sophomore Abby Herring is Siloam Springs' tallest player, standing at 6 feet. She's coming along as well at the middle blocker spot.

Reigan Brown will get a look at the right side position, the same spot her older sister Bailei Brown played. Bailei Brown is now a volleyball player at John Brown university.

Price will also play on the right side when she's rotated to the front row.

Seniors Kirsten Loftis and Kailee Thomason have been getting looks at the libero position as well as defensive back positions.

Thomason has bought in from Day 1, according to Wright.

"She's been a helpful leader off the court with all the little things seniors do," Wright said.

Loftis played some in the back row last year and is "probably the grittiest of all the back row kids when it comes to digging balls," Wright said.

"Somehow she gets a hand on them and makes them playable," Wright said.

Senior Madison Hall is in the back row mix as well and can play a number of different roles for Siloam Springs, including setter.

"Madison Hall is going to be a great utility player," Wright said. "She can play right back and left back and she can set. She can play front row if I needed her to. She's got a great vertical, strong serve and back row attack."

Junior Maddy Lasater has been working hard and could see some time on the back row, as could junior Annabelle Van Asche, who will be the setter for the junior varsity team.

"We've got a lot of kids that work hard which makes it fun," Wright said.

The Lady Panthers play their first regular season game on Tuesday, Aug. 22, at Paris.

"I do feel like we're ready to go," Wright said. "I'm ready to get the jerseys on and turn on the lights and see mentally where we are."

Maroon & Gray Night

The volleyball program will host its annual Maroon & Gray Night on Friday at the Panther Activity Center.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m., which is also the time of a seventh-grade parent meeting. The seventh-grade game will follow at 6 p.m., followed by the eighth-grade game at 6:20, ninth-grade game at 6:40 and senior high at 7 p.m.

There will be fan games and prizes given away. The concession stand will be open.

Admission is a donation to Siloam Springs Bright Futures. Items needed are shampoo, body wash, hairbrushes and combs, deodorant, tooth plate and hair accessories, such as pony tails, clips and headbands.

Bright Futures will take the items and distribute to families in need in the community.

"We want to give back to the community a little bit," Wright said.