GREENWOOD -- Siloam Springs' volleyball team ended one streak this year in the Class 6A State Tournament, advancing out of the quarterfinals for the first time since 2010.
But the Lady Panthers were unable to turn the corner against 6A-West rival Greenwood as the Lady Bulldogs swept Siloam Springs for the fifth time this season Thursday 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-18) in the Class 6A State Volleyball Semifinals at H.B. Stewart Bulldog Arena.
CLASS 6A State Volleyball Tournament
At Greenwood
Tuesday’s results
Lake Hamilton def. Jacksonville 3-0 (25-16, 25-9, 25-15)
Mountain Home def. Sheridan 3-1 (25-8, 22-25, 25-11, 25-23)
Russellville def. Searcy 3-2 (17-25, 25-16, 25-13, 17-25, 15-8)
Siloam Springs def. West Memphis 3-0 (25-6, 25-17, 25-7)
Wednesday’s results
Jonesboro def. Russellville 3-0 (25-9, 25-11, 25-9)
Benton def. Mountain Home 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-18)
Greenwood def. Lake Hamilton 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-13)
Siloam Springs def. Marion 3-2 (20-25, 17-25, 25-18, 25-18, 15-12)
Thursday’s results
Jonesboro def. Benton 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-21)
Greenwood def. Siloam Springs 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 25-18)
Saturday’s result
Greenwood vs. Jonesboro (n)
Siloam Springs' season ends with a record of 17-16 overall, but the Lady Panthers started 1-9 and finished 16-7 down the stretch in Joellen Wright's first year as permanent head coach.
"We were headed in the right direction," Wright said after Thursday's match. "We just ran into the Greenwood wall."
The Lady Panthers ran into the Greenwood wall and also may have hit the wall emotionally and physically.
Just the night before, on Wednesday, Siloam Springs played the late quarterfinal against Marion and fell behind 2-0 and looked like their season would end in the second round of the playoffs for the seventh straight year.
But Siloam Springs roared back for a 3-2 win to snap the streak of quarterfinal losses and advanced to Thursday's semifinal. However the team didn't get home until after midnight after the long five-set match and had a quick turnaround to Thursday's match.
"I knew going in that would be a factor," Wright said. "We tried everything we could for that not to be a factor. We didn't even bring it up. Let's not make it an excuse. You try to do the same things you've done in the previous days, with conserving energy, refueling healthy. I just really think that fatigue played a big role in how we played today."
Greenwood advanced to Saturday's 5 p.m. state title game against defending 6A champion Jonesboro. Results were not available at presstime.
Greenwood enjoyed a balanced offensive attack and smothering defense against strong Lady Panthers hitters to get there.
Sophomore Zoie Benton led Greenwood (31-7) with 10 kills, while junior Abby Cagle had nine kills, sophomore Camryn Presley seven kills and senior Lillian Pugh six kills.
Greenwood libero Lexi Castillow had 19 digs, and Carrie Cesla had 10 assists as the Lady Bulldogs advanced to their eighth state finals in program history and are looking to add to the one state title they won in 2011.
Shaylon Sharp led Siloam Springs with eight kills and 10 digs, while Ellie Lampton had five kills and Allie Bowman four kills and eight digs.
Reigan Brown had three kills, two digs and one ace, while Price had 23 assists, two kills, three block assists and six digs. Kenlie Noel had one kill and three block assists, Madison Hall and Kirsten Loftis four digs and Kailee Thomason two digs.
"I give (Greenwood) total credit. Their defense is amazing," first-year Siloam Springs coach Joellen Wright said. "They're a really good team. You can see them working together."
The Lady Panthers (17-16) got off to a quick start in the first set, but it was apparent that they were fatigued from the previous night. Siloam Springs played the late game Wednesday night, a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Marion, and didn't arrive back at school until after midnight.
Trailing 11-10, Greenwood went on a 15-5 run to close the first set. The Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second set and played with a comfortable margin in the third set.
"We watched film from the last time we played them," Greenwood coach Jennifer Golden said. "We just kind of keyed in on a couple of things we knew we had to cover and take care of. I thought we did a pretty good job of it."
Siloam Springs 3, Marion 2
Siloam Springs broke its state quarterfinals curse in inspiring fashion Wednesday night.
The Lady Panthers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Marion 20-25, 17-25, 25-18, 25-18, 15-12 in the Class 6A quarterfinals at H.B. Stewart Bulldog Arena.
"Your true character comes out when you're faced with adversity," said Siloam Springs head coach Joellen Wright. "We leaned on each other, and they refused to give up."
Siloam Springs looked like it was headed for its seventh straight quarterfinals loss after Marion took a 2-0 lead and then pulled ahead 6-3 in the third set.
Siloam Springs fought back to tie the score twice at 6-6 and 9-9, and the Lady Panthers, powered by four Chloe Price aces, went on a 8-0 run to establish control of the third set and get back in the match.
The Lady Panthers roared out to a 5-1 lead in the fourth set and let 11-3 after a Madison Hall ace and Price's kill. Ellie Lampton slammed home six kills down the stretch as the Lady Panthers pulled away for the game four win.
With all the momentum, Siloam Springs led 12-8 in the fifth and decisive set, but Marion climbed back within 12-11. But Shaylon Sharp killed two balls and Marion hit one out of bounds as Siloam Springs finished off its rally.
Sharp finished with 22 kills and a season-high 27 digs and two blocks to lead Siloam Springs.
"It's big," Sharp said of the win. "We especially wanted to beat Marion because they put us out when my class was sophomores. We wanted to come back and get revenge and we did it."
Ellie Lampton had 16 kills and 11 digs for Siloam Springs, while Allie Bowman had seven kills and two solo blocks. Price had 46 assists along with 21 digs, two kills, five aces and one block assist. Reigan Brown had one kill, two solo block assists,
Hall and Kailee Thomason each had 12 digs, while Kirsten Loftis had nine digs and Katie Kendrick three block assists and one solo block.
Carly Russell led Marion (17-14) with 19 kills and 20 digs. Destiny King had 15 kills, while Caroline Brinkley had 25 digs and Lillian Fogleman 29 assists.
"We lost our momentum," said Marion head coach Lisa Beasley. "We lost our energy and our enthusiasm. We went downhill and couldn't get back over the hump."
Siloam Springs 3, West Memphis 0
The Lady Panthers swept West Memphis 25-6, 25-17, 25-7 to open state tournament play on Tuesday.
Shaylon Sharp led with 13 kills, 11 digs and one block assist, while Ellie Lampton had 11 kills and two aces. Allie Bowman had four kills, while Katie Kendrick had two kills, four digs and one block assist.
Chloe Price had two kills, 29 assists, eight digs and one block assist, while Kenlie Noel had one kill, two aces and Madison Hall 12 digs and three aces, Kailee Thomason five digs, Reigan Brown four aces,
Sports on 10/29/2017