It's been a tough start to the season for the Siloam Springs volleyball team, which has struggled with players missing in covid-19 quarantine.
That trend continued Monday in the Lady Panthers' home opener against Harrison.
Siloam Springs got two players back from quarantine but lost another key piece to the same scenario as Harrison swept the match 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-17). It was the third straight sweep loss to start the season for Siloam Springs (0-3).
The Lady Panthers were happy to get two rotation players back Monday in setter Cressa Soucie and defensive specialist Jensen Kelly, but middle blocker Emma Norberg was unavailable.
"It (quarantine) disrupts chemistry," Siloam Springs coach Joellen Wright said. "In volleyball, you have to have chemistry to get a flow and a level of trust. When kids are gone, it puts us further behind in develping that chemistry that helps our offense and how they work together on the court."
Siloam Springs was excited to play its first home game and pulled out to an early 10-7 lead after a solo block by senior middle Regan Riley.
"If there's a good positive out of quarantining, it's next girl up," Wright said. "It's their opportunity. I thought Regan Riley came out with that competitive fire and grit and got the crowd kind of going in the first game. When you move some pieces around trying to find who fits where, it's just next girl up in the quarantine days of coaching."
Harrison caught up and the first set went back and forth. Siloam Springs tied the set at 20 after an ace from sophomore Lillian Wilkie. But Harrison scored five of the next six points to take the first set, with the winning ace coming from Kori Parker.
Serving and hitting errors in game two contributed to Harrison's 25-14 victory in the second set and the Lady Goblins' 25-17 win in the third set.
Harrison middle Reese Ricketts had three kills in the third set.
Overall, the Lady Panthers finished with 10 serving errors.
Anna Wleklinski led Siloam Springs with three kills and seven assists, while Wilkie had three kills and Cailee Johnson three kills and two block assists.
Gracie Greer had two big kills and one block assist, while Riley had two kills and three solo blocks.
Allision Williamson finished with six digs, while Soucie had four digs. Faith Ellis had three block assists.
The Lady Panthers were scheduled to play at Springdale High on Tuesday. Results were not available at presstime.
Siloam Springs is back in action at home Thursday night against Pea Ridge.
