Siloam Springs had its offense clicking early and often against Springdale, Tuesday, Aug. 30.
The Lady Panthers did let their foot off the gas briefly, allowing Springdale to force a fourth set, but Siloam Springs regrouped to finish off a 3-1 (25-5, 25-16, 24-26, 25-14) victory inside Panther Activity Center.
"We did get a nice home win. We had a great crowd," said SSHS coach Joellen Wright. "We talked about coming out and using the free balls we anticipated getting to run the offense and it was clicking right off the bat, so that made it a really fun night when your offense is clicking and you're hitting the ball as hard as we were."
After an early 2-2 tie in the first set, Siloam Springs blew by Springdale to a 23-3 run the rest of the way, including a 6-0 run to make it 8-2, and a 9-0 run for a 16-3 lead later in the set.
Lillian Wilkie had two kills and two aces early in the match and another kill toward the end. Gracie Greer and Jetta Broquard also had kills, and Chaney Stanaland served two straight aces to wrap up the win.
Siloam Springs shot out to another big lead in the second set, taking a 10-2 advantage.
Haley Thomas had two aces in that run, while Aveary Speed had two kills. Speed added three more kills later in the match, while Wilkie also had a pair of kills, and Broquard had an ace and a kill.
Siloam Springs began subbing deep into its bench by the third set, and Springdale capitalized by taking a 16-7 lead. The Lady Panthers fought back with a 7-0 run to pull within 16-14.
Thomas had three aces and Broquard had two kills to help the cause.
A Broquard kill later in the third set tied the match at 19, but Springdale won the next three balls to lead 21-19.
Siloam Springs answered back with a four-point run to retake the lead 23-21.
Broquard's kill, followed by Allyson Hang's ace, a combo block from Speed and Greer and a kill from Josie Samarin had the Lady Panthers two points away from a sweep.
Springdale fought back to tie the match and eventually won it 26-24 when the Lady Panthers hit the ball into the net.
Springdale hung tough in the fourth set, trailing 10-9 when Siloam Springs took control with a 7-0 run to go up 17-9.
Speed had three kills and Hang added an ace in that span for the Lady Panthers.
Speed and Broquard would later add kills as Siloam Springs finished off the four-set win.
Broquard led Siloam Springs with 12 kills and two aces, while Wilkie had 10 kills and three aces and Speed added 10 kills and Greer four kills.
Thomas recorded 18 assists, 10 digs and four aces, with Cressa Soucie adding 15 assists. Trinity Collette led defensively with 25 digs, while Cailee Johnson had 14 digs and one ace and Stanaland 13 digs and two aces.
"I was really proud of the girls for stepping up and getting it done and being focused," Wright said. "We wavered there a little but in the third and fourth, but I thought they came back."
Carthage (Mo.) 3, Siloam Springs 1
The Lady Panthers fell 29-27, 25-16, 23-25, 25-23 on the road Thursday, Sept., at Carthage, Mo. in a nonconference match.
Lillian Wilkie led the Lady Panthers (3-3) with 15 kills, while Anna Wleklinski had eight and Gracie Greer and Jetta Broquard each had five.
Haley Thomas had 25 assists, while Cressa Soucie had eight. Thomas led with five aces, while Chaney Stanaland had two.
Trinity Collette led defensively with 30 digs, while Wleklinski and Cailee Johnson each had 12, Broquard and Stanaland each with nine and Thomas eight.
Wilkie led with five block assists, while Esther Norwood had four block assists, Faith Ellis three block assists, and Greer and Wleklinski each with two block assists.
The Siloam Springs junior varsity lost 25-22, 25-22.
Up next
The Lady Panthers hosted Mountain Home on Tuesday, Sept. 6. Results were not available at presstime.
The Lady Panthers are scheduled to host Alma at 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, in a 5A-West Conference match.