WEEK 2 RANKINGS
By Jeff Halpern
There is a new No. 1 in Class 3A as No. 3 Conway Christian knocked off No. 1 Mayflower 3-0 Thursday night.
In addition to a new No. 1, 3A had several changes as No. 9 Central Arkansas Christian and No. 10 Lincoln dropped out, and Providence Academy Dover moved in at No. 7 and No. 8.
Big matches this week: No. 1 Conway Christian vs. No. 8 Dover, No. 2 Mayflower vs. No. 5 Episcopal Collegiate. No. 6 Paris meets No. 9 Lavaca and No. 7 Providence Academy.
In addition, Paris and Episcopal Collegiate head to the Little Rock Christian Classic. Paris will face contenders in 4A Jonesboro Westside, 5A Benton and 6A Cabot. Episcopal will face 6A Little Rock Central, 5A Alma, and 4A Bauxite.
Here are Arkansas Volleyball Network’s Class 3A rankings for the week ending Sept. 6.
1. CONWAY CHRISTIAN (3-2, 1-0 3A-4)
Previous rank: No. 3
Last week: def. Clarksville 3-1; def. No. 1 Mayflower 3-0
This week: vs. Heber Springs Tuesday; at No. 8 Dover Thursday
Lady Eagles make a major statement in 3A-4
COACH SAID: “Really proud of the way our girls competed last night. They played with a lot of energy, confidence, and heart from start to finish. Mayflower is always a competitive opponent. These are the kind of matches that make you love this game. Two teams competing hard, challenging one another, and making each other better. Proud of our girls and the way they represented our school last night!” — Conway Christian head coach Kobie McKnight
2. MAYFLOWER (6-2, 1-1 3A-4)
Previous rank: No. 1
Last week: def. England 3-0; def. Riverview 3-0; def. Conway St. Joseph 3-1; lost 3-0 to No. 3 Conway Christian
This week: at No. Central Arkansas Christian; vs. No. 5 Episcopal Collegiate Thursday; at LRCA Classic Saturday (vs. Benton, vs. Jonesboro Westside, vs. Cabot)
COACH SAID: “The match had a tremendous atmosphere with great student sections on both sides. They are a really good team, and it was a lot of fun! Each game was extremely competitive, and they did a good job of closing out sets. We learned a lot about ourselves during the match and are excited about playing them again later in the year for the conference matchup!” — Mayflower head coach Monty Smith
3. FOUNTAIN LAKE (4-1, 2-0 3A-6)
Previous rank: No. 3
Last week: def. OC Harmony Grove 3-0; def. Ashdown 3-0
This week: vs. Genoa Central Tuesday; at Smackover Thursday
Alliyah McKellar had 31 assists in both matches and Ireland Kane had 14 kills.
4. CROWLEY’S RIDGE ACADEMY (4-1, 2-0 3A-3)
Previous rank: No. 4
Last week: def. Cave City 3-0; def. Rivercrest 3-0; def. No. 8 Harrisburg 3-1
This week: at Newport Tuesday; at West Helena Central Thursday
COACH SAID: “Our team battled hard this week. I’m very proud of how our young team of 2 seniors, 1 junior, and 5 freshmen battled back late in the first set, being down 16-23, and came back to win 25-23. In set 2 we dug a hole early but kept creeping back towards the end, but lost the set. We regrouped and took set three and set four, but not easy at all. Glad to get the win at home.” — Crowley’s Ridge Academy head coach Royce McMillion
5. EPISCOPAL COLLEGIATE (2-2 2-0 3A-4)
Previous rank: No. 5
Last week: lost 3-2 to Bauxite; def. Maumelle Charter 3-1
This week: vs. Harding Academy Tuesday; at No. 3 Mayflower Thursday; at LRCA Classic (vs. LR Central, vs. Alma, vs. Bauxite)
COACH SAID: “Working hard to keep first in the conference. Need to beat Mayflower to secure that!” — Episcopal Collegiate head coach Rebecca Niedzwiedz
6. PARIS (5-3-1 3-0 3A-1)
Previous rank: No. 6
Last week: def. Charleston 3-0, def. Booneville 3-0; def. No. 10 Lincoln 3-1
This week: at No. 9 Lavaca Tuesday; vs. No. 7 Providence Academy Thursday
After facing several tough non-conference tests in the first week, Paris wins three conference matches.
7. PROVIDENCE ACADEMY (4-2, 2-1 3A-1)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Last week: lost to Booneville 3-0; def. West Fork 3-0; def. No. 7 Lavaca 3-1.
This week: vs. Charleston Tuesday; at No. 6 Paris Thursday
Victory over Lavaca gets Patriots into the rankings.
8. DOVER (4-1)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Last week: def. Lavca 3-1, def. Booneville 3-2
This week: vs. No. 1 Conway Christian Thursday; at Clarksville Tri-Match Saturday: vs. Clarksville; vs. Ozark
Lady Pirates get to test themselves against new No. 1 team in 3A.
9. LAVACA (4-2, 1-1 3A-1)
Previous rank: No. 8
Last week: def. Lincoln 3-0, lost 3-1 to Dover; lost 3-1 to Providence Academy
This week: at No. 6 Paris Tuesday; vs. Booneville Thursday
Presley Noel had 65 assists, 7 kills, and 8 aces against Lincoln and Dover
10. HARRISBURG (4-6, 1-1 3A-3)
Previous rank: No. 6
Last week: def. Manila 3-2; lost 3-0 to Wynne, lost 3-1 No. 6 Crowley’s Ridge Academy
This week: at Rivercrest Tuesday; vs. Hoxie Thursday
Tough schedule keeps Lady Hornets in the rankings. Cali Jo Heeb had 26 kills, 2 aces and 13 digs against Manila.
DROPPED OUT
No. 9 Central Arkansas Christian, No. 10 Lincoln
WEEK 1 RANKINGS
By Jeff Halpern
Going into the season, Class 3A looked to be the most wide open of all five classes as defending champion Mansfield dropped down to 2A and runner-up Harding Academy moved up to 3A. In addition, Haskell Harmony Grove, which also reached the semifinals, moved up to 4A.
So far, only one team in 3A — No. 7 Lavaca — is undefeated through one week. However, many of those losses have come to teams in high classifications (like 6A Little Rock Central, 6A North Little Rock, 5A Beebe, 5A Vilonia, 5A Lake Hamilton and 5A Pulaski Academy). In addition, several teams like Paris, Episcopal, and Central Arkansas Christian are dealing with significant personnel losses and/or injuries.
Here are Arkansas Volleyball Network’s Class 3A rankings after the first week of the season.
*Last updated 8/30/26*
1. MAYFLOWER (2-1, 1-0 3A-4)
Previous rank: No. 1
Last week: def. Arkadelphia 3-1; lost 3-1 to North Little Rock; def. Bald Knob 3-1
This week: vs. Riverview, Tuesday; at Conway St. Joseph Wednesday; at No. 3 Conway Christian Thursday.
Chloe Whittington (86 assists) 24 digs and Patience Webb (19 kills) led the Lady Eagles, who play 2A contender St. Joseph and conference rival Conway Christian.
2. FOUNTAIN LAKE (2-1)
Previous rank: No. 3
Last week: def. Hot Springs 3-0; lost 3-2 to Lake Hamilton; def. Malvern 3-1.
This week: vs. OC Harmony Grove, Sept. 1; at Ashdown, Sept. 3.
Baylee Hedges has 22 kills in both victories. Opens 3A-6 Conference play this week.
3. CONWAY CHRISTIAN (1-2)
Previous rank: No. 2
Last week: def. Quitman 3-2; lost 3-1 to Beebe; lost 3-2 to Morrilton.
This week: at Clarksville, Tuesday; vs. No. 1 Mayflower, Thursday.
Conway Christian dropped matches to 5A (Beebe) and 4A (Morrilton) teams. Looking forward to the conference showdown with Mayflower. Maggie McKay has 39 kills in three matches, and Millie Teague has 57 assists
4. CROWLEY’S RIDGE ACADEMY (1-1)
Previous rank: No. 5
Last week: lost 3-0 to Harding Academy; def. Pocahontas, 3-0.
This week: vs. Cave City, Monday; vs. No. 8 Harrisburg, Thursday.
Tenley McMillion has 21 kills and 18 digs in both matches.
5. EPISCOPAL COLLEGIATE (1-1)
Previous rank: No. 7
Last week: def. No. 9 Central Arkansas Christian 3-0; lost 3-0 to Little Rock Central.
This week: vs. Bauxite, Tuesday; vs. Maumelle Charter, Thursday.
Lady Wildcats top their rival. No shame in losing to 6A Little Rock Central.
6. PARIS (2-3-1)
Previous rank: No. 4
Last week: lost 3-1 to Russellville, Tuesday; lost 3-1 to Ozark; at Spikefest (def. Beebe 2-0; tied LR Flames 1-1; def. Mena 2-1; lost 2-0 to Vilonia.
This week: at Charleston, Monday, vs Booneville, Tuesday; at Lincoln, Thursday
Lady Eagles are lacking experience, as all three losses have come to teams in Classes 4A and 5A.
COACH SAID: “We’re playing like a young team. We’ve got juniors and sophomores; we’re going to get going, but it’s going to take a little longer than I liked. We’ve got to be patient with them. I’m hoping today helped us. We had some young player mistakes, and I’m hoping playing good teams here will help us for conference games.” — Paris head coach Jerry Fulmer
7. LAVACA (3-0)
Previous rank: No. 8
Last week: def. Waldon 3-0; def. Lifeway Christian 3-0; def. Lamar 3-0.
This week: vs. Lincoln, Aug. 31, at Dover, Sept. 1; at Providence Academy, Sept. 3.
Lexie Rogers has 22 kills in all three matches.
8. HARRISBURG (3-4)
Previous rank: No. 6
Last week: lost 3-0 to Jonesboro Westside; lost 3-1 to Haskell Harmony Grove; def. Rivercrest 3-0; at Spikefest (def. Lonoke 2-0; def. North Little Rock 2-0; lost 2-0 to Pulaski Academy; lost to Searcy 2-0.
This week: at Manila, Monday; at Wynne, at No. 6 Crowley’s Ridge Academy.
Six of the Lady Hornets’ seven matches have come against teams in 4A, 5A, and 6A.
9. CENTRAL ARKANSAS CHRISTIAN (3-4)
Previous rank: No. 9
Last week: lost 3-0 to No. 7 Episcopal Collegiate; lost 3-0 to Bauxite; at Spikefest (def. Berryville 2-0; def. Searcy 2-0; lost to Mount St. Mary 2-0; def. Mena 2-0; lost 2-0 to Baptist Prep.
This week: vs. Baptist Prep, Monday; vs. Harding Academy, Tuesday.
Lady Mustangs meet two good 4A teams this week.
COACH SAID: “After a not-so-great start against Episcopal, we played Bauxite on Thursday, and we played them really well. We got to play a lot of rotations today, and I think we learned a few things about how we want to go on with our rotations. We’re still trying to figure out how to move on without Mia Adams.” — Central Arkansas Christian head coach Lynn Brown
10. LINCOLN (2-1)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Last week: def. Mountainburg 3-0; def. Prairie Grove 3-1; lost 3-0 to Union Christian Academy
This week: at Lavaca Monday; vs. Charleston Tuesday; vs. Paris Thursday.
In both victories, Paisley Huffaker has 37 assists and 25 digs, while Lauren Remington has 25 kills.
DROPPED OUT
No. 10 Hoxie