WEEK 8 RANKINGS
By Jeff Halpern
No. 2 Bauxite had its first taste of adversity with five losses in six matches.
However, two of those losses came to Farmington and Benton, two of the better teams in Class 5A. Another came to Little Rock Central out of the 6A-Central. There were two losses to No. 9 Pottsville, one of which came in the Conway tournament.
Bauxite rallied to defeat Baptist Prep 3-2 (14-25, 25-16, 24-26, 25-16, 15-13) Thursday night to win the 4A-5 Conference title.
The victory gave the Lady Miners a sense of excitement and relief.
“I’m so proud of them,” said Bauxite head coach Haley Nelson. “We really needed that and that win tonight and that’s a great team to help us get ready for postseason and do big things in big moments. Baptist is a well rounded team and I’m so proud of the girls on my team.
“We definitely needed it as a team, feels good for me as a coach and it feels good for a team to win a big one in five sets and it feels amazing.”
Harrison moves from No. 7 to No. 5. Pottsville, which was ranked fifth in the preseason poll and fell out after losing its first four matches of the season, re-enters at No. 9 while Elkins drops out.
Here are the Arkansas Volleyball Network’s Class 4A rankings for Week 8.
1. BROOKLAND (28-5-1, 10-0 4A-3)
Previous rank: No. 1
Last week: def. Blytheville 3-0; def. No. 10 Harding Academy 3-0
This week: 4A-East Regional at Southside Batesville: vs. Heber Springs Monday
COMMENT: “Super proud of the girls! After last year, they wanted to win conference and they competed every day for this title. We’re excited about regionals and post season. Looking at this week- we have Heber Springs on Monday at 12. We need to be ready for anything and go out there and play our game.” — Brookland head coach Katie Dillon
2. BAUXITE (21-7, 10-0 4A-5)
Previous rank: No. 2
Last week: lost 3-0 to Pottsville; def. LISA Academy West 3-0; lost 3-0 to Benton; def. No. 3 Baptist Prep 3-2
This week: 4A-South Regional at Morrilton: vs. Arkadelphia Monday
COMMENT: “I’m so proud of how we were able to really together. There was a lot of pressure a little bit, but we thrive off the pressure sometimes and we’ve been on a downhill, but we came back to that peak. Really exited, we’re going to take care of business on Monday because we want to play on our home court in the state tournament.” — Bauxite junior Asa Perry
3. BAPTIST PREP (21-9–2, 8-2 4A-5)
Previous rank: No. 3
Last week: def. Stuttgart 3-0; lost 3-2 to No. 2 Bauxite
This week: 4A-South Regional at Morrilton: vs. Magnolia Monday
COMMENT: “I think it’s bummer it didn’t go our way in the end. We left everything out there and played our best volleyball tonight. They really beat us on serve-receive and took advantage of that. Don’t hang your heads, there’s a lot to be proud of. I’m really proud of them and rallied after a tough few weeks and made some adjustments which were hard.” — Baptist Prep head coach Mollie Singleton.
4. HASKELL HARMONY GROVE (22-4-1, 10-0 4A-6)
Previous rank: No. 4
Last week: def. No. 10 Harding Academy 3-0; def. Magnolia 3-1; def. Arkadelphia 3-0
This week: 4A-South Regional at Morrilton: vs. Mills Monday
COMMENT: “We are looking forward to this week and the competition that it brings. Coming in as the No. 1 seed from our conference puts us in a great spot and I hope my girls take full advantage of it. There’s a lot of talent in our regional, excited to see where we finish.” — Haskell Harmony Grove head coach Bailey Korte
5. HARRISON (21-7, 8-0 4A-1)
Previous rank: No. 7
Last week: 4A-1 District Tournament at Huntsville: def. Huntsville 3-1, def. Gravette 3-2
This week: 4A-North Regional at Mena: vs. Ozark Monday
COMMENT: “We are so grateful to have won the District Tournament! We knew going in that it would be a battle, with Gravette pushing hard to take our spot. At first, we struggled at the service line, which is not typical for us, and for a while, we were scoring points for both teams! But these girls showed their grit, regrouped, and fought their way back in the fifth set to bring home the win and hold on to 1st place!
We know we’ll need to get back to our strengths of strong serving and aggressive attacking on Monday. Gravette pushed us hard and proved to be a scrappy, determined team. We wish them the very best at Regionals! So proud of our girls and their fight! On to the next!” — Harrison head coach April Mattixx
6. JONESBORO WESTSIDE (19-10-2, 6-3 4A-3)
Previous rank: No. 7
Last week: def. Greene County Tech 3-1; def. Highland 3-0
This week: 4A-East Regional at Batesville Southside: vs. Lonoke Monday
COMMENT: “Regionals will be tough this year. There are no easy games and everyone is going to bring their best each night. We’re gearing up, ready for a battle with Lonoke.” — Jonesboro Westside head coach Codie Zeigler
7. WYNNE (20-8, 8-0 4A-4)
Previous rank: No. 6
Last week: lost 3-1 to Paragould; def. Forrest City via forfeit
This week: 4A-East Regional at Batesville Southside: vs. Highland Monday
Wynne without setter Ella Reed and Lia Bunch with injuries against Paragould.
COMMENT: “By the time we play on Monday, we’ll have gone a full week without playing. I think that could have an effect, but I also think this group will be hungry to get back in the gym and compete in live-ball play. This is what we’ve been preparing for all season, and I’m excited to see what the postseason holds for us!” — Wynne head coach Blair McClanahan
8. MORRILTON (19-11, 6-4 4A-5)
Previous rank: No. 8
Last week: def. Mills 3-0; def. LISA Academy West 3-0
This week: 4A-South Regional at Morrilton: vs. Malvern Monday
COMMENT: “We are excited to host the 4A South Regional Tournament in Morrilton. We are looking forward to a great match against Malvern. The next two weeks across the state, amazing volleyball will be played by girls and coaches who have put their heart and soul into this season. It’s always my favorite time of year. Thank you so much to Arkansas Volleyball network for your continued coverage of high school volleyball. The athletes and coaches truly appreciate it. “ — Morrilton head coach Candice Lawless
9, POTTSVILLE (16-10, 10-0 4A-2)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Last week: def. No. 2 Bauxite 3-0; def. Ozark 3-0; def. Dardanelle 3-0
This week: 4A North Regional at Mena: vs. Elkins Monday
After losing its first four matches of the season, the Lady Apaches rallied to go undefeated the 4A-2 Conference and had two victories over Bauxite.
10. HARDING ACADEMY (14-8, 7-1 4A-4)
Previous rank: No. 9
Last week: lost 3-0 to Haskell Harmony Grove Monday; def. Batesville Southside 3-1; lost 3-0 to Brookland
This week: 4A-East Regional at Southside Batesville: vs. Pocahontas Monday
COMMENT: “We are excited about playing Pocahontas. Right now at this point of the year every team you play is really good so we are going to have to show up and play really well but we are taking it one day at a time.” — Harding Academy head coach Matt Francis
DROPPED OUT
No. 9 Elkins
WEEK 7 RANKINGS
By Jeff Halpern
The Conway Lady Cat Invitational proved to be a tough one for the 4A teams that participated in it.
No. 1 Brookland went 1-1 in pool play, but all to the bronze bracket on a tiebreaker. Despite beating Class 6A Bentonville West 2-1, the Lady Bearcats fell 2-1 to No. 5 Wynne.
No. 2 Bauxite lost 2-1 to the eventual gold bracket champion Farmington in pool play, but lost 2-0 to Pottsville in the bronze bracket.
No. 5 Wynne fell to Russellville in the finals of the bronze bracket after losses to Pulaski Academy and Shiloh Christian in pool play.
No. 6 Jonesboro Westside split its two matches in pool play with Conway and Vilonia and lost to Pulaski Academy in the silver bracket.
No. 9 Morrilton defeated Joe T. Robinson and lost to Springdale Har-Ber in pool play, but lost to Bryant in the silver bracket.
Good news for these schools is postseason is around the corner. Some teams like Harrison and Elkins will be playing in a district tournament. The others will finish the regular season this week before moving on to the regional tournament.
Matches to watch this week: No. 2 Bauxite at Class 5A Benton on Wednesday. On Thursday, Bauxite heads to No. 3 Baptist Prep.
1. BROOKLAND (26-5-1, 9-0 4A-3)
Previous rank: No. 1
Last week: def. Paragould 3-2; def. No. 6 Jonesboro Westside 3-0; def. Pocahontas 3-0; at Conway Lady Cat Invitational: lost 2-0 to Mount St. Mary; def. Bentonville West 2-1; Bronze bracket: def. Episcopal Collegiate 2-0; lost 2-1 to No. 5 Wynne
This week: vs. Blytheville Tuesday; at Harding Academy Thursday
After earning sweep vs. Westside, Lady Bearcats fall in semifinals of bronze bracket in Conway
COMMENT: “Proud- we struggled in the beginning of set 1 and 2 and were down like 9-17 at one point but these girls just kept fighting and we got into a rotation that allowed us to go on a run and take the lead.
“Sometimes you need days to remind you to keep working and that’s what today was. It wasn’t our best volleyball by far, although we did play really well to beat Bentonville West, too many unforced errors the rest of the day.”
— Brookland head coach Katie Dillon on the victory over Jonesboro Westside and Saturday’s performance in the Conway Lady Cat Invitational
2. BAUXITE (19-5, 8-0 4A-5)
Previous rank: No. 3
Last week: def. Lake Hamilton 3-2; def. Morrilton 3-0; def. Mills 3-0; at Conway Lady Cat Invitational: lost 2-0 to Little Rock Central; lost 2-1 to Farmington. Bronze bracket: lost 2-0 to Pottsville
This week: vs. Pottsville Monday; at LISA Academy West Tuesday; at Benton Wednesday; at Baptist Prep Thursday
Lady Miners have their first stumble, but it comes to the best team in 5A and a 6A team.
COMMENT: “Overall, on Saturday I saw some good things at times, but we just weren’t consistent and just seemed flat! It wasn’t our best day. We are looking forward to getting back on track this week as we have a full week of regular season play before post season begins!” — Bauxite head coach Haley Nelson
3. BAPTIST PREP (20-8–2, 6-1 4A-5)
Previous rank: No. 2
Last week: def. Mills 3-0; def. LISA Academy 3-0
This week: vs. Stuttgart Tuesday; vs. Bauxite Thursday
Lady Eagles have a chance to win a share of the conference title.
4. HASKELL HARMONY GROVE (19-4-1, 8-0 4A-6)
Previous rank: No. 4
Last week: def. Fountain Lake 3-1; def. Camden Fairview 3-0; def. Watson Chapel 3-0
This week: vs. Harding Academy Monday; at Magnolia Tuesday; at Arkadelphia Thursday
Leelana Kennach (78 assists, 16 aces), Preslie Walker (36 kills) and Jaycee Bossert (39 kills) held lead Lady Cardinals to three consecutive victories.
5. HARRISON (19-7, 8-0 4A-1)
Previous rank: No. 7
Last week: lost 3-1 to Hollister (Mo.); def. Berryville 3-0; def. Bergman 3-0
This week: 4A-1 District Tournament Wednesday vs TBD
COMMENT: “We finally had Lily (Burns) back. She wasn’t jumping like she normally does but her energy was what we needed. I think Stevie Jones did some good things tonight on defense and Holly Keeter was on fire in the outside.” — Harrison head coach April Mattix
6. WYNNE (19-7, 8-0 4A-4)
Previous rank: No. 5
Last week: def. Lonoke 3-2; def. Harding Academy 3-0; at Conway Lady Cat Invitational: lost 2-1 to Pulaski Academy; lost 2-0 to Shiloh Christian; Bronze bracket: def Vilonia 2-0; def. Brookland 2-1; lost 2-0 to Russellville
This week: at Paragould Monday; at Forrest City Tuesday
Wynne loses setter Ella Reed (wrist injury) during Conway Lady Cat Invitational. Will miss two matches this week.
COMMENT: “Overall, our pool play wasn’t bad, but I knew we had more to give. Once we got into bracket play, we played our first two games really well and showed what we are capable of. Unfortunately, we lost our setter to an injury before the championship game. I still believe we had the skill to pull it out, but our focus and mental toughness just weren’t where they needed to be in that final match.” — Wynne head coach Blair McClanahan
7. JONESBORO WESTSIDE (17-10-2, 5-3 4A-3)
Previous rank: No. 6
Last week: lost 3-1 to Jonesboro; lost 3-0 to Brookland; def. Trumann 3-0; at Conway Lady Cat Invitational: def. Vilonia 2-0; lost 2-0; Conway; Silver bracket: lost 2-0 to Pulaski Academy
This week: vs. Greene County Tech Monday; vs. Highland Tuesday
Westside still trying to find the find the winning formula from last year.
COMMENT: “Happy with the way my team competed today. We’ve made a lot of changes to our lineup over the course of about four days and I just wanted to use the tournament to work kinks out and shuffle the pieces around more if needed. Still just taking it one point at a time and hoping to hit a good stride at the right time.” — Jonesboro Westside head coach Codie Zeigler
8. MORRILTON (17-11, 5-4 4A-5)
Previous rank: No. 9
Last week: lost 3-0 to No. 2 Bauxite Tuesday; def. Stuttgart 3-0; at Conway Lady Cat Invitational: def. Robinson 2-0; lost 2-0 to Springdale Har-Ber; Silver bracket: lost 2-0 to Bryant
This week: vs. Mills Tuesday; vs. LISA Academy West Thursday
Hannah Halbrook (44 assists) vs. Bauxite and Stuttgart. Kinleigh Meeler had 12 digs and 10 kills vs. Bauxite. Lilly Harbin had 28 digs in both matches
9. ELKINS (13-7, 7-1 4A-1)
Previous rank: Not ranked
Last week: def. Neosho (Mo.) 3-2; def. Berryville 3-1; def. Prairie Grove 3-2
This week: 4A-1 District Tournament Wednesday vs. TBD
Elkins finish second in 4A-1 Conference
10. HARDING ACADEMY (13-6, 6-1 4A-4)
Previous rank: No. 10
Last week: def. Beebe 3-2; lost 3-0 to No. 5 Wynne; def. Heber Springs 3-0
This week: at Haskell Harmony Grove Monday; vs. Batesville Southside Tuesday; vs. Brookland Thursday
Gabby Metheny (29 digs, 4 aces), Addison Gameros (15 kills, 20 digs) and Brynlee Reeves (26 kills, 16 digs, and 4 blocks) leading the way for the Lady Wildcats.
DROPPED OUT
No. 8 Prairie Grove