Siloam Springs rallies to beat Marion

SILOAM SPRINGS 3, MARION 2

GREENWOOD — Siloam Springs broke its state quarterfinals curse in inspiring fashion Wednesday night.

The Lady Panthers rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Marion 3-2 (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 (17-15) looked like it was headed for its seventh consecutive quarterfinals loss after Marion took a 2-0 lead and then pulled ahead 6-3 in game three.

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 a Price sneak 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 to lead Siloam Springs.

“It’s big,” Sharp said of the victory. “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, which faces Greenwood at 3 p.m. today in the semifinals.

Host Greenwood dispatched Lake Hamilton 25-12, 25-17, 25-13 in its first match of the state tournament on its home floor.

The Lady Bulldogs (30-7) advance to today’s 3 p.m. semifinal against Siloam Springs, but the victory didn’t come without a fight from the Lady Wolves (19-14).

Abby Cagle led Greenwood with 14 kills, while Carrie Cesla had 10 kills and 7 assists.

Morgan Fincham led Lake Hamilton with 7 kills, 8 assists and 9 digs, while Mason Aitken had 20 digs.

Rylea Brimhall had 10 kills and Lauren Hopper added 6 kills as the Lady Panthers (25-7-1) advanced to the semifinals with a 25-21, 25-18, 25-18 sweep of the Lady Bombers.

Caitlin Murdock added 17 assists for Benton, which plays defending 6A champion Jonesboro at 1 p.m. today.

Charlie Pierce led Mountain Home (209) with 9 kills, while Anna Grace Foreman had 8 kills and Claudia Carter had 7 kills and 3 blocks. Leah Jackson had 30 assists for the Lady Bombers.

The defending 6A champion Golden Hurricane advanced to the semifinals with a 25-9, 25-11, 25-9 sweep of the Lady Cyclones.

Jonesboro will play Benton in the semifinals at 1 p.m. today.