Brookland handles Shiloh Christian
HOT SPRINGS — Brookland had been Class 4A volleyball state runner-up the last three seasons, but the Lady Bearcats took the final step Saturday at Bank OZK Arena.
The Lady Bearcats (355) had an answer for every Shiloh Christian surge and grabbed the state title with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-16) win.
Brookland Coach Nancy Rodriguez was in pinch-me mode following the win — the Lady Bearcats’ fourth title in school history and their first since 2016.
“It’s kinda like I was telling them, it’s surreal,” Rodriguez said. “It hasn’t happened yet. But this team is special. They’ve been special all year. I’m so happy for them. It’s something they’ve always dreamed about. And they went out there and earned it.
Tournament MVP Chloe Rodriguez dished out a matchhigh 34 assists to go with eight kills and nine digs, but Brookland Coach Nancy Rodriguez, Chloe’s mother, said she does so many things for the team.
“What you don’t see on the court is what happens in practice, and I think in the leadership role she does a lot of things people don’t see,” Rodriguez said. “And I think her offense when she’s on front row has gotten so much better.
“When we were here last year she did not have a good game and we talked about that. I thought she played really well today.”
Last year’s experience in the finals paid some dividends for her team, too, Rodriguez said.
“Our season’s been great, not really a Cinderella season,” Rodriguez said. “Being so successful and so productive, I think that’s a tribute to wanting it so bad and then having that experience from last year.”
She admitted her team struggled a bit with being in the finals a year ago.
“We did get a lot of experience and I feel like that helped us out a little bit,” Rodriguez said. “This stage, it’s big and sometimes it’s overwhelming. I think last year that’s how it was — it was overwhelming — and they were babies. So we’re a little bit older this year.”
She didn’t think the Lady Bearcats’ offense was as good as it’s been at times but acknowledged it was good enough.
“Obviously it was good enough for us to win but I don’t think it was as efficient,” Rodriguez said. “But I will say their block took away a lot of things we like to do and you’ve got [Bella] Bonanno back there digging everything. I mean, it was efficient enough.”
Maddie Smith finished with a match-high 13 kills, while Keeley Beary and Destiny Calderon added 7 each and Rodriguez 8, even though she’s also the setter. Rylee Walker contributed 19 digs, while Lyndsey McCall added 12.
Shiloh Christian struggled to put the ball down as Brookland outhit the Lady Saints 46-19 in kills. Shiloh Christian (26-7) hit just .020 with 19 kills and 17 errors.
Rylee Kallesen and Caroline Ramsey led Shiloh Christian with five kills each. Bella Bonanno anchored the defense with a match-high 21 digs.
Lady Saints Coach Nathan Bodenstein said Brookland took care of their business.
“They are well-coached,” Bodenstein said. “Nancy does a great job of having a great game plan ready. Things didn’t roll our way. Our hitters struggled quite a bit. Our serve receive was pretty spot on. Our defense I thought played pretty well.
“Our hitters couldn’t find their rhythm. Not putting it all on them. It’s a team affair for sure. We haven’t been on that big stage in a long time. It’s good to get back. It’s a blessing to be one of the top two standing at the end. Kudos to Brookland. They came out with firepower. It took a while for us to get our energy back. Every time we did, they went on a little run.”