Lady Panthers sweep past Lady Bears

JONESBORO — Siloam Springs wasn’t at its best, but the Lady Panthers were still good enough to sweep away Sylvan Hills 3-0 in the opening round of the Class 5A State Volleyball Tournament at Don Riggs Hurricane Gym.

Ellie Lampton had 21 kills, and the Lady Panthers served 16 aces as a team to defeat the Lady Bears 25-12, 25-17, 25-16.

“It was good to get a threeset win,” said Siloam Springs coach Joellen Wright. “‘Respect all, fear none’ is part of our motto. The season’s not over, and we’re still working on that (mott0) sometimes.”

Siloam Springs, the No. 3 seed from the 5A-West, advances to today’s 3 p.m. quarterfinals against 5A-East No. 4 seed Mountain Home, which defeated 5A-South No. 1 Hot Springs Lakeside. In fact, all the East teams and all the West teams won their first-round games.

Wright said the Lady Panthers will have to be on top of their game today against Mountain Home.

“They’re really big,” she said. “They’re going to be really good, one of the best we’ve seen this season. We haven’t seen a team that big all the way across. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Siloam Springs (19-11-1) roared out to a 7-0 lead in the first set, and Chloe Price later served four straight aces as Siloam Springs easily took the first set 25-12.

But Sylvan Hills (14-15) responded in the second set and went on a 4-0 run and forced Wright to burn a timeout.

Thanks to five kills from Lampton down the stretch, the Lady Panthers pulled away for the 25-17 victory.

Sylvan Hills led on two occasions in the third set, but with the match tied 10-10, Siloam Springs went on a 7-0 run to grab control.

Kelsey Lewis led Siloam Springs defensively with 17 digs, while Chloe Price had 13 digs, five aces and 30 assists. Lampton added nine digs, while Mackenzie Cook had seven digs and Maddy Lasater four aces.

“I thought Kelsey Lewis was super on top of it,” Wright said. “Her and Mackenzie Cook, their defense was on point and she was very focused. They worked well in the back row tonight. I was glad to see that.”

GREENWOOD 3, LR PARKVIEW 0

Defending state champion Greenwood cruised to a 25-5, 25-5, 25-7 sweep in the opening round at Annie Camp Junior High.

Abby Cagle and Zoie Benton each had 10 kills to lead the Lady Bulldogs, who are the No. 1 seed out of the 5A-West. Camryn Presley added eight kills, two solo blocks and nine assists, while Anna Johnson had 21 assists.

Greenwood (28-5-1) plays today at 7 p.m. against 5A-East No. 2 seed Paragould, which swept Lake Hamilton 3-0.