Ashdown stages another comeback, downs Hoxie

ASHDOWN 3, HOXIE 2

PARIS — The Ashdown Lady Panthers have been the comeback kids of the Class 3A state volleyball tournament.

Senior outside hitter Adaysia Thompson provided 28 kills and 21 digs as the Lady Panthers overcame a twogame deficit to post a 3-2 victory over the Hoxie Mustangs in Thursday’s semifinals at the Paris gymnasium.

Ashdown, which will play three-time defending state champion Paris in Saturday’s championship game at the Hot Springs Convention Center, trailed 1-0 against Atkins in Wednesday’s quarterfinals before earning a 3-1 victory. Thursday’s comeback seemed a little more improbable against a Hoxie team that lost only two matches all season.

The Lady Panthers (19-6-1) won Thursday’s match 17-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-21, 15-11. It will be Ashdown’s first trip to a volleyball state championship game.

“I think this speaks volumes about my girls and the fight they had within them,” Ashdown Coach Anna Tillery said. “It’s easy to be discouraged and Hoxie is one amazing team. They’re probably the strongest team we’ve ever run up against.”

Behind 16 kills from 6-0 middle hitter Sydney Gillham, Hoxie (22-3-1) had little trouble winning the first two games, but the complexion of the contest changed in Ashdown’s favor.

“We’ve worked hard all season and we didn’t want to go down that way,” said Thompson, who had 34 kills in Wednesday’s victory over Atkins. “We didn’t want all that hard work to be for nothing. We just decided to pull together.

“I think some of our girls were surprised we were in that situation,” Tillery said. “They were confident but when Hoxie was getting those big blocks and kills, our girls became a little discouraged. But every timeout we kept reminding them that we deserve to be here. They decided they weren’t ready to go home.”

Tied at 18-18 in the third game, Ashdown scored the next five points.

The Lady Panthers dominated the remainder of the match.

Thompson had eight of her kills in the fifth game.

“At that point, we were a confident team,” Thompson said. “We’re fighters.”

Sophomore setter Porsha Randle provided 41 assists. Senior Kenya Wilson led the Lady Panthers in digs with 25. Sophomore Vonee Thomas came up with a team-high eight blocks and sophomore Aleya Hill added eight kills and four blocks.

Gillham finished with 24 kills to lead Hoxie. Junior Ellie Britt added 13 kills and junior Emily Davis served up two aces to go along with her seven kills.

PARIS 3, FOUNTAIN LAKE 0

The Lady Eagles (32-2-1) served up a victory in its semifinal victory over the Lady Cobras (25-11-1).

Paris compiled 16 aces — including five from senior Joni Inman — in leading Paris to a 25-14, 25-19, 25-13 victory.

“Serving is the biggest thing we work on because we know you win the battle at the service line,” said Inman, who also led the Lady Eagles in kills with 16. “We always serve aggressively but it doesn’t always pay off. When you serve aggressively, you miss a lot more than normal, but if you’re focused, good things can happen.”

“Serving was one of our bad points [Wednesday],” Paris Coach Jordan Devine said. “We missed way too many serves but we came out and responded today.”

Senior Ryleigh Hardwicke also responded with a good outing, collecting 15 kills and 13 digs. Senior setter Eliciah Kury led the Lady Eagles in assists with 16 and junior Paiton Forbs added 14. Junior Robyn Gossard led the team in digs with 14.

Paris had only three service errors. Gossard added four aces and freshman Alyssa Komp served all three of her aces in the third game.

“It just shows our focus at the service line,” Devine said. “That’s been a huge point for us all year. You can’t just be safe and keep balls inbounds. You have to be aggressive at the service line and that’s what’s got us to where we are this year.”

Sophomore Presley Hamrice led Fountain Lake with eight kills while junior Emoree Martin added six kills.