6A-West volleyball deals with virus

Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the 6A-West Conference volleyball schedule.

Rogers High and Bentonville West canceled both league matches last week, along with two more this week after players tested positive for covid-19. Springdale Har-Ber canceled both conference matches this week after also having players test positive for the virus.

Those matches will be considered no contest per Arkansas Activities Association guidelines.

Bentonville High coach Michelle Smith pointed out the struggles are not limited to just those teams who have positive test results. She’s had players have to sit out because of contact tracing and found out about two more in the program on Monday.

“I’m not gonna sugarcoat it,” Smith said. “It’s been hard on the coaches. It’s been hard on the girls. They are trying to do things right and you can’t stay 6 feet of distance in a classroom. As a coach, I’m sitting here with girls in my office. They’re crying and I have to call their parents and explain what’s happening.

“It’s just sad. They live, eat, sleep and drink volleyball. It’s like they are being punished for something they didn’t do. It’s because of where they are sitting in a classroom.”

Smith is able to make sure students practice social distancing in her P.E. classes, but that’s just not possible in some classrooms, Smith said.

Har-Ber coach Cassie Loyd said she’s not sure yet if the Lady Wildcats will be back to action next week. But they are still working.

“We are still practicing with the handful that we have available,” Loyd said. “Our two ADs have been amazing helping me through this. We talked a lot about making sure we’re doing things correctly.

“Volleyball is important, but this is a lot bigger than volleyball.”

Bentonville and Rogers school officials said, as of right now, both of its teams should be able to return to action next week.

Because of all the cancellations, there will now be a 6A-West Conference volleyball tournament to determine which teams will advance to the state tournament, per AAA guidelines.

Nick Lasker, associate executive director with the AAA and rules interpreter for volleyball, said it’s the first time he’s had three teams in the same league sidelined by covid.

“It’s definitely a challenge when you have multiple teams affected,” Lasker said.”That’s one of the reasons the board voted to hold a conference tournament. That’s the most fair way if the games can’t be made up.”

The problem is not every team will likely end up playing the same number of matches. For instance, Fayetteville currently sits atop the league at 5-0. Second-place Har-Ber is also undefeated but only 3-0, followed by Fort Smith Southside at 3-1. By comparison, Rogers and Bentonville West are both 1-2.

Seedings for the tournament will be determined by number of conference wins, head-to-head play or a coin flip, according to the AAA guidelines. Matches will be played at the site of the higher-seeded team.

The guidelines call for the tournament to be played the week of Oct. 19, which means matches on the final league playing date of Oct. 20 will likely have to be moved, along with any nonconference matches scheduled for Oct. 22.

Keith Kilgore, athletic director for Rogers Public Schools, said details for a conference tournament have not been hashed out yet since teams are currently only at the midpoint of league play.

“It will be over multiple days obviously,” Kilgore said. “We’re not gonna know what that looks like for a while with the different scenarios.”