Malvern advances, Lakeside, Arkadelphia fall in state tournament

Malvern took a 3-1 win in its first state playoff game since 2012, and Lakeside and Arkadelphia lost in the first round of the state volleyball tournament.

The Lady Leopards (15-7) entered the 4A state tournament at Mena as the No. 2 seed from the 4A-West after six years without earning a playoff berth, taking on Lonoke (11-8), the No. 3 seed from the 4A-Central.

“It was a very good win,” said Malvern head coach Patricia Glover. “We played really well. … Our seniors really stepped up. We played well as a whole group. We’ve not been here in a while, but it’s something that we’ve been working on. I’m proud of this group.”

The Lady Leopards won the first two sets, 25-21, 25-15, but Lonoke came back to take the third, 25-17. Malvern then secured its first second-round match since 2012 with a 25-17 win in the fourth set.

Malvern will face off against Valley View (18-1) at 5 p.m. The Lady Blazers entered the tournament as the top-seeded team from the

4A-Northeast, defeating Farmington

(11-7) in the first round, 3-0. Lakeside (18-2), which advanced to the 5A quarterfinals last season, could not overcome a big Mountain Home (11-6) team, falling in five sets in the first round of the 5A state tournament at Jonesboro.

“The first two sets, we weren’t in it,” Rams head coach Rhonda Thigpen said. “They were able to do whatever they wanted. We just couldn’t get them. Then we won two games in a row. These girls played lights out.”

After falling behind in the first two sets, 25-18, 25-22, Lakeside held Mountain Home to 13 points in each of the third and fourth sets to force a deciding fifth set.

“We were actually up two points early in the fifth set,” Thigpen said. “They went up 13-11, and we tied it at 14-all.”

The Lady Bombers ended up taking the final set, 18-16.

“We outplayed them for 2 3/4 games,” Thigpen said. “I’m just disappointed in myself. I wish I had done more to get them to the next level. They fought hard. They deserve all the credit.”

Maddie Trusty led the Rams with 27 kills and 15 digs. Olivia Lawrence had 41 assists with seven digs, and Molly Stineman led the back row with 19 digs. Claire Monte added nine kills, and Meghan Fuller-Free-

man had three kills. Adachi Igbokidi had five total blocks and three kills.

Arkadelphia (14-7) struggled from the start, falling

25-6 in the first set to Morrilton (18-0). The second set saw the Lady Badgers pull within 21-20, but they just could not overcome the Lady Devil Dogs, falling

25-21, 25-10 to end their season.

“In the first game, we just got in the hole early,” said Arkadelphia head coach Jenny Coon. “It was

9-1 before we could catch our breath. We just never recovered.”

Coon said the team struggled in service, but they had a good day on service-receive.

“Our serve-receive was at a good clip,” she said. “Those bad ones just came at inopportune times. Our serve percentage was the worst it’s been all year. That’s just the wrong time for it to happen.”

Jamari Whitaker led the Lady Badgers with 11 kills and eight assists. Hannah Fenocchi had six kills on seven attempts, Kailyn Rook-Sims had 11 assists, and Gracie Dunaway had nine digs.

“I’m just proud of our kids,” Coon said. “I told our seniors that they showed a lot of leadership to get us here. … I hope this is the start of a three-year run for our sophomores.”