Lady Blazers return to top
HOT SPRINGS — Madison Hogue had flashbacks of last season’s Class 5A state championship match. They weren’t pleasant. Hogue and her Valley View Lady Blazers teammates put those memories to rest Saturday, taking a 3-1 victory over Batesville at Bank of the Ozarks Arena.
Valley View Coach Margie McGee said Hogue had the best volleyball week of her life.
“If there is ever a good time to come out as a senior and peak like she did, it was just phenomenal for her,” McGee said.
Hogue made 13 kills and earned MVP honors as the Lady Blazers (28-3-1) won 3-1 (25-12, 22-25, 25-11, 25-21).
Valley View was playing in its 13th consecutive state championship match, and the Lady Blazers captured their 10th state title since 2003. But last season’s championship loss to Paragould was fresh in Hogue’s mind.
“Last year was a heart-breaker,” Hogue said. “We hated that feeling of losing so much. We just wanted to get back in it and win it.”
The Lady Blazers could have won in consecutive sets had it not been for a minor blip in the second game. Valley View led 21-18 before Batesville (24-10) scored seven of the game’s final eight points.
The Lady Pioneers didn’t enjoy many advantages after the second set. Batesville led 2-0 in the third set, but Valley View responded by scoring seven of the next eight points. Batesville also scored the first point of the fourth set, but Valley View scored the next five and never trailed again.
Junior outside hitter Canaan Richardson led Valley View with 17 kills, including three late in the fourth game.
Batesville Coach Tanya Haigwood said her team’s blockers never adjusted to the number of tandem plays run by Valley View Richardson and Hogue.
“Canaan is a lefty, and we don’t see many left-handers in our conference,” Haigwood said. “She’s a great hitter and she went down the line quite a bit.”
As for Hogue, Haigwood said she “was just hard to stop. Our girls had a hard time trying to handle her.”
Valley View had a difficult time putting away Batesville in the fourth set. The Lady Blazers led 22-14, but Batesville scored seven of the next nine points before faltering.
Junior Hannah Qualls led Batesville with 12 kills, and senior Gracen Ratliff added 8.
Freshman Abbigail McGee led the Lady Blazers in assists with 25, while junior Morgan McAlexander added 19. Sophomore Callie Weaver led Valley View in digs with 23. She also served a game-high four aces.