Lady Saints defeat Ashdown in state tourney opener

“Survive and advance” was the theme for Shiloh Christian’s 25-16, 25-17, 25-18 victory over Ashdown in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament in Lonoke.

“A win is a win,” said Shiloh Christian coach Nathan Bodenstein.

The defending state champion Lady Saints play at 8 p.m. today against the winner of Tuesday’s late match between Brookland and Southside.

The Lady Saints (25-13) recorded 94 digs during the three-set win against the Lady Panthers (13-11-1). Sophomore Lexi Richards had a team-high nine kills and 26 digs.

“We had to grind it out,” Bodenstein said. “We were never really in trouble. We just didn’t run off with it like we’ve been accustomed to. We had to work our rears off to get the win, but I like that. We needed that challenge.”

Senior middle blockers Haley Richards and Olivia Barnes finished with six kills each, well below their usual kill rate.

“They held our middles in check, so they had a pretty good scouting report on us,” Bodenstein said. “Ashdown was very, very athletic and got balls. We’re used to getting kills, ‘boom!’ So, our offense was not the main theme of the story, but our defense was outstanding.”

Bodenstein planned to use today’s one-hour walkthrough to fine tune those kill shots by “focusing on putting the ball on the court.”

Shiloh Christian’s side of the bracket is “loaded with really good teams,” such as Lonoke, Brookland and Mena, which defeated West Fork in three sets. The Lady Tigers led 18-12 in the second set before Mena, last year’s state runner-up, closed it out with a 13-1 run.

Berryville, the second seed from the 4A-Northwest, defeated Booneville in three sets while Huntsville played Fountain Lake in Tuesday’s other late match.