P-Wheatley draws Lady Bobcats in 2A state volleyball first round
The trip to Mansfield was just shy of five hours Monday for the Palestine-Wheatley Lady Patriots.
But when a team qualifies for a state tournament berth, no distance is too far to travel to play a state tournament game and with a state title being the ultimate prize.
And Mansfield was the Lady Patriots destination.
As the second seed into the district tournament, the Lady Patriots qualified for the Class 2A state tournament last week with a first round district tournament win over Marianna Lee and followed that with a secondround win over Barton, which put them into the district tournament championship game, where they turned back Midland giving the Lady Patriots a No. 1 seed into the state bracket.
Today, the Lady Patriots, led by four all conference players, two all-state players and one all-star game nominee, will take the court at noon to face the fourth-seeded Marshall Lady Bobcats.
Today's winner will face the Lavaca-England winner Wednesday in a second round state match at 4 p.m.
The Lady Patriots are making their second trip to state after reaching the state tournament in only their third season of sanctioned high school volleyball, under then head coach Heather Hawk as a four seed.
"We faced Baptist Prep in the first round of that state tournament," Hawk, who now coaches at Cabot said. "We played a competitive game but Baptist Prep was just loaded. Dropping down to Class 2A has been very beneficial for P-W. This group that will be playing in state today is the first group of girls I started with as seventh graders.
The Lady Patriots played from the 2A-East conference this season, while Marshall played their season from the 2A North conference alongside Alpena, Conway Christian, Cotter, Guy, ICC and Quitman.
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Recent results suggest Valley View is ready for another state tournament run.
The Lady Blazers have won 20 of their last 22 matches entering the Class 5A state volleyball tournament that begins today at Greenbrier, the only losses coming against Class 6A power Conway. No other opponent has even taken a set from Valley View this month.
Valley View coach Margie McGee, whose team is seeking its eighth consecutive state title and 17th overall, said the Lady Blazers are finally finding a groove.
Valley View returned to Class 5A this year after a four-year run of dominance in Class 4A.
The Lady Blazers (25-4-1) dropped only three sets in 5AEast conference play, two to Batesville and one to Marion, as they rolled through 14 conference matches without a loss.
As the No. 1 seed from the East, Valley View draws No. 4 West seed Greenbrier at noon today on the Lady Panthers’ home floor. The teams met recently in a tournament at Conway, where Valley View won 25-18, 25-18 in a best-of-three match.
Valley View became the first Arkansas high school volleyball program to win seven consecutive state titles with last year’s victory over Brookland in the 4A state final.
The Lady Blazers, who have won a state title in 11 of the last 12 seasons, have made 19 consecutive trips to the state finals.
West champion Greenwood (21-6) is also on Valley View’s half of the bracket. Defending champion Little Rock Christian (19-5) and 2021 runner-up Benton (25-1), the Central and South champions, respectively, are on the other side of the bracket from the Lady Blazers.
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While other area high school volleyball teams are taking trips near and far to state tournaments this week, the Brookland Lady Bearcats will enjoy the comforts of home.
Top-seeded Brookland is the site for the first three rounds of the Class 4A state tournament today through Thursday. The championship match will be contested Saturday in Hot Springs along with state finals in the other four classifications.
Already among the favorites after playing in the state finals the last three seasons, the Lady Bearcats (26-4) will have the home crowd behind them in their quest to return to Bank OZK Arena.