NORTH LITTLE ROCK Conway's Lady Cats clinched the No. 1 seed from the 7A-Central to the Class 7A State Volleyball Tournament with a three-game win at North Little Rock on Thursday.
Conway won, 25-21, 25-13, 25-19, to improve to 16-6 overall and 12-1 in league play entering Tuesday's final conference match against Little Rock Central.
"We sort of started off a little slow, but once we got in synch we did a good job," Conway coach Laura Crow said. "We're working on running a faster offense, focusing on our transitions, and, and the kids utilized the free balls and transitions off the net and put the balls down."
Dorene Reno led the Lady Cat defense with 21 digs; Ashley Cyr added 20. Mary Dunlap recorded 2.5 blocks. Cyr served four aces; Joleigh McManis and Payton Hart added three apiece. Cyr and Dunlap led the offense with 12 and eight kills, respectively. McManis delivered 14 assists; Danielle Young added eight and Hart five.
The Lady Cats also won the junior varsity match, 25-16, 25-9.
For Conway, Allison Shaw had nine assists and Caitlin Trickett five.
Maddie Shipp put down seven kills; Hannah Cooper added four. Britny Tomlin served four aces; Quay Smith added two. Tomlin had 13 digs to Shaw's six. Amy Fletcher recorded 1.5 blocks; Smith added one.
The Lady Cats will celebrate Senior Night on Tuesday against Central.
VILONIA FALLS
TO GREENWOOD
Greenwood, leading the 5A-West, took a three-game win at Vilonia on Thursday to remain unbeaten in league play.
The Lady Bulldogs prevailed, 25-9, 25-4, 25-22. They have another showdown with Siloam Springs, which beat them in the last two state championship matches, on Tuesday.
"They're more powerful; Siloam Springs is so quick," Vilonia coach Karla Ault said. "With Greenwood, it's like it comes out of a cannon."
For the Lady Eagles, Taryn Castelanni served four of five with two assists; Liz Clites put down two kills and added three blocks; Courtney McEntire had a block, an assist, nine digs and served two of three; Sam Nealey recorded a kill, two blocks and served 10 of 11; Ashley Talbert served four of five with four digs; Mallorie Ault served 2 of 2 with two digs and five assists; Heather Brantley recorded three kills and eight digs and served four of five; Jessica Ragland had two kills, a block and a dig and Victoria Samuelson had six digs.
Vilonia fell to 4-8 in conference play and will go to Morrilton on Tuesday before playing host to Siloam Springs next Thursday.
Greenwood also won the junior varsity match, 25-18, 25-19.
Vilonia was perfect in serving for the match. Ragland was 6-of-6 with a kill and two digs. Ault was three-o- three with two assists; Julie Stanley served five of five with five kills and three blocks; Scarlett Green was perfect on six serves with three digs; Maggie Brewer served six of six with an assist; Betsy Bartlett had two digs and an assist; Sarah Weaver had a kill and a dig; and Kendall Cotton served 4 of 4 and added three digs.
