Arkansas high school volleyball this season consisted of one huge prelude to a frantic final week of action.
Lake Hamilton, for instance, has not played the top team in its conference, Greenwood, but would get that opportunity if it wins the opening match of the Class 6A tournament today at Wolf Arena.
The Lady Wolves earned the No. 5 seed from 6A-West with a victory Thursday over Sheridan, earlier losing at Russellville and beating Texarkana in a postseason tournament. West champion Greenwood awaits the winner of today's 2 p.m. match between Lake Hamilton and East No. 4 seed West Memphis in the quarterfinals at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
In other first-round matches today, West No. 3 Siloam Springs plays East No. 6 Searcy at 4 p.m., West No. 4 Benton goes against East No. 5 Jacksonville at 6 p.m. and East No. 3 Mountain Home meets West No. 6 Sheridan at 8 p.m.
Defending champion Marion is seeded No. 1 from the East and plays the Benton-Jacksonville winner at 6 p.m. Wednesday. East No. 2 Jonesboro faces the Siloam Springs-Searcy winner in the second quarterfinal (4 p.m.) while West No. 2 Russellville meets the Mountain Home-Sheridan winner in the late show.
Thursday's semifinal winners advance to the 3 p.m. final on Championship Saturday (five matches from 11 a.m. onward) at Bank of the Ozarks Arena.
Lake Hamilton coach Karen Smith invites spectators to Wolf Arena, hosting its first state tournament since opening last year.
"We're glad to be hosting it," said Smith, who coached the 2007 Lady Wolves to the school's only volleyball state championship. "We're proud to be able to show off our arena. We know that a lot of people haven't seen it so we're very proud and excited, although it requires a lot of work to put it on."
Smith says her squad of mostly sophomores and seniors "has grown leaps and bounds" since the team's first match in August.
"Our volleyball IQ is a lot higher now than when we started, and I'm proud of what they've accomplished," she said. "We've worked very hard to get here and our girls have it in their minds that they're going to win (today)."
Lady Wolves to watch, she said, include sophomores Jenny Peake, Allison Trantham and Morgan Fincham and seniors Destiny Rayno and Paige Hoover. Senior Courtney Erby made the Class 6A all-tournament team last year at Greenwood, Lake Hamilton losing to Jonesboro 3-0 (25-23, 25-7, 25-16) in the first round.
"By this time next year we should have a bunch of grown-up girls," Smith said.
Marion won its third state title of the decade last year, defeating Greenwood 25-12, 25-16, 25-15 at Bank of the Ozarks Arena. Russellville won the state title in 2012 and 2014, the school's fourth and fifth in volleyball.
* Conference champion Lakeside hopes for more than another one-and-out appearance in the Class 5A tournament.
The Lady Rams, top seed from the South, face Central No. 4 Sylvan Hills in a 6 p.m. first-round match today at Valley View. The winner advances to a 4 p.m. quarterfinal Wednesday against the winner today's late match between East No. 2 Nettleton and West No. 3 Alma.
The Lady Rams could earn a rematch against Nettleton, which defeated Lakeside 25-23, 25-23, 25-17 in a first-round match last year. Host Valley View went on to its fifth championship in six years , defeating Batesville 3-1 (25-12, 22-25, 25-11, 25-21) at Bank of the Ozarks Arena.
Coach Allison Frizzell-Kizer's Lady Rams (26-5) went undefeated through the South conference, getting strong seasons from players in three classes including seniors Shelby Little and Erica Hendrix. Lakeside has won four straight matches, defeating Camden Fairview and Magnolia in a district tournament, since losing to Class 6A Jonesboro and Class 7A Mount St. Mary in a tournament at Conway. A season highlight included two 3-0 victories over Lake Hamilton.
* Fountain Lake, No. 2 seed from 4A-West, plays Northwest No. 3 seed Huntsville at 8 p.m. in the Class 4A tournament at Paris High School. The Lady Cobras would face Central winner Central Arkansas Christian or Northeast No. 4 Harrisburg in the quarterfinals at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Fountain Lake defeated Clinton 3-0 in the first round last year before losing 3-2 to Brookland in the quarterfinals. Shiloh Christian downed tournament host Mena in a 3-0 final at Bank of the Ozarks Arena.
Sports on 10/25/2016