PARIS- To borrow a phrase from Razorbacks baseball head coach Dave Van Horn, it was “all gas, no brakes” for the Paris Lady Eagles on Monday night.
This time, it was the Little Rock Episcopal Collegiate Lady Wildcats visiting Paris Gymnasium. And in short time, it was Paris playing one of their more impressive matches of the regular season, defeating Episcopal by the set score of 3-0.
But perhaps more impressive than the Eagles’ intensity was the clean match they played on Monday night. Paris gave up no more than 11 points in any of the three sets along their way to a dominate non-conference win.
Episcopal plays in the 3A Central conference, and according to Scorebook Live, the Lady Wildcats unofficially sit in third place in the conference and are battling with Central Arkansas Christian (CAC) for the conference’s second seed. Their conference is led by Little Rock Baptist Prep who also defeated Episcopal earlier in the season by a 3-0 set score.
In addition to the win being a quality non-conference win for the Lady Eagles, the game provided a bit of a preview of what could be in store for Paris in the state playoffs.
The first three rounds of the 3A state playoffs will be hosted by Valley Springs High School starting October 24. Paris is locked in a battle for the second seed in the 3A West. Tomorow night, Paris will host Elkins who sits in third place and who will be traveling to Paris to fight for the second seed. Paris wants to finish with the second seed going into the district tournament. In doing so, the Lady Eagles will have a bye to the tournament semifinals and will guarantee them a berth in the state tournament by finishing no worse than fourth in the district tournament. A semifinal win in the district tournament gives them a shot at the district championship and a guarantee of no worse than a two seed in the next week’s state tournament.
Looking down the line at the state playoff brackets, Paris could play in one of three opening round games:
As a one seed (would have to win the district tournament):
October 24: 12 p.m. vs. the fourth seed from the Northeast
As a two seed (would have to win their semifinal game in the district tournament):
October 24: 6 p.m. vs. third seed from the Northeast
As a three seed (would have to win the district tournament consolation game (if played):
October 24: 2 p.m. vs. second seed from the Northeast
Aa a four seed (would have to lose both their semifinal and the consolation games of the district tournament):
October 24, 4 p.m. vs. the one seed from the Northeast.
If Paris wins the second seed and plays at 6 p.m. on October 24, should the Eagles win, more than likely, Little Rock Baptist Prep will await Paris in the second round.
So, a lot can happen between now and October 24. Tonight’s dominate win against the central’s third place team is a good sign for Paris as they go down the stretch of the regular season. The Lady Eagles will look to continue to build momentum that they hope will carry over to the post season.
RNN Sports will be in Paris on Tuesday night to bring you coverage of the all-important conference match with the Elkins Lady Elks.
Watch for photos from tonight’s game on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports on Wednesday.
