After sweeping the 2019 Class 3A champion Little Rock Episcopal Lady Wildcats on Monday, the Lady Eagles traveled to Northwest Arkansas on Tuesday and swept the Lincoln Lady Wolves in conference play. Tonight, Paris travels to Booneville for their traditional Logan County rivalry, and for Paris, the Lady Eagles will be focused on not overlooking a good Booneville team with a Hackett rematch coming up next Tuesday. Booneville is an improved team this year with a bright future ahead of them, and as always, Paris must go into Booneville and take care of business before it can afford to think about Hackett.
Monday’s Little Rock Episcopal match was unexpected by some as Eagles fans wondered how the team would react to last Thursday’s emotional five-set loss at Hackett. But like baseball, basketball, and other sports that play multiple games in a week, it was good for the Lady Eagles to get back on the court after the loss and forget about the match at Hackett and move on with their season that still has everything ahead of the Lady Eagles that they have aspired to accomplish this season. Episcopal was no match for a Paris front line that came out very aggresively, almost angeriley after the Hackett loss, pounding the ball. In fact, the Lady Eagles’ front line sent two Episcopal players out of the game temporarily after hitting them with hard spikes on the return.
The Episcopal match also gave the Paris program a chance to avenge the bad memories of losing to the Lady Wildcats at Paris Gymnasium in the 2019 state tournament quarterfinals Episcopal went on that year to defeat Hot Springs Fountain Lake decisively in the state final. So, for Paris, the win was group therapy for the Lady Eagles on a couple of fronts, and tonight’s match in Booneville is important for Paris to have a chance to win and to win an important rematch, this time on their home floor, over the Lady Hornets. But, first things first….Paris has to focus now on Booneville. Tonight’s game has all of the possibilities of being a “trap game” for Paris, and the Lady Eagles’ senior leadership will be important to keep their attention on Booneville.
Watch for a recap of this story in Resident Press on Sunday. Also, photos from tonight’s game will be posted on Facebook at Paris Eagles Sports on Sunday, as well.
See you tonight in Booneville!
