It was a match that was not reflected by the final score. All three sets in the Hackett victory over Paris were tightly contested, but, at the end of the night, it was the Hackett Lady Hornets adding a conference tournament title to their regular season title for 2022. The large crowd at Tiger Center in Charleston was treated to two great games with the host school Charleston defeating Booneville in five sets to win the third place game earlier in the evening.
As a result of Thursday’s conference tournament games, Hackett will now go to next week’s state tournament as the top seed from the 3A West. Paris will go as the two seed, Charleston as the three, and Booneville will complete the 3A West playoff delegation as the four seed.
The first three rounds of the 3A state playoffs will be held in Searcy at Harding Academy. The final championship games in all classifications will be held on Saturday, October 29 at Bank OZK Arena in Hot Springs.
The tournament will begin on Tuesday, October 25 at 12 p.m. when the Booneville Lady Bearcats play the Atkins Lady Red Devils in first round action. Paris will then play at 2 p.m. versus the Rose Bud Lady Ramblers. The Hackett Lady Hornets will take the floor at approximately 4 p.m. to play the Salem Lady Greyhounds. The final game of the session will feature the Charleston Lady Tigers and the Harding Academy Wildcats at 6 p.m.
Looking ahead in the tournament at possible match-ups and pairings, the Hackett Lady Hornets, by merit of being the one seed from the 3A West, have a more favorable path to the finals. If seedings play out as paired, Hackett would likely play Salem, Hoxie, and Little Rock Episcopal to reach the finals. For the Lady Eagles to reach the finals, Paris would have to defeat Rose Bud and most likely Little Rock Baptist Prep in the quarterfinals and Harding Academy in the semifinals. The potential Paris match with Harding Academy would be in front of the Lady Wildcats’ home crowd on Thursday.
Overall, the brackets are set for a potential Hackett vs. Little Rock Baptist Prep championship final, again, if seedings hold true in the tournament. If that match-up materializes, it would feature a 3A championship final with the two teams that most observers statewide have said are the two best teams in 2022.
But all of this assumes that things play out the way they appear on paper. Each year, Cinderella usually makes an appearance at the big dance, and someone will almost guaranteed pull an upset. Who knows if and who that may be this year. But it is a game played by teenagers and a lot of emotion will be in play, so, who knows? Either way, it will be an exciting week of great, high-level volleyball. You will not want to miss it! Get your tickets early!
