It didn’t take long for the second-seeded Paris Lady Eagles to defeat Little Rock Baptist Prep and to advance to the state semifinal match on Thursday versus the Hoxie Lady Mustangs. Paris defeated Baptist Prep in three straight sets, all in dominant fashion. Paris played perhaps its best match from start to finish and appears to be peaking at the right time.
Immediately after the game, Paris coach Jordan Devine was giddy over her team’s performance. “Yes! That’s how we can play! This group’s not like a “hoorah” team… I guess you haven’t noticed…so, I told them in the first set that you have to match or beat their (Baptist Prep’s) energy. They are always that way. They’re energetic. And our guys stepped up to the challenge and did well.” I went on to ask Coach Devine how the team will manage the next 24 hours leading up to game time for Thursday’s match. The Lady Eagles played today on less than 24 hours rest, which is not uncommon in tournament play. Now, with a win in an early session on Wednesday, the Lady Eagles have almost a full 24 hours of rest, compared to the other semifinal participant who could likely be 8:30 – 9:00 p.m. before they finish their quarterfinal match. “Last night was a late night for us. We went back to the hotel, we watched film, had dinner…I didn’t want it to be a late night, but when you play in a big game like this, we wanted to watch Baptist. So, today is going to look a little bit different. We’re going to relax a little bit, we’ll go eat a nice meal, watch some film at the hotel, get to bed early, and get ready to play.”
Paris will play the Hoxie Lady Mustangs who, earlier in the day, defeated the Charleston Lady Tigers in a hard-fought, five set match. Charleston, returning to the state quarterfinals for the second consecutive year, pushed the Lady Mustangs to a lead in the fifth set before eventually not being able to put away the deciding set for the match upset. Charleston coach Ryan Rachuy’s team has a lot to be proud of and will return many of its players next year, including all-everything hitter, Gracie Koch.
At press time, the first-seeded Hackett Lady Hornets are locked in a 1-1 match and are playing in the third set against the Jessieville Lady Lions. The winner of this match will play the winner of the night’s final quarterfinal match between Piggott and Harding Academy.
Resident Press will have a full summary of the state semifinals on Friday. Paris and Baptist Prep players and fans can see photos from today’s match on Facebook and Paris Eagles Sports.
The remaining quarterfinal matches that will be held today are:
Hackett vs. Jessieville (in progress at publication time)
Piggott vs. Harding Academy, 7 p.m.
In the meantime, Paris is returning to the state semifinal for the second time since 2018 when the Lady Eagles went on to defeat Ashdown in the state final. This year’s young edition of the Paris volleyball program is playing great volleyball and has the potential to go all the way to the finals and possibly another state championship. Both the present and the future of Paris volleyball are bright, and Paris fans need to make the trip to Little Rock on Thursday to see the Lady Eagles contend for a trip to the finals Saturday in Hot Springs. Thursday’s match against Hoxie is slated to start at 1 p.m. at Little Rock Episcopal Collegiate High School.
Stay with Resident Press for the most complete coverage of the Class 3A state volleyball tournament.
