After stepping out of conference play and experiencing their first loss to a very good Fort Smith Southside team, the Paris Lady Eagles returned to conference play last evening at Booneville. The Lady Eagles won their first two sets decidedly and then struggled to win a 27-25 set over an inspired Lady Bearcats team to complete the three set sweep at Booneville. Paris improves its record to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in conference play with the win. The Lady Eagles went into the contest tied for first in the Class 3A West with Waldron and Hackett.
After Thursday night’s loss, Paris fans were anxious to see how the Lady Eagles would respond in Monday’s game at Booneville. Paris came out strong, winning the first two sets with little trouble. But a never-say-die Lady Bearcats team dug in and played their hearts out in the third set.
Booneville led almost the entire third set until serving errors by the Lady Bearcats eventually allowed Paris to make-up the scoring deficit and eventually get a tough win, 27-25. Other than the loss at Southside, the third set against Booneville was the first time Paris had been pushed to the brink of a loss this season, and is the first time in conference play. Paris played well, but you have to give a lot of credit to Booneville for playing exceptionally hard after being down two sets in the match. Booneville is rebuilding their volleyball program, and they will be a factor in the conference race in the next couple of years.
Now, the Lady Eagles must again, on less than 24 hours rest, get ready to play another conference game, this time against conference newcomer Green Forest. The Lady Tigers have been a state playoff team on a regular basis over the past few years, and they will be coming to Paris Gymnasium tonight to assert their presence in their new conference. Green Forest lost their first two matches of the season against Prairie Grove and Hackett. The Lady Tigers played Alpena on Monday night, but there is no score reported for this game.
The Lady Eagles need their fans to show up again and support Paris in this very important conference match-up. Hackett may be playing the best volleyball so far, and Paris fans will remember the Waldron Lady Bulldogs who were probably the most improved team in the conference and in Class 3A as they made the state tournament and defeated Perryville in the first round. So it is very important for the Lady Eagles to take care of business with the two other top-contending schools still on their schedule.
Tickets for tonight’s match with Green Forest are now available at the Paris district office. For more information on this and other games, please check the Paris school district website for up-to-date information.
Resident Press will be at Tuesday night’s game to capture all of the action for our readers! Watch for a recap of the Lady Eagles game with Green Forest on Wednesday in Resident Press.
And don’t forget to obtain your tickets in advance and wear your masks to the game…see you there!
