HARRISON — No matter how hard it tried, there wasn’t much Farmington could do on Wednesday.
Valley View setup its shots with ease, got the necessary digs on defense and nearly served the ball to perfection on every try, once again proving why it’s one of the best volleyball programs in the state.
The result came as no surprise as Valley View defeated the Lady Cardinals 25-5, 25-13, 25-14 in the second round of the Class 4A State Volleyball Tournament in the Brandon Burlsworth Youth Center.
This season, the Lady Blazers (29-2) have steamrolled nearly every opponent, with the exception of two matches they played in tournaments in Illinois and Missouri more than two months ago.
“That’s our style, we get the momentum on our side and we don’t give it back,” Valley View coach Margie McGee said. “We play with a lot of energy. We have great distribution of passing and setting our players up and we hit the ball where we need to.”
Outside hitter Amy Philamlee had a team-high nine kills and 15 digs while junior Shelby Daniel had eight kills, two blocks and 12 digs. Junior Megan Martin also had eight kills and 12 digs.
Valley View started the first set on a 7-0 scoring run and never looked back in building a 20-13 lead. The Lady Blazers took advantage of a few Farmington miscues and two kills from sophomore Megan Mathis and Daniel.
That trend continued in the second set when the Lady Blazers built a 16-2 lead on three kills and several tipped shots.
“Our girls came out and were a little nervous; they knew Valley View’s reputation,” Farmington coach Jessica McCollough said. “It was a tough start, but we settled down eventually.
“If we played that team 10 times, we’d have to be perfect in every game to have a chance to win. They’re very talented and very well coached.”
Farmington (19-7) had its best performance in the third set when it passed the ball effectively for a few open kill shots. However, the rally wasn’t enough as Valley View finished the game with a 25-14 victory.
Despite the tough loss, McCollough said getting to the second round of the state tournament was a huge step for Farmington’s volleyball program.
“We’ve only been playing for five years,” McCollough said. “Valley View has been playing their whole lives, so to be here and win a game, it feels really good. We accomplished our goal of getting here and we can build on that.”
Shiloh Christian 3, Jonesboro Westside 0
Shiloh Christian got off to a good start in all three of its sets against Jonesboro Westside on Wednesday.
But the Lady Saints managed to have even better finishes.
Shiloh (25-4) knocked off Westside in straight sets (25-23, 25-19, 25-21) to advance to today’s semifinal round for the second straight year. The Lady Saints will play Mena at 3 p.m. today.
Leading Shiloh was Makenzie Heithoff who had seven kills and two aces while Hannah West had six kills. Jessica Breslau also had 16 assists.
“We just played so united, like we have all year,” Shiloh coach Karen Morris said. “It’s a great victory for our team. Westside is an outstanding team, so to win in straight sets, it’s going to give us a lot of confidence.”