CLASS 5A: Nettleton stops 7-year title run

— The streak is over and there is a new champion in Class 5A volleyball.

Nettleton defeated Siloam Springs 3-1 to deny the Lady Panthers their seventh consecutive state championship Saturday in Bentonville. Nettleton lost the first game 25-21 before winning 25-22, 25-21 and 27-25.

It is the second state championship for Nettleton (23-4), which lost to Siloam Springs in the 2007 semifinals and the 2008 quarterfinals.

“We’ve played Siloam Springs before, so we knew what we were walking into,” Nettleton Coach Vickie Gatewood said. “We wanted to play hard, we wanted to play smart with the ball, and we didn’t want to quit. I thought our girls did a great job of just staying in there and not quitting.”

Hannah Campbell had 14 kills and Tiffani Curtwright10 kills to lead the Lady Raiders. Allison Wyatt, the tournament’s MVP, added nine kills.

The defeat was obviously painful for the Lady Panthers (30-9).

While Nettleton celebrated after clinching its second state title, some of the players from Siloam Springs dropped to the floor in tears.

Siloam Springs Coach Rose Cheek helped seniors Elizabeth Briones and Alexandria Wade to their feet before the teams retreated to the locker rooms.

“The girls are heartbroken,” Cheek said. “My heart goes out to them. They’ve had so much pressure on themand we choked. We had 12 hitting errors. After Game 1, I felt like we were in control. I knew Nettleton was the type of team to come back, but I was shocked that our girls fell apart.”

Cheek admitted to some stress this week while preparing her team for another state championship appearance. She encouraged her players and supporters to avoid mentioning a possible seventh consecutive title, but her worst fears came true Saturday.

Nettleton took control after losing by four points in the first game.

“That’s been a problem they’ve had all year,” Cheek said. “They haven’t adjusted well to getting beat, because they haven’t been used it.”

Nettleton broke a 14-14 tie in the critical third game and won 25-21 on a block at the net by Campbell. Siloam Springs rallied from a 14-10 deficit in the fourth game but Nettleton again surged ahead behind the play of Campbell, a junior, and Wyatt, a senior who has committed to play volleyball at UALR.

“Allison is a tremendous competitor and she works hard on and off the court every day,” Gatewood said.

“She is the perfect volleyball player in my eyes. Hannah Campbell was injured and we didn’t have her for most of the season. We got her back at the end of the conference season and she made a huge impact right off the bat. She picked the right time to peak in the state tournament.”

Sports, Pages 32 on 10/31/2010

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