GREENWOOD -- Shaylon Sharp set her feet, leaped and swung her right arm to hammer a kill over the net, but she barely made contact with the volleyball as it fell harmlessly to the floor.
The Siloam Springs sophomore didn't miss many others on Tuesday in leading the Lady Panthers to a 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-20) sweep over Arkansas High in the Class 6A State Volleyball Tournament.
Class 6A State Volleyball Tournament
At Greenwood
Tuesday
Game 1: 3E Jonesboro def. 3S Lake Hamilton 3-0 (25-23, 25-7, 25-16)
Game 2: 2E Mountain Home def. 5S El Dorado 3-0 (25-3, 25-10, 25-8)
Game 3: 3C Siloam Springs def. 4S Texarkana 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-20)
Game 4: 2C Russellville def. 6S LR Parkview 3-0 (25-7, 25-8, 25-6)
Today
Game 5: 1C Greenwood vs. Jonesboro, noon.
Game 6: 2S Sheridan vs. Mountain Home, 2 p.m.
Game 7: 1E Marion vs. Siloam Springs, 4 p.m.
Game 8: 1S Benton vs. Russellville, 6 p.m.
The win sends No. 3 seed Siloam Springs (9-24) into today's quarterfinals at 4 p.m. against Marion.
"I think we settled down after that first set," Siloam Springs coach Rose Cheek-Willis said. "You know, they are young and inexperienced and had some nerves as the beginning, I think. But once we settled down and started playing ball, they were loose and that helped."
Sharp, the 5-foot-9 hitter, led the way for Siloam Springs with a match-high 11 kills and two aces. Her play at the net was solid all three sets after she got over her initial jitters.
"She played pretty well," Lady Razorbacks coach Brandy Crawford said of Sharp. "We weren't getting to the block and I think that would have made a difference in her effectiveness at the net, but our block was a little late with her, and we probably haven't seen anybody with that kind of arm swing."
The first set was tight early and tied a 9-9 when the Lady Panthers missed a kill attempt. But after freshman Chloe Price served an ace for a 14-10 lead, the Lady Panthers ran off a 9-1 scoring surge to take am 18-10 lead on Haley Stewart's kill. Sharp added two more kills to close out the set.
The second set was all Siloam Springs. Price opened with a pair of ace serves and Siloam Springs raced to a double-digit lead. Sharp slammed a kill and added an ace serve to close out the 25-17 win.
Stewart, who had 8 kills for Siloam Springs, opened the third set with a spike, but the Lady Razorbacks (15-11) played much better, taking advantage of what Cheek-Willis called "very sloppy" play by Siloam Springs, prompting the coach to call a time out with her team leading 14-13.
"In game three I thought we started getting comfortable," said Cheek-Willis, who has won seven state volleyball championships at Siloam Springs. "That's not how we normally play."
The move calmed her team, although Arkansas High refused to quit, led by Makayla Henry and Aubreyonia Sanders. Henry had four kills and seven digs in the match, and Sanders added four blocks.
Siloam Springs finally pulled away as Meg Gray served an ace for an 18-13 lead, and Sharp added a pair of aces for a 22-24 lead to help the Lady Panthers nail down the sweep.
"Shaylon is a tremendous athlete," Cheek-Willis said. "She can jump, she's a good server. Getting her to be consistent is the thing. She's just a great athlete all the way around. She's got real good court sense."
CLASS 4A
Shiloh Christian def. Newport 3-0
The Lady Saints rolled to a sweep in the opening match of the Class 4A state tournament in Mena on Tuesday, winning 25-11, 25-14, 25-17 to advance to today's second round.
Arkansas verbal commit Reagan Robinson led Shiloh Christian with 12 kills and 19 digs. Anna Gookin and Haley Richards added nine kills each. Allie Pitts had 23 assists and Hannah Smithson added 12 assists.
The Lady Saints will take on Southside Batesville at noon today.
Sports on 10/28/2015