SILOAM SPRINGS - It took a while, but once she got going, Candace Keelin left Wynne reeling.
Keelin, a senior hitter, delivered a handful of critical kills as Morriilton rallied for a 16-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-18 victory against Wynne on Tuesday afternoon at the Class 5A state volleyball tournament.
"She's a senior, and she wants to do that," Morrilton Coach Patti Hill said of Keelin's crunchtime plays. "She wants to be able to do it, and with us, it all comes down to the pass, whether we can get the ball to her."
Morrilton (13-11) did little right early, stumbling through an error-filled Game 1 loss and falling behind 8-7 in Game 2. Morrilton then scored three consecutive points, capped by a Keelin kill, to take a 10-8 lead, its largest of the match to that point.
Keelin later capped another 3-0 spurt with a booming kill for a 21-18 Morrilton lead, and senior Amanda Hicks eventually sealed the Game 2 victory with a block.
"There's nothing that excites a team more than getting a block down," Hill said.
It was Wynne (17-8), however, that seized momentum in Game 3, jumping out to an 8-3 lead and maintaining the five-point cushion as late as 22-17. Wynne was whistled for a four-hits violation on the next point, though, and the call seemed to send Coach Debbie Stepp's youthful squad into a tailspin.
Morrilton scored four points in a row, punctuated by another Keelin kill, to even the score at 22-22. Wynne moved ahead 24-22, but Keelin and Hicks answered with a kill each during a 3-0 run that resulted in a 25-24 lead.
Senior Hannah Tiner then notched a kill to give Morrilton a 2-1 edge that seemed to deflate Wynne.
"The third game, I really thought we had the momentum, but there was a call that changed it," Stepp said. "Still, we had 22 points, we were three points away [from a victory], and we should've gotten the ball back and finished it out. We didn't do that, and some of it goes to youth and inexperience."
Morrilton's veteran team, meanwhile, seized control of the match and used an 8-2 run to take a 17-10 lead in Game 4. Keelin hadback-to-back kills during that stretch, and also teamed with Elaine Lentz for a block.
Wynne didn't get closer than five points the rest of the way, and Morrilton finished with a flourish after getting off to the rocky start.
"We looked a little bit rusty,but I still thought once we got into the groove a little bit that we'd be OK," Hill said.
Morrilton's victory avenged a loss to Wynne in the 2005 state tournament.
"Wynne's a good team, their coach does a good job, and she was really trying to throw us off by mixing in some good stuff, but I guess we were a little bit older and a little more experienced this time," Hill said. "It was our turn this time."
Wynne was led by junior Ariel Smith, who totaled a match-high 24 kills.
"She's been our go-to person, and she's done a tremendous job," Stepp said.
It wasn't enough, though, to overcome a late-firing, but revved-up Morrilton team.
"We don't have the firepower some of these teams have ... and when you come up against a team with that kind of firepower, it's really hard," Stepp said. "It's not easy losing, whether it's first round, second round or on Saturday."
Morrilton advanced to play Camden Fairiew in today's quarterfinal round. Saturday's championship game will be played at Greenwood.
CLASS 5A TOURNAMENT TUESDAY'S SCORES Hot Springs Lakeside def. Pulaski Academy 20-25, 17-25, 27-25, 25-18, 15-12 Magnolia def. Pulaski Robinson 25-16, 25-18, 25-15 Morrilton def. Wynne 16-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-18 Greenwood def. Greene County Tech 25-12, 25-17, 25-12 Nettleton def. Little Rock Christian 25-18, 25-14, 25-15 Camden Fairview def. Helena-West Helena Central 25-7, 25-5, 25-11 Siloam Springs def. Paragould 25-10, 25-17, 25-10 Malvern def. Mills 25-22, 9-25, 25-21, 25-19 TODAY'S MATCHES Game 9: S. Springs vs. Hot Springs Lakeside, noon Game 10: Nettleton vs. Magnolia, 2 p.m.
Game 11: Camden Fairview vs. Morrilton, 4 p.m.
Game 12: Malvern vs. Greenwood, 6 p.m.
Sports, Pages 23 on 10/31/2007