PEARCY -- Rose Cheek-Willis and Siloam Springs didn't go down without a fight Wednesday in the Class 6A state volleyball tournament.
The end result was a Jonesboro sweep of the Lady Panthers 3-0 (26-24, 25-23, 27-25) in the quarterfinals, but the Lady Hurricane won all three games by two points and two of the sets went into overtime at Wolf Arena on the campus of Lake Hamilton High School.
The loss marked the end of the 36-year career at Siloam Springs for Cheek-Willis, who is retiring at the end of the year with 566 career wins and seven state championships.
"Hall of Fame -- she's got to be in there," said Jonesboro coach Craig Cummings. "That's the legacy she's left and how many lives she's touched through the use of volleyball. Just the impact she's had in Northwest Arkansas and volleyball across the state, she's set a standard that all of us are trying to reach."
And just like their scrappy 5-foot-1 coach, the Lady Panthers (18-18) battled the bigger, more athletic Lady Hurricane (25-7) to the wire on Wednesday.
"One point either way and maybe they get us in three," Cummings said. "That's the type of match it was. They didn't quit even down 0-2, but that's what you expect from them fighting for Coach Cheek."
Jonesboro, the No. 2 seed from the 6A-East, advances to today's 1 p.m. semifinals against 6A-West No. 1 Greenwood, which defeated Lake Hamilton 3-0 in an earlier quarterfinal game.
Kandace Pointer led Jonesboro offensively with 13 kills and had 10 defensive digs.
Cameron Hafner and Clara Parker each had seven kills, while Mikayla Johnson had four kills and seven blocks.
Magan Wicker added 34 digs for the Lady Hurricane, while Bailey Tagupa had nine digs.
Shaylon Sharp led Siloam Springs offensively with 11 kills and six aces to go with 23 digs, while Ellie Lampton had eight kills. Chloe Price, who is Cheek-Willis' niece, had seven kills, 15 assists and 18 digs, while Meg Gray had 13 assists and eight digs. Andrea Lowry led with 24 digs, while Kelsey Lewis had 11 digs.
Jonesboro was able to make a few extra plays at the end of games than the Lady Panthers in games one and two, and the Lady Hurricane had a 24-21 lead in game three.
Siloam Springs fought back to tie it at 25, but Hafner recorded a kill to set up match point for Jonesboro and the Lady Hurricane ended the match on the next play.
Cheek-Willis was proud of her team's fight, but she also was frustrated with the officials after the game and voiced her displeasure, something she hasn't done much in her career. There were two replays on crucial points and Cheek-Willis felt there were several missed calls.
"They did not lay down," Cheek-Willis said. "That's what I told them, 'Don't you dare hang your head.' When you've got to play another team and the officials at the state level, I'm telling you I'm embarrassed. I'm very embarrassed about the officiating at the state level."
Greenwood def. Lake Hamilton, 3-0
Greenwood advanced to the semifinals with a 25-11, 25-12, 25-14 sweep of tournament host Lake Hamilton.
The Lady Bulldogs (30-6), who are the No. 1 seed from the 6A-West, were playing in their first game of the tournament after receiving a first-round bye on Tuesday.
"I've seen us play better," said Greenwood coach Jennifer Golden. "But you come out and there's first-game jitters and you know they're playing on their home court. To come out here and take care of business means a lot."
Greenwood had a balanced night statistically in its win. Carrie Cielsa led with nine kills to go with eight assists and one solo block. Madi Pfeifer had seven kills, while Camryn Presley had six kills and two solo blocks and Lilliah Pugh with six kills. Libero Lexie Castillow had 12 digs and Brooke Shortes dished out 14 assists.
Jenny Peake and Destiny Raymo each had four kills to lead Lake Hamilton (19-16).
"I just felt like we were super nervous because they knew we were playing the No. 1 seed," said Lake Hamilton coach Karen Smith.
Sports on 10/27/2016