LINCOLN -- All-Conference players Jessica Goldman and Hollie Webb were two reasons Lincoln went 7-7 in conference play, an unprecedented achievement for the Lady Wolves volleyball program in 2017.
The Lady Wolves began the year with an all new coaching staff with assistant coach Lauren Merrit-Creed promoted to head coach with Emilianne Slamons hired as assistant coach.
Lincoln became competitive out of the gate despite not playing a nonconference schedule. On Aug. 29, the Lady Wolves took game one, 25-22, surprising Gravette before losing the next three sets, 25-17, 25-14, 25-14. The Lady Wolves returned to the court the next day Aug. 31 to record a 5-set win against West Fork (25-11, 25-20, 20-25, 21-25, 15-10). The Lady Wolves split their next four matches, beating Decatur and Gentry with losses to Elkins and Shiloh Christian.
League powerhouse Shiloh Christian (15-9, 12-0 4A-1) stretched its conference win streak to 60 with a 25-6, 25-16, 25-6 sweep of Lincoln, but even in the midst of that sweep Shiloh coach Nathan Bodenstein acknowledged Lincoln's athleticism.
"There are some really good teams in our conference, so credit to them as well for making us show up ready to play every game," Bodenstein said.
Saints' junior Lexi Richards played strong against Lincoln racking up 19 kills and 3 aces to up her conference-leading kills to 290.
"We knew Lincoln would be tough at the net, so we just had to find our spots to put the ball," Richards said.
Shiloh Christian used a 7-0 spurt in the first set to jump ahead of the Wolves. Richards then served seven straight winners in the second set to keep the pressure on. Lincoln (5-6) did use a 5-0 run late in the second to make things interesting. Then after both teams battled it out evenly to start the third, Shiloh went on a 17-0 run to put it away.
"It's Shiloh, and you know what that means, you've got to bring your A game because they are going to come prepared," Merrit-Creed said. "That's just been a lot of our focus, is getting some consistency with our girls, and having them get in sync with one of another."
On Sept. 19, the Lady Wolves were swept, 25-14, 25-11, 26-24, by Prairie Grove. In a rematch with Gravette, the Lady Lions handled Lincoln, 25-16, 25-10, 25-12; but Lincoln showed improvement the second time around versus West Fork. On Sept. 26, the Lady Wolves didn't allow the Tigers to get into the winning column with a 25-7, 25-22, 25-22 sweep.
Lincoln beat Decatur, then lost again to Elkins and Shiloh Christian. On Oct. 10, they picked up steam with a 3-1 win over Gentry by scores of 25-13, 25-21, 22-25, 25-22. That victory poised the Lady Wolves to achieve something that had never been accomplished in school history -- finish the regular season with as many conference wins as losses.
In order to reach that milestone, Lincoln had to beat Prairie Grove and they did by posting a sweep of the Lady Tigers (27-25, 25-19, 25-20) late in the season.
Lincoln entered the 4A-1 District tournament which they hosted in October with momentum.
"That's the first time they have been .500 in school history," said Lincoln athletic director Deon Birkes, who praised 2017 season coaches Lauren Merrit-Creed and Emilianne Slamons for doing a great job.
Steve Andrews, of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette contributed to this story.
Sports on 06/20/2018