The Greenwood High School Lady Bulldogs have reached the semi-finals of the Class 5A state volleyball tournament for the fourth consecutive year, defeating Nettleton Tuesday evening on the campus of Siloam Springs High School, which is hosting the first three rounds of the event. Greenwood has reached the semi-finals each of the seven years that coach Jennifer Golden has taken them to the tournament. She has been the GHS head coach since 2001.
"We played really well," she said in a telephone interview after returning from the match Tuesday evening. The Nettleton girls were the top seed from the 5A East, and pushed the Lady 'Dogs much more than first round opponent Beebe, which managed to score only 28 points in three games. "We definitely had to play," said Golden of Tuesday's much more competitive match with Nettleton, "but my kids really stepped up."
Still, the Lady Bulldogs won in three games by scores of 25-18, 25-19, and 25-21. Senior Jill Barrett let the team with nine kills, followed closely by senior Keeley Treece with eight. Sophomore Sage Risley had five kills, while senior Hayley Hampton and junior Vanessa Uhrhahn had four each. Senior Natelie Nelms led the team with 16 assists.
Up next for Greenwood are the Lady Yellowjackets of Wynne High School. These same teams met in last year's tournament with Greenwood coming out on top, even though the Lady 'Jackets had home court advantage. This year Wynne is the fourth seed from the 5A East, but defeated top seed Little Rock Christian (5A SW) and third seed Alma (5A West) to reach the semi-finals. Fortunately for Golden and her Lady Bulldogs, they had a chance to scout Wynne on Tuesday, as the Lady Yellowjackets played an afternoon match before Greenwood and Nettleton took to the court. "We got a pretty good look at them," said the coach.
Thursday's semi-final match will be held at 3 p.m., with the victor moving on to the state finals on Saturday. The championship match will be played at the Convocation Center on the campus of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. The presumed opponent in the finals is Siloam Springs, which has won the last five state titles and is ranked number one overall in the state this season. The Lady Panthers will also punch their ticket to the finals with a win on Wednesday.