The Greenwood Lady Bulldogs’ dream of another state championship ended last Thursday with a heartbreaking five-set loss to Jonesboro in the state semi-finals. The Lady Hurricanes went on to claim the 6A state title with a perfect record of 35-0, while the GHS girls finished the season with a mark of 29-9.
The same two teams have crossed paths each of the last three seasons. Greenwood defeated Jonesboro to earn a state title in 2017, then lost to the Lady Hurricane in the championship match in 2018 before their semi-final match last week.
The Jonesboro girls got the best of the Lady Bulldogs in their most recent contest, winning the back-and-forth battle 25-17, 20-25, 25-13, 16-25, and 15-8.
The GHS girls evened the match at one set each after jumping ahead 5-0 lead in the second set behind kill shots from Camryn Presley, Allison Rose, and Hannah Watkins. They led 9-3 after a kill from Presley, who spiked her 1000th kill during the match. Some late kills from Watkins then clinched the second set.
Both teams were knotted at 10-all in the third set before Jonesboro went on a tear, scoring 11 of the next 12 points to take a 2-1 match lead. The Lady Bulldogs also trailed 13-9 in the fourth set before tying the score at 14-all.
Greenwood then scored the next four points, starting with a kill shot from Rose, a block by Larkin Luke, and a service ace by Jocelyn Sewell. Brooke Jones added several kills late to force a decisive fifth set.
Greenwood then quickly took a 3-1 lead on a block from Presley, but Jonesboro turned the tables and reeled off the next five points. The Lady ‘Canes went on to build a 10-6 advantage and won the set (15-8) and the match.
Presley finished the game with 15 kills, three blocks and 17 digs. Watkins finished with 11 kills and four blocks, Rose had nine kills and a block, Jones had seven kills, while Luke recorded six kills, three blocks, and two aces.
Izzy Davis finished with 26 digs while Anna Johnson had 16. Sewell and Josie Chapple had 10 digs each. Presley, Jones, Chapple, Davis are all seniors.
State Tourney
Earlier last week the Lady Bulldogs bludgeoned their first two opponents in the state tournament, Marion and Lake Hamilton, winning both matches in straight sets, 3-0.
The Lady Bulldogs limited Marion to just 46 points over three sets, beating the Lady Patriots soundly, 25-10, 25-13, and 25-23. They similarly dominated the Lady Wolves of Lake Hamilton, winning 25-11, 25-14, and 25-16.
Against Marion two GHS girls reached double digits in kill shots. Larkin Luke and Camryn Presley tied for the team lead with 10 spikes each. Madison Pugh added three service aces.
Luke had six blocks to lead her teammates, while Izzy Davis had a team-high 10 digs. Pugh added eight digs. Anna Johnson had a team-best 16 assists.
Against Lake Hamilton the Lady Bulldogs’ offense was keyed by Camryn Presley’s 17 kills. Watkins had nine and Luke seven. The team combined for 43 kill shots.
Izzy Davis had a dozen digs, followed close behind by Josie Chapple with 11 and Presley with nine. Johnson lead once again in assists with 24, while Presley had 10.
Regular Season
The Lady Bulldogs earned a tie for the 6A West conference title by winning their last two regular season matches against Beebe and Vilonia. Greenwood and Greenbrier both finished with a 13-1 conference mark, but the tiebreaking procedure gave the Lady Bulldogs the league’s #1 seed in the post-season.
On October 22nd the GHS girls hosted the Lady Badgers of Beebe, winning in straight sets, 25-21, 25-11, and 25-3. The offense was led by Camryn Presley with 12 kills, followed by Caylee Ciesla with seven, Brooke Jones with six, and Hannah Watkins with five.
Watkins added nine blocks, while Izzy Davis led the team with 12 digs. Presley added nine digs and led her teammates with 11 assists. Anna Johnson (9) and Destiny Stallings (8) also ranked high in assists.
Two days later the Lady Bulldogs traveled to Central Arkansas to take on the Vilonia Lady Eagles. Greenwood won that match in straight sets as well, hardly breaking a sweat, 25-8, 25-6, and 25-13.
Leading the way at the net was Presley with 14 kills, followed by Larkin Luke with eight. Josie Chapple added four service aces to lead the team.
Watkins had five blocks, while Johnson (16) and Presley (9) led the team in assists. Several players contributed digs in the match, including Jocelyn Sewell (7), Davis (6), Chapple, Presley, and Rose with five each, and Madison Pugh with four.
Bright Future
While the Lady Bulldogs fell short of their dream of another state title, they continued a long string of highly successful seasons and have a strong foundation of players returning next season.
They also have a tremendous sophomore class set to arrive next fall. The freshman Lady Bulldogs just completed a perfect 30-0 season, winning the River Valley Conference championship and the regional title.
Head Coach Jennifer Golden has built one of the state’s top volleyball programs, and the future continues to look bright for the Lady Bulldogs and their coach.