The Greenwood Lady Bulldogs have reasserted themselves at the top of the 5A West standings after completing a four-game conference sweep over the past two weeks. They also played in a tournament last Saturday in Fort Smith.

Last Thursday they defeated Greenbrier on the road, returning the favor after the Lady Panthers beat Greenwood on the road earlier this season. The GHS girls also defeated Alma, Beebe, and Vilonia, all conference games.

The four conference wins and the tournament results boosted Greenwood’s overall record to 18-6 and 7-1 in league play, tying them with the Greenbrier girls atop the standings.

They played at Little Rock Christian this past Tuesday, resuming conference play, but results were not available at press time. The Lady Bulldogs will host Siloam Springs on Thursday at 4:30 p.m.

Alma

The Lady Airedales came to town on September 24th and suffered a three-set sweep at the hands of the Lady Bulldogs, 25-15, 25-3, and 25-17.

Offensively, junior Larkin Luke led Greenwood with 17 kill shots, the only Lady Bulldog in double figures. Two others, senior Brooke Jones and junior Allison Rose, had six kills each.

Senior Izzy Davis led the team with six service aces and 18 digs. Senior Josie Chapple also had nine digs while junior Anna Johnson led the squad with 26 assists.

Beebe

Two days later the GHS girls traveled to Beebe to earn a four-set victory over the Lady Badgers. After dropping the opener set, 19-25, they regrouped to dominate the last three sets, 25-13, 25-6, and 25-16.

Three Lady Bulldogs reached double digits in kills, including Larkin Luke (14), senior Camryn Presley (11), and Brooke Jones (10). Junior Madison Pugh had three service aces to pace her teammates.

Junior Hannah Watkins led the team in blocks with six, while Izzy Davis (19) and Camryn Presley (12) led in digs. Anna Johnson  (18) and Presley (15) were the team assist leaders.

Vilonia

On October 1st the GHS ladies hosted the Lady Eagles and sent them homes losers after a three-game sweep, 25-10, 25-21, and 25-5. Jones, Presley, and Watkins led the way on offense with nine, eight, and six kills, respectively.

Johnson and Presley had three service aces apiece, while sophomore Madie Bateman had two. Watkins had four blocks at the net and Davis had 10 digs. Johnson led the way with 17 assists, while Presley had nine.

Greenbrier

Last Thursday the Lady Bulldogs made the long trek to Central Arkansas seeking revenge after the Lady Panthers stole a road win at Greenwood on September 10th. They returned home later that evening after a three-set sweep.

All three sets were competitive, especially sets one and three. Greenwood won the opening set, 25-21, then won 25-16 to take a commanding two-set lead.

The Lady Panthers rallied in set three, pushing Greenwood to the limit before falling 25-23, putting the Lady Bulldogs in a first-place tie with Greenbrier.

Watkins (13) and Jones (10) led Greenwood at the net with double digit kills. Presley added nine kills while Larkin Luke had five and junior Caylee Ciesla had four.

Johnson had four service aces while Presley and Watkins had four blocks each. Three players reached double figures in digs including Presley (21), Davis (17), and Chapple (10). Johnson and Presley had 19 and 16 assists, respectively.

Fort Smith

Last Saturday the Lady Bulldogs played in their final regular season tournament at Southside High School in the Fort Smith Invitational, winning five of six matches to finish as runners-up to the host Lady Mavericks.

They began the long day with a 2-0 victory over Little Rock Central, 25-10 and 25-19. Camryn Presley led the team with 10 kills, while Izzy Davis had five service aces.

The same pair of seniors tied for the team lead in digs with six each. Anna Johnson (9) and Presley (8) topped the ball handling chart in assists.

Up next for Greenwood were the Springdale girls, also two-set losers to the Lady Bulldogs, 25-14 and 25-18. Watkins and Presley had six kills each, followed by Ciesla and Jones with five each.

Luke led the team with four aces, while Watkins added three blocks. Davis had 11 digs followed by Chapple with 10. Presley and Johnson tied for the team lead in assists with 11 each.

The Lady Pointers of Van Buren were the next victims of the Lady Bulldogs, dropping both sets, 25-17 and 25-15. Watkins had 10 kills followed by Presley with nine.

Presley and Davis had eight and seven digs, respectively, while Chapple had five. Presley also led the team in assists with half-a-dozen.

Little Rock Catholic or Mt. Saint Mary’s Academy also fell to Greenwood in straight sets, but they didn’t make it easy for the Lady Bulldogs. After winning the opening set 25-13, the GHS girls played a marathon set second before finally winning, 31-29.

Presley led the team in kill shots with eight but got plenty of help from Jones (6), Watkins (4), Luke (4), and Ciesla (3). Madison Pugh had nine digs, followed by Davis and Johnson with eight each. Johnson also had 11 assists.

To reach the tournament finals, Greenwood faced Fort Smith Northside on Saturday afternoon, once again winning two sets to none (25-15, 25-20).

Presley and Jones had seven kills each, followed by Watkins and Ciesla with five each. Pugh had nine digs to lead the team, while Presley added six and Davis five. Presley (13) and Johnson (9) led in assists.

The tournament’s championship match featured Greenwood and Southside, which had split their two previous meetings earlier this season. The Lady Mavs won the opening set (25-17) while Greenwood rallied from a 16-8 deficit to win the second set (25-23) to force a truncated third set, won by Southside, 15-11.

Watkins and Presley led the offense with eight and seven kills, respectively. Presley added three service aces and had 10 digs. Davis led the team in digs with 13. Presley had 13 assists followed by Johnson with 10.

Afterward, GHS Head Coach Jennifer Golden talked about her team’s performance. “When you can battle in a match like that, and you get beat, I’m okay with that,” she said. “It’s losing without the fierce mentality.”