The Greenwood varsity girls volleyball team had a busy schedule last week that included five tournament matches over the weekend against an array of teams from the Show Me State, also known as Missouri. Prior to that they went 3-1 in 5A West conference play after taking a week off from active competition in late September. They remain in second place in the league standings, two games behind first-place Farmington, with just three conference matches remaining. They also have a non-conference contest scheduled with Fort Smith Northside before the 5A state tournament begins later this month.

Head Coach Jennifer Golden and her team will likely finish their schedule in second place and claim the #2 seed from the West on the playoff bracket. Farmington is the top ranked team in Class 5A with only a handful of losses this season. Third place Van Buren is two games behind Greenwood in the standings, so only a total collapse by the Lady Bulldogs could prevent them from finishing second. That’s a big improvement from last season when they missed the playoffs entirely for the first time in Golden’s 20-plus years as their head coach. Here is a review of all their matches since September 22nd.

Siloam Springs

A week later, on Tuesday the 29th, the GHS ladies returned to action in conference play at home against Siloam Springs. The Lady Panthers put up a good fight but finally succumbed in four sets. Greenwood won the first set, 25-17, and the second set, 25-23. The visitors turned the tables in the third set, winning 25-17 before the Lady Bulldogs secured the match with a fourth set win, 25-17.

Both squads were aggressive at the net, combining for 95 kill shots, 50 of those by Greenwood spread among seven players. Addi Chaplin led her teammates with 11 slams followed by Emma Helms, Riley Kaminshine, and Rylee McAdams with nine kills each. Anniston Kennedy was close behind with eight kills while Ryleigh Smith had three and Addi Webb one. At the net defensively the home team had eight total blocks, including two solo blocks and 12 assisted blocks. Rylee McAdams had one solo block and six assisted blocks to lead the team.

The Lady Bulldogs also had seven service aces, five of those by McAdams. On the back row the team combined for 62 digs led by Addison Hadaway with 22. Hadley Webb had 12 saves while Jordyn Pippin had 10 and Abrey Jurecka had eight digs. Webb led the team in assists with 20 while Adeline Garner had 15. Jurecka was the team leader with 25 service receptions. Addison Hadaway and Jordyn Pippen had 15 each and Emma Helms had 10 service receptions.

Van Buren

Two days later, on Thursday, October 1st, the Lady Pointers came to Greenwood and used an overtime victory in the opening set to propel them to a 3-2 upset of the Lady Bulldogs, severely denting any real hope of Greenwood catching first-place Farmington in the league race. Van Buren won that dramatic opening set, 26-24, before the home team rebounded to win sets two and three in convincing fashion, 25-15 and 25-16. But the visitors regained their mojo in set four, winning handily, 25-14, to knot the match at two sets each. But Greenwood couldn’t blunt Van Buren’s momentum in the fifth and final set, allowing the Lady Pointers to escape with a 15-7 win to take the match.

If fans liked strong net play, then this was the match for them. The two squads combined for a whopping 120 kill shots, 64 by Van Buren and 56 by Greenwood. Three GHS players reached double figures in slams, including Riley Kaminshine with 18, Emma Helms with 11, and Anniston Kennedy with 10. Addi Chaplin added nine kills while Addi Webb had four and Ryleigh Smith had three slams. However, they weren’t as successful in blocking Van Buren’s shots at the net, with no solo blocks and six assisted blocks. Van Buren had twice as many blocks.

The Lady Bulldogs did have seven service aces spread among six players with Adeline Garner earning two of the seven. Defensively, Addison Hadaway led the team with 37 total digs. Jordyn Pippin and Abrey Jurecka had 15 digs each while Addi Webb and Adeline Garner had seven digs each. Webb was also the team’s leader in assists with 25 followed by Garner with 11. Jurecka paced her teammates with 25 service receptions with Hadaway right behind her with 22. Pippin was next with 14.

Alma

The following Tuesday, October 6th, the GHS ladies traveled to Crawford County to take on the Lady Airedales, winning on the road in straight sets, 25-21, 25-16, and 26-24. Greenwood had 10 more kill shots than Alma, 36 to 26, led by Riley Kaminshine with 14. Emma Helms had nine slams while Addi Chaplin had five and Ryleigh Smith had four. The visitors had five total blocks, three solos and three assisted blocks.

Greenwood also landed six service aces, led by Addison Hadaway with three. On the back line, Hadaway and Jordyn Pippin tied for the team lead in digs with 11 each. Abrey Jurecka had seven, Adeline Garner, Riley Kaminshine, and Addi Webb had six each, while Ryleigh Smith had four digs. Garner paced her teammates with 13 assists while Webb had seven. Finally, Addison Hadaway had 19 service returns to lead the squad, followed by Abrey Jurecka with 10, Jordyn Pippin with six, and Emma Helms with four.

Mountain Home

Last Thursday the Lady Bulldogs made the long trip to Baxter County and knocked of the Lady Bombers of Mountain Home, winning in three very competitive sets, 25-20, 25-18, and 25-20. The visitors held a sizable edge on the front row with a 44-31 advantage in kill shots. Riley Kaminshine led the way with 12 slams while Anniston Kennedy and Emma Helms had eight kills each. Ryleigh Smith had six kills and teammates Addi Chaplin and Rylee McAdams had five slams each. Defensively at the net, Greenwood had eight total blocks, including two solo blocks and 11 assisted blocks, led by McAdams with a solo block and five assisted blocks.

The visitors also had six service aces spread between five players with Adeline Garner accounting for two of those aces. Defensively, Addison Hadaway led the Lady Bulldogs with 16 digs, followed by Jordyn Pippin with 10. Adeline Garner had eight digs while Abrey Jurecka had six and Hadley Webb with five. Webb led her teammates in assists with 17 with Garner right behind with 16. Addison Hadaway led the team with 27 service returns while Jordyn Pippin had 13 and Abrey Jurecka 12.

Eureka, MO

Last Friday the GHS girls traveled northward across the state line to take part in a two-day tournament at Ozark, Missouri. Greenwood played two matches on Friday and three on Saturday, going 2-3 overall. They opened with a two-set loss to Eureka, Missouri, 21-25 and 15-25. Strong net play was the foundation of Eureka’s win with 32 kill shots to just 17 for Greenwood. Addi Chaplin had six slams while Riley Kaminshine had five and Emma Helms four. The GHS girls had just two assisted blocks and one service ace.

Along the back line, Addison Hadaway and Addi Webb led the team with six digs each while Jordyn Pippin had five, Emma Helms four, and Ryleigh Smith with three. Webb and Adeline Garner had seven assists each to lead the squad while Addison Hadaway and Jordyn Pippin had 10 service receptions, followed by Abrey Jurecka and Emma Helms with seven each while Riley Kaminshine had six service receptions.

West Plains, MO

Also last Friday, Greenwood lost to the West Plains girls in two sets, falling 21-25 and 17-25. Once again, the Lady Bulldogs were outplayed at the net with just 16 kill shots to 32 for the opposition. Rylee McAdams had seven slams for Greenwood while Riley Kaminshine and Ryleigh Smith had three each. The Lady Bulldogs had five total blocks, including two solo blocks and six assisted blocks, and just two service aces, one each by Adeline Garner and Anna Morgan Hudnall.

Addison Hadaway had seven digs to lead several other teammates in saves. Addi Webb had five digs, Jordyn Pippin four, while Abrey Jurecka and Anna Morgan Hudnall had three digs each. Addi Chaplin had two saves. Addi Webb had eight assists and Adeline Garner had six. Hadaway led the team with 14 service returns while Jordyn Pippin had nine, Riley Kaminshine six, and Abrey Jurecka had five returns.

St. Francis Borgia, Washington, MO

After dropping their first two matches of the tournament Friday night, the Lady Bulldogs rebounded Saturday with their first win over St. Francis Borgia in three sets. After splitting two lopsided sets, Greenwood outlasted their Missouri opponents in a tight, competitive third set for the win. The GHS ladies lost the opening set, 15-25, won the second set, 25-12, then earned the victory in the decisive third set, 25-23.

No stats were available for St. Francis, but Greenwood had 27 kills over three sets, led by Emma Helms with nine slams. Rylee McAdams and Addi Chaplin had six kills each while Riley Kaminshine had four and Anniston Kennedy two. The Lady Bulldogs also had seven service aces with Jordyn Pippin accounting for four of them. Greenwood had 12 total blocks, a combination of six solo blocks and 12 assisted blocks. Ryleigh Smith led the team with two solos and five assisted blocks.

Defensively on the back row, Addison Hadaway had nine digs to lead her teammates, followed by Abrey Jurecka and Jordyn Pippin with six digs each. Ryleigh Smith had four saves while Adeline Garner and Addi Webb had three digs each. Webb and Garner tied for the team lead in assists with 15 each. Addison Hadaway had 19 service receptions, Abrey Jurecka 17, Jordyn Pippin seven, and Riley Kaminshine had six.

Logan-Rogersville, MO

Greenwood followed its first tournament win with another victory in straight sets over Logan-Rogersville, winning 25-19 and 25-20 over the Lady Wildcats. The Lady Bulldogs won the battle at the net with 27 kills to 21 for Logan. Emma Helms and Riley Kaminshine led the way for Greenwood with nine and eight kills, respectively. Addi Chaplin and Ryleigh Smith had three slams each while Rylee McAdams and Anniston Kennedy had two kills each. The GHS ladies also had eight assisted blocks at the net. Jordyn Pippin led her teammates in service aces with three, half of Greenwood’s total of six.

Defensively, Addison Hadaway paced the squad with 10 digs along the back row. Addi Webb had six digs, Jordyn Pippin four, while Riley Kaminshine and Abrey Jurecka had three each. Webb led the team with 13 assists while Adeline Garner had six. Addison Hadaway had 15 service receptions, Jordyn Pippin had six, and Riley Kaminshine had four.

Jefferson City, MO

The GHS girls made their final tournament appearance last Saturday against the Lady Jays of Jefferson City, the state capital of Missouri. Unfortunately, the Lady Bulldogs lost in straight sets, 17-25 and 22-25. Despite holding a slight advantage at the net with 26 kills to 22 for Jefferson City, Greenwood had just two service aces and zero blocks for the match. Riley Kaminshine had eight kills to lead the team while Rylee McAdams and Emma Helms had five slams each and Addi Chaplin had four. Jordyn Pippin and Addison Hadaway each had a service ace.

Hadaway also led the team in saves with 12 digs along the back line. Pippin and Webb had five digs each. Webb also topped the stat sheet with 15 assists while Adeline Garner had eight. Hadaway had 19 service receptions followed by Jurecka with seven, Pippin with six, and Emme Helms with five.