Recovering from a recent bout of Covid-19, Greenwood head volleyball coach Jennifer Golden still believes in her 2021 Lady Bulldogs, despite graduating her entire starting lineup last spring. So, opposition beware. The GHS girls may not be as helpless and vulnerable as some teams might hope. The defending 5A state champs are not about to give up without a fight.
“A lot of people like to ask that question,” said Golden, believing 2021 to be a rebuilding year for Greenwood. “But I like to argue that these kids have put in the work and they are ready to take on that role. They say we graduated everyone and we’re going to be a little down. But I don’t feel like that’s the case at all. I feel like we’re going to have a good year, we’re going to be super competitive, and we’re going to surprise some people.”
With 20 seasons under her belt, ten appearances in the state finals, and three state championships, it would behoove potential foes to take Golden at her word. She knows talent and the game of volleyball and the importance of tradition and a winning program, all of which she has successfully cultivated at Greenwood. The starting lineup that won the state title last fall may be gone, but there is still plenty in the tank for the 2021 Lady Bulldogs.
“I think right now we’re at 25 [girls],” said the coach of her roster. “I have six seniors, [but] I had nine seniors that graduated and all nine played. The only other person who played last year on the [varsity] was a freshman.” And that ninth grader was no ordinary freshman, to be able to crack such a senior-laden and talented lineup. Her name was Myia McCoy.
“Myia has improved over the off-season,” said Golden. “She has matured and I look for bigger and better things from her this year. She’s definitely going to be someone we give the ball to quite a bit, because she is the only one with the level of experience we played at last year. She’s a force and we’re excited about her.”
Another advantage enjoyed by last year’s group was overall height along the front line, especially with the presence of 6’6” Hannah Watkins and several others at six feet or better. But this year’s team is not bereft of height, according to their coach. “I have one girl who is 6’2”, another at 6’1”, and a couple of 5’11s”. We’re not 6’6”, but we do have some height.”
The coach then went on to describe each of her six seniors. “Madie Bateman is a very strong player. She’s looking to take a middle position and do some damage. She’s my 6’1” girl. She’s not a big hitter, but she’s smart and she plays well and sees the court and does what she has to do to keep the ball in play. She’s a great blocker.
“Katie Colyer works hard every day and has an opportunity to come in on the right side and get some playing time there. She always has a great attitude and works hard and will be a big asset to our team this year,” continued Golden.
“Paige Curry is very athletic, but tore her ACL (knee) last year, so she’s working back into earning some playing time in the middle or on the right side. She’s probably my best jumper.
“Ashlyn Dungan is a setter and she’s gotten lots of reps at the center position on the JV level. She is definitely in the rotation, working toward earning some playing time as a setter, and I think she will get that done,” offered the coach.
“Kylie Lawson is about 5-10 and is an outside hitter with a heavy arm. When she goes up to hit a ball you hear it, you don’t just see it. She’s going to do a lot of damage up there as one or our big hitters.
“Courtney Swilling is my 6’2” girl and she’s a lefty who plays on the right side. A lot of people don’t realize what a big threat hitting from the right side is, and to be able to have a strong-arm hitter over there is really big for us,” explained Golden.
There are nine juniors on this year’s team, and several of them will contribute significantly, including Ashlyn Butler and Rylie Howard. “My other two setters in the mix are Ashlyn and Rylie,” said their coach. “They’ve put in a lot of work in the off-season and both are working toward one of those positions.
“[Junior] Landis Luke is such a dynamic player. She is Larkin’s sister,” explained Golden, referring to the elder Luke daughter who graduated last spring. “[Landis] can play anywhere I want to put her – outside, middle, right side – and she could play all three of those positions at any given time. Landis makes plays when she’s on the court and she will be a force.
“[Junior] Lane Presley is another tall one, about 5’11”. She’s very dynamic also and is super smart. She plays the middle and the right side and will be a fun one to watch this year.
“On the back row I have a few girls who are fighting for a position. [Sophomore] Carsyn Holland has been playing that middle back libero position very well this pre-season. My daughter Riley [junior] has some things to say about playing on that back row along with [junior] Lillyanna Gigerich. We also have a 10th grader named Tori Howard fighting for some time on the back row. There are a handful of [other] kids that are going to make some noise and probably get in games at some point.”
Asked to evaluate the competition in the 5A West this coming season, Golden hesitated. “It’s hard to say. I expect Greenbrier and Mountain Home to be right back in it. Russellville is always competitive, and they work hard and are always vying for the title. Those are [probably] the top four, including us.
Greenwood lost no conference games last season and only one the season before. Matching that record in 2021 might be a stretch, but the Lady Bulldogs do want to defend their home court and win as many road matches as possible.
“We don’t go into the season with unattainable goals,” said the coach. “If we lose a match here or there, that’s okay because I feel like we learn from it. The girls know what we’re fighting for and working for. It’s their goals, not necessarily mine. It’s a new and different team and they got a taste of what it was like to win last year.”
Regarding her own motivation for continuing to coach at such a high level after 20 years, Golden said, “It’s not just about the game of volleyball for me. The older I get and the longer I’ve done this, it’s more about the relationships I’m building with these kids, hopefully lasting past the years that they graduate.
“If you talk to my husband (Tim), he will tell you I’m the most competitive person there is. That’s what drives me in what I do with these kids and how we compete and how we train. But I look more toward meaningful relationships with these kids, because I think that’s what fuels their work ethic more than anything. This team works as hard as any other team I’ve ever had, and wants it (success) just as much.”
Asked to summarize the strengths of her next crop of Lady Bulldogs, Coach Golden said, “I feel like we’re a very good serving team. We serve aggressive. We can pick our spots, and I think that’s going to score us a lot of points this year.
“I feel like we’re a pretty good defensive team. We’re going to be that team that doesn’t let a ball drop. We’re going to wear other teams out by picking up everything on defense. We’ll be an offensive team also, but those are our best assets. We’re more of a balanced attack team. Other teams won’t know where the ball is going to go or who is going to get set.”
In other words, this year’s team doesn’t have one or two dominant players who are going to draw all the attention from the opposition. This success of this new batch of Lady Bulldogs will depend more on teamwork, consistency, fundamentals, and togetherness. Golden had a few more words regarding the chemistry of her squad.
“They are a very close team,” she said. “We saw that this pre-season the way we held our team bonding [events] and went to our camps, which is encouraging, because that’s more than half the battle when you coach girls. For them to respect each other and play hard for each other they have to love each other, and it’s exciting to see how early that started this year. There’s a saying that we have adopted over the years. ‘Boys have to battle to bond, but girls have to bond to battle.’”
The coach also revealed that all varsity matches will be played in H.B. Stewart Arena again this year so fans can practice social distancing in the larger venue. “We didn’t miss any games because of us being quarantined last year. We may do some things better, but we will probably do a lot of things the same [regarding Covid],” she said.
Looking at the season schedule, the notable difference this fall will be the addition of three tournaments, all of which were cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic. “We’re hoping those are going to stick around. Last year they cancelled all the tournaments. We’re excited to return to tournaments this year because it gives us that much more playing time, plus it’s different teams that we don’t ordinarily see.”
Greenwood will play in tournaments at Bentonville and Conway before going to Ozark, Missouri late in the season. “We love that one (Ozark) because it’s so late in the season and the level of play there is so much better and puts us where we want to be going into the state tournament,” said the coach.
The GHS girls will play a benefit match at Bentonville on Thursday this week before opening their season at home next Monday, August 23rd, against Fayetteville. They play at Springdale Har-Ber next Tuesday and at Fort Smith Northside next Thursday. All those opponents are powerful 6A schools with strong volleyball programs. The Bentonville tournament will be held on Saturday, August 28th.
Golden’s staff also remains the same this season, with varsity assistant coach Kimberly Lowe and junior high head coach Diane Popp. Tim Golden handles the team stats and drives the bus to away matches now that he has returned to the classroom after a stint as an assistant principal.
“It enabled him to be more with the family,” said his wife. “He’s able to drive our buses and now he can watch our daughter play. It’s been really good for us and our family to have him back in the classroom. He’s not ruled out being an administrator down the road, but right now, it’s been great.” It seems GHS volleyball has truly become a family affair for the Goldens.