After a long day of volleyball at the Early Bird tournament in Bentonville on the last Saturday in August, the Greenwood High School Lady Bulldogs are off to a good start in 5A West Conference play, notching a 4-0 mark after their most recent win on the road at Siloam Springs. Last week they also earned victories over both Russellville and Van Buren. Along the way they also knocked off in-county rivals Fort Smith Southside and Northside in non-conference play, no small feat. They’ve now won six consecutive matches.
Next week the GHS girls will host Mountain Home on Tuesday. The Lady Bombers are also off to a good start in league play and should provide a solid test for the Lady Bulldogs. Next Thursday Greenwood travels to Alma before hosting both Paris and Baptist Prep the following Saturday, the 24th. Head Coach Jennifer Golden is in her 22nd season at Greenwood.
Fort Smith Southside
The Lady Bulldogs opened the month of September with a non-conference home match against Sebastian Country rival Fort Smith Southside. The Lady Mavericks put up a good fight, winning the first and fourth sets before dropping the decisive fifth set and the match, 3-2. The contest was played at Greenwood on Thursday the 1st.
The visitors opened strong with a 25-21 win in the opening set, but the Lady Bulldogs bounced back to take the second set, 25-18. Keeping their momentum, the GHS girls also won the third set, 25-21, to take a 2-1 lead. But Southside temporarily staved off a loss by tying the match score at 2-2 with a 25-10 win in the fourth set. The home team then took the match with a 15-11 victory in the fifth set.
Both teams were very active at the net with 57 kills each, led by Greenwood junior Myia McCoy with 22. No other Lady Bulldog was in double figures, but sophomore Ella Dickinson and senior Lilly Williams had nine kills each while senior Landis Luke added eight slams. Greenwood had only two service aces, both by junior Tori Howard, while Southside had 15 aces.
On the other hand, the Lady Bulldogs had 18 total blocks to just five for the Lady Mavericks. Landis Luke (5) and Myia McCoy (4) led the way while Lilly Williams, senior Lane Presley, and sophomore Anna Forbus had three block attempts each. The home team also led Southside in digs, 81 to 69. Junior Carsyn Holland had 22 saves to lead Greenwood, followed by McCoy with 13 and seniors Ashlyn Butler (11) and Riley Golden (10).
The Lady Bulldogs also combined for 42 assists in the match, the majority of those (26) by Ashlyn Butler. Senior Riley Holland also had 13 assists. Carsyn Holland led the team with 20 service receptions, followed by Myia McCoy with 14 and Tori Howard with 12. Riley Golden and Lilly Williams had six service returns each.
Russellville
Five days later the Lady Bulldogs hosted the Lady Cyclones of Russellville to open 5A West league play, and prevailed in three sets, all competitive. Greenwood won 25-20, 25-29, and 25-17. The home team attacked the net aggressively, averaging 13 kill shots per game for a total of 39 in the match. Myia McCoy led with 12 slams followed by junior Keara Rice with eight and Landis Luke with seven. Four GHS players had one service ace each. Landis Luke led the team with six blocks at the net.
The Lady Bulldogs had 43 digs in the match, 22 by Carsyn Holland. Tori Howard had six digs, Myia McCoy four, while Keara Rice and Lane Presley had three saves each. Ashlyn Butler (14) and Rylie Holland (12) led the team in assists. Carsyn Holland had 24 service receptions and Tori Howard had 12 returns.
Van Buren
Two days later, on September 8th, the GHS girls took the short trip across the Arkansas River to Crawford County to take on the Van Buren Lady Pointers, finding themselves down 1-0 after dropping the first set, 16-25. But the visitors roared back to win the next three sets (25-18, 25-21, 25-21) to take the conference match, 3-1.
The Lady Bulldogs racked up 48 kill shots in the contest, led by Myia McCoy with 21 and Landis Luke with 11. Keara Rice added eight kills. Lane Presley had two of Greenwood’s three service aces and the team combined for 16 total blocks, led by Landis Luke and Lane Presley with five block attempts each.
Greenwood’s back row was very busy with 67 total digs in the match with three players reaching double figures, led by Carsyn Holland’s 17 saves. Tori Howard and Myia McCoy had 11 digs each. Ashlyn Butler led her teammates with 19 assists followed by Rylie Holland’s 18. Carsyn Holland was tops on the team with 25 service receptions. Tori Howard had 16.
Fort Smith Northside
Last Monday the Lady Bulldogs took down one of the top traditional volleyball powers in the state when they beat the Lady Grizzlies on their home court in straight sets, 25-18, 25-22, and 25-23. Fort Smith Northside plays in the 6A classification, and the match was a non-conference affair.
Greenwood dominated the net with 49 kill shots to just 28 for the Lady Bears. Myia McCoy topped the stat chart for the Lady Bulldogs with 22 slams. Keara Rich had seven, Landis Luke six, and Lane Presley five kills. The team also had 10 service aces, led by Lane Presley’s four and Myia McCoy’s three aces. Presley also had half of the team’s four blocks.
The GHS defense was credited with 53 digs in the match, 15 by Tori Howard, 10 by Ashlyn Butler, nine by Myia McCoy, and seven by Rylie Holland. Ashlyn Butler was the team’s top ball handler with 20 assists followed by Rylie Holland’s 16. McCoy led the team in service receptions with 13. Tori Howard had 11, and three players – Carsyn Holland, Riley Golden, and Lillyanna Gigerich – had six return attempts each.
Harrison
Last Tuesday, September 13th, the Lady Bulldogs played host to the Lady Goblins of Harrison, among the newest members of the 5A West conference this season. But the visitors were really only competitive in one of the three sets as Greenwood won the match, 25-13, 25-19, and 25-12.
Myia McCoy led her GHS teammates in kill shots with 12, followed by Keara Rice and Landis Luke with seven each. The Lady Bulldogs also had good luck with their serves, scoring 12 aces, including three each by Rylie Holland and Tori Howard. Lilly Williams and Landis Luke had a pair of block attempts each. Howard also led the team with 12 digs while Lillyanna Gigerich had seven saves. Rylie Holland had 17 assists and Ashlyn Butler had nine. Tori Howard led the squad with 10 service receptions while Carsyn Holland had eight.
Siloam Springs
Last Thursday the Lady Bulldogs hopped aboard a bus and journeyed north to Benton County to take on the Lady Panthers of Siloam Springs. Greenwood won the conference match in straight sets, dominating the first two before the home towners made the third match a bit more competitive. The Lady Bulldogs won, 25-12, 25-11, and 25-20.
One reason for the lopsided scores, especially in the first two sets, was Greenwood’s dominance at the net with 38 kill shots to just 22 for Siloam Springs. Landis Luke led her teammates with nine slams with Myia McCoy right behind with eight and Keara Rice and Lane Presley with six each. The GHS girls also had eight service aces, three by Riley Golden and two each by Ashlyn Butler and Tori Howard.
The visitors also defended the net well with nine total blocks compared to just one for the Lady Panthers. Lane Presley topped the stat chart for Greenwood with four blocks, while Landis Luke had three and Keara Rice two. The Lady Bulldogs also combined for 38 digs or saves, led by Tori Howard’s 10. Lillyanna Gigerich had seven while Myia McCoy and Rylie Holland had four digs each. Rice, Butler, and Golden had three saves each.
Rylie Holland led in assists with 12 of her team’s total of 14. Tori Howard had 10 service receptions, followed by Riley Golden and Myia McCoy with five each. Lillyanna Gigerich and Keara Rice had four returns each and Landis Luke had three.