The Greenwood High School volleyball team is about to kick off another exciting season under Head Coach Jennifer Golden, beginning her 22nd year at the helm of a program she has turned into a state power. The GHS girls finished last season with a respectable winning record after a tough loss in the state tournament.
“We finished 21-13 and lost in the quarter-finals to Marion, who hosted the tournament,” said Golden during a recent telephone interview. “It was a battle. After the first two sets we came back and decided we wanted it, and we played our hearts out before losing that fifth set in a really close one. But it was a rewarding season.” Little Rock Christian went on to claim the 5A state title.
As usual, Golden and her team are focused on winning a conference title in the 5A West and making some noise once again in the state tournament. During her time at Greenwood the coach has led her team to three state championships but has reached the semi-finals and finals many other times.
In that pursuit, this season she will have nine seniors available to lead her squad. “Nine seniors are quite a bit. That’s more than usual,” she said. “But not all of them [will start]. Probably about half of them will start and almost all of them will contribute.” Six juniors are listed on the roster with a sophomore class of 14 new players.
Among her seniors, Rylie Holland is one of the most experienced and talented players on the roster. “Rylie is one of my two senior setters we are relying on heavily,” said the coach. “She’s been playing forever, and she started last year and has improved so much. She’s going to do a great job this year.” In volleyball the setter plays on the back row, keeping the ball alive and setting up shots for front row players at the net.”
Another returnee is senior Sara Dungan. “Sara is a defensive specialist (back row player only),” explained Golden. “She works hard and gives 100% effort every day. She’s going to earn some playing time this year. Lilly Williams has also put in the work the last two years. She’s had a great pre-season, great team camps, and has been super solid. She will more than likely be playing for us on the right side.
“[Senior] Madelynn Cassat is a middle hitter who can play some right side,” the coach continued. “She’s pretty dynamic in how she plays. She’s very athletic, can jump high, and had a really good growing year. We’re looking forward to her [play this year].”
Next, Golden turned her attention to senior Landis Luke. “She’s the last of the Lukes,” said Golden. “She’s athletic and unconventional, but I don’t mean that in a bad way at all. She’s very unpredictable and she scores a lot of points for us because of that. She’s really fun to watch because you never know what she’s going to do.”
This season’s Luke model had two older sisters who also played volleyball at Greenwood under Coach Golden. “Larkin played for us forever and she’s now at Henderson State. [They] also has another older sister that tried out in junior high but didn’t play with us all the way through.” That type of familial or generational tradition is something Coach Golden is very proud of, with many more such players expected to arrive in the future.
Continuing with her seniors, Golden spoke in glowing terms of Lane Presley, a returning middle hitter who can also play some right side. “She’s a smart player who sees the court really well. She’s going to be relied on heavily this year as well.” Golden also mentioned that Presley is the niece of GHS head football coach Chris Young.
“Ashlyn Butler is our other senior setter,” said the coach. “She’s been playing forever. She’s grown up in the program. She’s super athletic and puts up a great set for our hitters. She will make some plays. She’s also very smart and sees the court [well].”
The longtime GHS head coach then spoke of her daughter, Riley Golden, who was injured last season and missed most of her junior season. “Riley is a defensive specialist and a back row player. She sat out a lot last year due to a shoulder injury and ended up having surgery in December. She’s working her way back into the mix and she should see some playing time this year. Hopefully she can work into it, but she’s still got a long way to go because she missed so much. She’s fully released [medically] and has put in the work this summer. She’s going to make a run this year.”
Lillyanna Gigerich stepped up last season when the coach’s daughter went down to injury. “Lillyanna played for us last year as a defensive specialist. She battled with Riley last year and she really stepped up and played that position well. I see her filling that spot again and doing a great job,” offered Golden.
Asked about the leadership qualities of this year’s senior class, the coach said, “This group has been playing together, some of them since they were third graders. They have such a great chemistry. It’s been fun to watch them this off-season and pre-season. It’s been fun to watch them getting to know their new teammates (sophomores), wrapping their arms around them and making them a part of our team. It’s been a really good pre-season up to this point.”
Moving on to a much smaller junior class, the coach said, “I lost a couple of [them] to softball last year. They decided they just wanted to focus on softball.” The six remaining juniors include Keke Rice, Reagan Zimmerman, Carsyn Holland, Tori Howard, Salem Colburn, and Myia McCoy.
Of outside hitter Keke Rice, Golden said, “She has a strong arm and does a great job. She will get to play quite a bit this year, possibly even on the right side some. Carsyn is Rylie Holland’s sister. She’s going to be solid on the back row for us, whether as a defensive specialist or Libero, I’m not sure yet. Carsyn will do a good job for us this year,” she added.
Tori Howard is a two-sport athlete who also starts in the pitching circle for the softball team. “Tori is our returning Libero from last year,” said her coach. “She’s had a good off-season and will make a run for it. I have a ton of defensive players, and all of them are in a position of earning [playing] time based on who wants it more [that] day.”
Without question, Golden’s top returning player is junior Myia McCoy, who distinguished herself on the court both as a freshman and sophomore. “Myia is returning with almost a full year of volleyball under her belt,” explained Golden. “She played for the Ozark Club up in Fayetteville and went to the national tournament and won the championship in their division. So she’s got lots of tools new to us in her toolbox that we’re excited to use. She will be one of our go-to players for sure. She will play across the front and the back.”
But there are other youngsters among the team’s 14 sophomores who may contribute this season as well, said the coach. “Ella Dickinson has a great chance of earning some playing time on the outside or right side. She has a very strong arm with a lot of topspin. She’s fun to watch and can put up a decent block. I [hope] to see a lot from her.
“Lexi Wieser is a defensive specialist in that mix of back row players. She has a great defensive read and reaction, so she will be fun [to coach]. Anna Forbus is a middle or right side hitter. She’s a strong player at either of those positions and can do some damage. Loren Eckart could see time as a backup setter, but she’s tall, so she can play front row too. She’s got lots of options,” explained Golden.
Asked about the physical attributes of her team, specifically their height, the coach said, “Compared to the last few years, we’re actually pretty short. We’ve got 5’11”, 5’10” – a few of those – but I don’t know that we’ve got a true six-footer. But we are athletic, and we can jump, so that will make up for a [lack of height].”
How will that change her strategy as a coach? Golden said, “As far as what we do offensively, height isn’t really an issue. It can become an issue defensively when we’re looking for a big block. But we’ve been working almost religiously on our blocking, footwork, and defense so we can make up for our [lack of size].
“Myia [McCoy] is probably our biggest leaper and Ella [Dickinson] can jump pretty [well]. Most of my front row players are those who can get up [off the floor]. Myia, Ella, and Anna [Forbus] are probably my best jumpers, but I can’t leave out Lane [Presley], Keke [Rice], and Landis [Luke].”
Other sophomores on the roster include Laikyn Castillo, Rylee Daniel, Ella Dickinson, Alyssa Sharp, Addison Kittell, Emma Blankenship, Peyton Kaminshine, Bri Wilson, Ava Whitaker, and September Joyce. All of them, along with juniors Reagan Zimmerman and Salem Colburn, will fill out the junior varsity roster to improve their skills, gaining valuable experience for later this year or next season as the need and opportunity arises.
Regarding the 2022 schedule, there’s only one minor change, acknowledged the coach. The 5A West has traded Vilonia for Harrison on the round-robin slate of home and away matches. Greenwood and Harrison have a long history of competition dating back several decades, though not so much lately. Golden recalled that the Lady Goblins were members of Greenwood’s conference in 2001 when she became head coach.
Asked about the league’s top teams, Golden said, “I really feel like Greenbrier will have a go at it, and Van Buren has a pretty good team. Those two and [Greenwood] will be the top teams in the conference.” Other 5A West members include Russellville, Siloam Springs, Alma, Mountain Home, and the new addition, Harrison. But by far the toughest contest on the schedule is the non-conference season opener at Fayetteville next Monday.
“They are loaded,” said Golden with a knowing chuckle. “They have a senior committed to Florida State. One committed to Stanford, and one committed to Dartmouth. It’s going to be hard to touch them this year. But we played them in team camp this summer and we held our own. We have a lot of work to do, but I feel like we’ll be much more competition when we go back.”
Besides Fayetteville and their conference matches, the Lady Bulldogs will also take on Fort Smith Southside on September 1st and play in a tournament at Bentonville on Saturday, August 27th. Powerhouse Fort Smith Northside is also on the schedule for September 12th, with Paris, Baptist Prep, and a tournament at Ozark (MO) completing the non-conference slate.
The Lady Bulldogs will take part in a pre-season benefit match this Thursday, hosting Bentonville and Shiloh Christian starting at 5:30 p.m. The 5A state tournament will be held the last week of October with four teams from each of the four 5A conferences competing for the state crown.
Asked to reflect on her prior 21 years as the Lady Bulldogs’ head coach, Golden said, “Just getting the job I knew I wanted to establish a program I could be proud of, and after the first three to five years my husband came on [board] as our junior high coach, and we built the program together. We did that for 11 years.
“We actually talked about this recently,” she continued. “We wanted sisters to play and cousins to play and eventually daughters, and that’s kind of where we’re at. [Sophomore] Aspen Payton is the first daughter [of a former player] I’ve had to come up and play in high school. I’ve also got one in ninth grade and one in seventh grade. It’s pretty neat. It’s been fun.”
Not being a Greenwood native, Golden also talked about her longevity in the position of head coach and how a small town in South Sebastian County became something more than just a pit stop in her career. “I don’t know if I ever saw myself staying this long, but somewhere along the way this became home, and I don’t see myself going anywhere. Since we’ve moved here, we’ve also had some family move into the area.”
Summing up the rapidly approaching season, Golden said, “I think it’s going to be an exciting year, and we’d love to see some people [fans] come out who’ve never really given volleyball a chance. I think they might have an eye-opening experience with the environment of our gym and the exciting sport that we are.”
The volleyball gym where the Lady Bulldogs play is fully air conditioned for the hot months of August and September and provides a very home-team-friendly atmosphere in which to play. Golden is assisted by Kimberly Lowe with Dianne Popp as her junior high coach. The coach’s husband, Tim, also a teacher at Greenwood, still serves as the team’s bus driver and statistician.