The defending 2020 state champion Lady Bulldogs have officially been dethroned with last Wednesday’s quarterfinals loss to the Marion Lady Patriots in the Class 5A state tournament. The event was held at Marion High School and the Lady Pats were the top-ranked 5A team in the state at the time they tangled with Greenwood. But the Marion girls lost their semi-finals match to Benton, which will meet Little Rock Christian this weekend in Hot Springs for the state title.

The Lady Bulldogs, in their 21st season under Head Coach Jennifer Golden, finished 21-14 overall, with the majority of those losses coming in tournament play against out-of-state schools much larger than Greenwood. The GHS girls went 13-1 in 5A West play to earn a share of the conference title with Greenbrier. But the Lady Panthers earned the league’s #1 seed in the state tournament via the tiebreaker procedure. Greenbrier then won two matches in the state tournament before losing to Little Rock Christian in the semi-finals.

Greenbrier

Last Thursday, October 21st, the Lady Bulldogs hosted the Lady Panthers with a share of the conference title on the line. Greenwood had earlier lost a four-set match at Greenbrier, the team’s only league loss of the season. Not only was it time to avenge that loss, but the state tournament was just around the corner for both teams, and the scores reflected the intensity and urgency of the match, especially for the Lady Bulldogs.

The home team won the first set, 25-22, and took the second set even more convincingly, 25-16. But with the Lady Bulldogs poised on the brink of a straight set victory, the Greenbrier girls rallied in the third set to win, 25-22, forcing a fourth set won by Greenwood, 25-22, securing a share of the conference title and the #2 seed at state.

The Lady Bulldogs had an incredible 56 kill shots in the match out of 146 attempts, led by Myia McCoy (16) and Landis Luke (15), followed by Kylie Lawson with 10 slams and Courtney Swilling with seven. Rylie Holland also had 10 service aces out of 14 total for the team. Several GHS girls also put up crooked numbers in blocks at the net, including Madie Bateman (5), Landis Luke and Lane Presley with four each, and Courtney Swilling and Myia McCoy with three apiece.

Other defensive stats included 85 team digs led by Tori Howard (17), Myia McCoy (16), Ashlyn Butler (14), and Rylie Holland (11). Butler (18) and Holland (17) led the squad in assists, while Tori Howard (34), Myia McCoy (25), and Lilly Gigerich (11) led their teammates in service returns.

Jacksonville

The Lady Titans were up next for Greenwood in the first round of the state tournament this past Tuesday. The Jacksonville girls were the #3 seed from the 5A Central and entered the match with 22 wins on the season. But despite their obvious athleticism, the Lady Titans were no match for Greenwood in the opening two sets, losing 25-14 and 25-12. They rallied in the third set, but came up short, 25-23, falling in straight sets.

When asked about the apparent ease of the opening round tournament victory, Coach Golden said, “I wouldn’t say that Jacksonville was an easy match. They were a very athletic team that gave us fits in certain aspects of the game.”

Offensively, the Lady Bulldogs crashed the net for 41 kill shots spread among six players. Myia McCoy led the way with 11 slams, followed by Kylie Lawson with eight, Madie Bateman, Landis Luke, and Courtney Swilling with six each, plus four kills from Lane Presley, who also led the team with four service aces.

Madie Bateman had three blocks while Courtney Swilling and Myia McCoy had two each. Tori Howard set the pace in saves with 15 digs, followed by Rylie Holland with 12. Ashlyn Butler had eight digs and Kylie Lawson seven. The same two girls also led in assists with 14 and 12, respectively. Tori Howard led the team in service receptions with 13, while Myia McCoy had 10, Lilly Gigerich eight, and Carsyn Holland seven.

Marion

In Wednesday’s quarterfinals match the Lady Patriots dominated the first two sets and Greenwood appeared to be down-and-out going into the third set. The Lady Bulldogs lost 25-14 and 25-7, scoring just 21 points over two sets against their tournament hosts. But something happened before the start of the third set to change the course of the match.

“After the second set I had some girls step up in leadership roles,” explained Coach Golden after the match. “They all decided they weren’t going down without a fight, and they played for the ‘G’.”

The revived Lady Bulldogs then went on to score a 29-27 overtime win in the third set before taking a 25-22 victory in set four to even the match. Unfortunately, the Lady Pats regrouped in the decisive fifth set for the 15-12 match win, advancing to the semi-finals, but not before knowing they had been in a fight.

“Marion was a very talented, senior-led team, and their home court was a tough environment to play in,” added Golden. “[But] we had a great year and finished on a high note, even though it was technically a loss. I’m very proud of the team this year, and I’m looking forward to building [on it] this off-season for next year.” Golden will lose six seniors to graduation next spring, but has built a sustainable winning program with plenty of talent in the pipeline.

Statistically, the Lady Bulldogs were aggressive at the net against the talented and experienced Lady Pats. Greenwood had 40 kill shots, led by Landis Luke’s 13 and Myia McCoy’s 12. Courtney Swilling added seven slams. Still, the Marion girls logged 67 kills in the match. Greenwood also had seven service aces, paced by Riley Golden with three and Myia McCoy with two.

Defensively, the GHS girls had over a dozen blocks spread evenly among four players. Madie Bateman and Landis Luke had four each, while Lane Presley had three blocks and Courtney Swilling two. The team combined for 61 digs with three girls in double digits. Myia McCoy had 15 saves, followed by Tori Howard and Rylie Holland with 10 each. Ashlyn Butler and Riley Golden had six digs each, while the same two girls tied for the team lead in assists with 14 each. McCoy led the team in service receptions with 30, ahead of teammates Tori Howard (15), Lilly Gigerich (10), and Kylie Lawson (10).