After losing in last year’s semi-finals, the Greenwood Lady Bulldogs returned to the champion winner’s circle last weekend, taking down the Lady Hurricane of Jonesboro in four sets to win the 6A state title. The returning champs, Jonesboro ended Greenwood’s hopes last year, so Saturday’s victory was especially sweet.
It was the eighth time Head Coach Jennifer Golden had taken her team to the finals, but only once before had they claimed the winner’s trophy, in 2011. Over the last 17 years, Golden and her players have built a strong program and winning tradition at Greenwood, having just completed back-to-back 30-win seasons. This year’s version of the Lady Bulldogs finished 32-7 overall.
Last Saturday it took everything Golden and her players had to overcome the defending champs in search of their 13th state title. After winning the first set 25-19, the GHS girls scrapped and clawed their way through sets two and three, when the match was really decided.
They dropped the second set, 22-25, but led 6-2 early in the third set before Jonesboro went on a 17-10 scoring run to build a 19-16 advantage late. But that’s when the Lady Bulldogs rose to the occasion.
Greenwood fought back and won seven of the next 12 points, but still trailed 24-23. Then sophomore Zoie Benton slammed back-to-back kill shots to give the Lady Bulldogs a 25-24 lead.
Jonesboro won the next point to tie the match, but the GHS girls retook the lead for good, 26-25, on a block by senior Lilliah Pugh. After winning the next point and the set, 27-25, the Lady Bulldogs won the fourth and final set with relative ease, 25-20, to claim the crown.
After the match, senior Carrie Ciesla was named the Most Valuable Player. She had 25 assists, 10 kills, and seven digs in the contest, but the award could have easily gone to any one of several teammates.
Fellow senior Lexie Castillow had an amazing 50 digs from the back row, and Lilliah Pugh had nine kills and six blocks. Zoie Benton had 16 kill shots, while fellow sophomore Camryn Presley and junior Abby Cagle added 11 kills apiece.
“We can’t single out any of these kids, just because [we] don’t know who’s going to step up,” said Coach Golden, who has touted her team’s talent and senior leadership since the pre-season.
“I’ve got nine returning seniors, and the leadership they’re bringing to the table cannot be compared,” she said back in August. “It’s a good, large group. They are great kids all around, from top to bottom in the program. I’m real excited about what we have. These kids have been there, and they know what they need to do, and they’re ready to do it.” Indeed, they did.
Jonesboro Head Coach Craig Cummings was also complimentary of the Lady Bulldogs. “It was the match I think everybody was hoping to see – two good teams going at it – and I can’t be more proud of the effort our team put forth. Greenwood is absolutely well-coached and well-prepared. My hat is off to them. They came out today and earned it, and we were just a little bit short.”
For Coach Golden, Saturday’s 6A championship was her second career state title at Greenwood. “That first one [was] sweet, and unexpected, [but] this one...these kids worked so hard for this,” she said. “Nobody deserved it more than these kids, and I’m so glad they got it.”
Senior Lexie Castillow also talked about winning the state crown. “There’s really no words to describe this,” said the anchor of Greenwood’s back row. “For two years, we’ve been going after this. To finally have it, and grasp it, I don’t really know how else to describe it.
“I love our community [and] how they rally around us. This championship [shows] how hard the team has worked and how much of a family we truly are,” she said. “A championship for the team really and truly means the world. We had a very special group that I would consider every single one my sisters. Hours and hours of hard work finally paid off.”
According to her coach, Castillow played in 323 sets and finished her high school playing career with 1,892 digs. She also had 115 career assists, 109 service aces, and 14 kills.
MVP Carrie Ciesla said, “We’ve always been taught to never give up. At the end of the game, it doesn’t matter. It’s everything that leads up to it. We had to fight for every single point. We panicked a little bit [in the third set], but we knew it wasn’t over until someone was two points ahead. We were really excited going into that [fourth set].”
Greenwood stats from the match highlighted a total team effort. Four players reached double-digits in kill shots, and a fifth came up one short. Benton’s 16 led the offensive attack, followed by Presley and Cagle, with 11 each. Then came Ciesla with 10 and Lilliah Pugh with nine. Pugh also led with six blocks.
Castillow had a remarkable 50 digs, followed by sophomore Izzy Davis (21), senior Meredith James (18), and Camryn Presley (10). Senior Brooke Shortes led the team with 30 assists and added a pair of service aces.
To reach the finals, as state tournament hosts, the Lady Bulldogs had to win two earlier matches on their home court the previous Wednesday and Thursday. They cruised to easy victories over both opponents, beating Lake Hamilton and Siloam Springs in straight sets, 3-0.
In the state quarterfinals, the Lady Bulldogs topped Lake Hamilton 25-12, 25-17, and 25-13. Abby Cagle had 14 kill shots and Carrie Ciesla added 10 to lead the offense. Castillow had 18 digs and Brooke Shortes had 10, while also accounting for 24 assists.
In the semi-finals against Siloam Springs, Greenwood won 25-16, 25-16, and 25-18. Zoie Benton and Abby Cagle had 10 and nine kills, respectively. Meredith James added four service aces, and Lilliah Pugh had five blocks. Castillow had 19 digs, while Shortes (16) and Ciesla (11) led the team in assists.
So, a large group of seniors ended their high school playing careers at the top of the mountain, and have now passed the torch to a talented bunch of underclassmen who hope to carry on Greenwood’s winning tradition. The next senior class will be considerably smaller, but hopefully no less determined to make their own mark and defend this state title so richly deserved and so well earned.