Balanced Greenwood uses Jonesboro injury to separate

HOT SPRINGS — Greenwood Coach Jennifer Golden had as hard of a time selecting an MVP as the Lady Bulldogs did of putting away Jonesboro on Saturday night.

MVP Carrie Ciesla made 11 kills and 25 assists, and senior libero Lexie Castillow came up with 50 digs in leading Greenwood to a 3-1 (25-19, 2225, 27-25, 25-20) victory over the Lady Hurricane at Bank of the Ozarks Arena.

The one-hour, 43-minute match took plenty of twists and turns before Greenwood (32-7) managed to win six of the final eight points in the fourth game.

“We’ve said this all year, we can’t single out any of these kids because you don’t know who’s going to step up,” Golden said. “I didn’t know if it was going to be Ciesla, but I knew it was a possibility.”

Had Jonesboro (28-6) managed to pull out the victory, sophomore Clara Parker would have been an excellent MVP candidate. The 5-10 middle hitter scored 23 kills and had 25 digs for the Lady Hurricane, but when she left the game with an injury to her left calf in the final moments of the fourth game, it gave Greenwood an advantage.

“It’s unfortunate for them, but we had to take advantage of it,” said Ciesla, a 5-7 outside hitter. “You have to take advantage of anything that happens. No, we weren’t trying to pick on them but we were trying to be smart with the ball after they had to replace her.”

With Greenwood holding a 19-16 lead in the fourth game, Jonesboro scored two consecutive points. Parker made the kill on the latter of the two points, but she reinjured her leg and left the contest for good.

“It was huge,” Golden said. “It played a big part, and I hate seeing that. She’s a great player. But our kids took advantage of it. They jumped on it.”

Parker originally suffered the injury in the third game, but she managed to stay in the contest for another game. After Parker’s departure, Greenwood won the next two points and eventually closed out the match for its second state title and first since 2011.

“She’s got the heart of a champion,” Jonesboro Coach Craig Cummings said of Parker. “It was a gutty effort on her part. I kept asking her if she wanted to come out of the back row, but she wanted to be out there to give her best.”

Golden said Castillow’s 50 digs probably were a career high.

“Lexie has been a force for us for the last three years,” Golden said. “She’s probably the one I give the most compliments on. She reads, she gets balls up, she doesn’t let balls hit the floor.”

Sophomore Zoie Benton led the Lady Bulldogs with 17 kills, eight of them coming in the fourth game.

“She is one of those players who is focused no matter what,” Ciesla said of Benton. “She does it all and not just for her. She does it all for the team.”

Sophomore Camryn Presley added 12 kills and senior middle hitter Lilliah Pugh made seven blocks. Senior setter Brooke Shortes led the Lady Bulldogs with 29 assists.