Greenwood advances to rematch

GREENWOOD 3, NETTLETON 0

JONESBORO — The state champion Greenwood Lady Bulldogs swept Nettleton 3-0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-23) in the semifinals Thursday of the Class 5A State Tournament at Don Riggs Hurricane Gymnasium at Jonesboro High School.

Greenwood advances to the 5A final Saturday in Hot Springs, where it will face Jonesboro in a rematch of last year’s final.

“It was our goal all year,” said Greenwood Coach Jennifer Golden. “To be able to get to that goal, to take the next step, that’s an accomplishment we’re very proud of.”

Greenwood senior Abby Cagle hammered down 20 kills and had 8 digs for Greenwood, while junior Camryn Presley had 14 kills, 10 digs and 21 assists and junior Zoie Benton had 9 kills and 13 digs.

All three played big roles throughout Thursday’s match.

Presley had a pair of kills to finish off the Lady Raiders in the first set.

Greenwood (30-5-1) was staring at a 25-24 deficit in the second set, when a Cagle kill tied the score at 25-25. Nettleton hit a ball into the net to set up set-point for Greenwood, and a Presley solo block in the middle gave the Lady Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.

Nettleton pulled within 2322 in the third set on a kill by Makenzie Thomas, but Benton hammered off the left side to give Greenwood a 24-22 lead. After Nettleton got back within 24-23 on a kill by Gracie Miller, Presley wrapped up the sweep with a kill.

“It’s kind of what we do — we battle,” Golden said. “We don’t ever give up. All season long we’ve been able to pretty much take care of business in that aspect.”

Anna Johnson dished up 28 assists for Greenwood, while Izzy Davis had 21 digs and Josie Chapple 12 digs. Larkin Luke added eight kills in the middle.

Miller led Nettleton (2510) with nine kills, while Haley Durham had eight kills. Thomas led with 18 digs, while Sydney Sample had 14 digs and 26 assists.

“Obviously we would have liked to have come out with a win,” said Nettleton Coach Vickie Davis. “I felt like my kids gave every effort. I felt like we did everything we could. We had a solid game plan coming in and they executed what I asked them to do. Bottom line, when it comes right down to it, it wasn’t in the cards for us.”

JONESBORO 3, SILOAM SPRINGS 0

Jonesboro hurt Siloam Springs from the outside and in the middle as the combination of junior middle Mikayla Johnson and junior outside hitter Clara Parker combined for 25 kills and the Golden Hurricane ended the Lady Panthers’ season with a 25-11, 25-22, 2511 sweep.

“They’re solid at pretty much every position,” said Siloam Springs Coach Joellen Wright. “They don’t have a weak spot. They’re strong across the front and at the block. We knew that coming in.”

Siloam Springs’ season ends with a 20-12-1 record as the Lady Panthers made it to the state semifinals for the second consecutive year.

Trailing 7-4 in the first set, Jonesboro went on a 12-0 run to take a commanding 16-7 lead with Johnson recording three kills and three blocks in the surge and Kellen Church serving two aces.

Siloam Springs battled back in the second set. Chloe Price had two consecutive aces and Ellie Lampton had two kills followed by a kill from Jael Harried to take a 10-6 lead, but Jonesboro eventually came back with a 6-1 run to take a 18-14 lead.

Cameron Hafner hammered two kills and Johnson finished off the 25-22 win with a big kill in the middle.

The Golden Hurricane rolled out to a 17-3 lead in the third set, including two aces from Church and two more kills from Johnson, who finished with 13, while Parker had 12. Church led Jonesboro with 15 digs, while Bailey Tagupa had 38 assists.

“I have to give credit to our passing and serve-receive because of how tough Siloam serves,” said Jonesboro Coach Craig Cummings. “We were able to manage that. We had some trouble there, even at the end, finishing it up. But for the most part, we had good passing which allows Bailey to run the offense and mix it up. That’s a good day for us.”