FAYETTEVILLE -- Greenwood showed Fayetteville it has a top volleyball program, as well.
Defending Class 6A state champion Greenwood opened the season Monday by defeating defending Class 7A state champion Fayetteville 3-1 (25-22, 25-14, 23-25, 25-21) at Bulldog Arena.
Junior Camryn Presley had 14 kills and 24 assists for Greenwood, which is coming off consecutive 30-win seasons for the first time in school history.
"The kids have been working hard and I thought we put on a good show," Greenwood coach Jennifer Golden said. "We're junior-ladened, but I think we've got a good foundation to work with."
Fayetteville took the floor Monday without Haley Warner and Ella May Powell, high school All-Americans who led the Lady Bulldogs to three consecutive state championships. Warner is now at Florida and Powell is at Washington.
Others remain with championship experience, but Greenwood was in control with a team that includes only three seniors.
Greenwood took a 2-0 series lead before Fayetteville extended the game by winning 25-23. Greenwood attempted to rally after trailing 20-15, but Fayetteville fought off the threat and won on a block Abigail Breathitt. Fayetteville was also competitive in the fourth set but Greenwood held on for a 25-21 victory to earn bragging rights between defending state champions to begin a new season.
"At this point in the season you want to see growth, and that was an immediate improvement," Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan said. "We wanted to take on good competition to see where we're at and what we need to work on. We need to take better care of the ball. We had a lot of unforced errors."
Greenwood outscored Fayetteville 5-1 down the stretch to win the opening match, 25-22. An ace by Presley put Greenwood ahead 24-22 then Fayetteville hit into the net after two players bumped into each other to end the match.
Greenwood dominated the second set 25-14 take a 2-0 series lead over Fayetteville. The front line of Presley, Abby Cagle, and Brooke Jones controlled the action for Greenwood, which outscored Fayetteville 11-2 to end the match.
"Camryn has been a varsity player since she was a freshman," Golden said. "She has a lot of game experience and she did a good job tonight."
Cagle added nine kills for Greenwood while Amelia Whatley had 11 kills and Gracyn Spresser 28 assists to lead Fayetteville.
Siloam Springs 3, Bentonville High 1
Senior Ellie Lampton put together a strong night with 19 kills and 15 digs to help lead the Lady Panthers to a hard-fought 25-23, 25-23, 20-25, 26-24 victory over Bentonville High in the season opener for both teams Monday night at Tiger Arena.
The fourth set was tied at 22 and again at 24 before Siloam Springs picked up the final two points to seal the win. The Lady Panther used solid defense to pick up the win as Mackenzie Cook added 16 digs and Kelsey Lewis had a team-high 19 digs.
Makenna Thomaas added eight kills and Madison Lanker seven for the Lady Panthers.
Savannah Riney led Bentonville with 19 kills, while Trinity Hamilton added 14 kills and 25 digs. Cait Hudgens finished with a match-high 27 digs for the Lady Tigers.
Springdale Har-Ber 3, Broken Arrow, Okla. 2
The Lady Wildcats opened the season with a five-set road win Monday night
Kat Coope put down 13 kills to power Har-Ber (1-0) to the 20-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-27, 15-7 win.
Molly Kingston added 20 digs and Lauren Cloud put down 5 aces.
Sports on 08/21/2018