5A STATE VOLLEYBALL: Greenwood rolls in 5A state opener

GREENWOOD -- Greenwood jumped out to an early lead in the first set and didn't look back.

Hannah Watkins got things going with the first kill as Greenwood pulled away for a 25-12, 25-6, 25-8 victory against Sheridan in a first-round matchup at the Class 5A state volleyball tournament in H.B. Stewart Arena.

"It was good to see us play well early because typically we aren't a start-out-on-fire team," Greenwood Coach Jennifer Golden said. "We kind of warm up into our games. But with it being the state tournament, we had a lot in our favor with fans and being excited. We came out and played well."

Greenwood (18-1) was led by Watkins, who finished with 14 kills and also had two blocks. Larkin Luke had 12 kills and two blocks. Anna Johnson had 32 assists and also finished with seven aces.

Greenwood took a 5-0 lead in the first set with Watkins getting three of those kills.

"She is a force," Golden said. "When you have somebody 6-7 on the front row, she is not only an intimidation factor but she puts the ball away. She takes care of it. She is one of our go-to players. She showed that again."

The Lady Bulldogs were able to push their first-set lead to 14-3, then closed it out with the help of a 4-0 run that made it 24-9.

Luke came off the bench in the first set and immediately scored back-to-back kills for Greenwood to make it 11-3 early. She also made it 16-4 with consecutive kills, then finished the set with the final point.

"She has always been a consistent and dynamic player for us," Golden said. "She plays hard. She is just fun to watch. It was nice to see her going early. She is another go-to for us."

In the second set, Greenwood held a 13-3 lead early then closed it out with a 10-0 run. Johnson had four aces in the team's last eight points.

"We did a really good job of serving," Golden said. "The girls are doing a really good job of putting the ball where I am asking it to go. We can do a lot of things with that."

Watkins ended the second set with a kill to take a 2-0 lead.

The Lady Bulldogs held a 7-1 lead in the third set with another ace from Johnson. Sheridan battled back to cut Greenwood's edge to 11-6 with a kill from Madison Taylor.

"That's one thing about our team is we always battle," Sheridan Coach Emily Grimmett said. "We are going to fight even if we might not win. We are going to make you earn your win.

"We were intimidated starting out. Once our nerves calmed down after that, I think we got a little more energy."

The Lady Bulldogs went on a 10-0 run to make it a 21-6 advantage. An ace from Sheridan's Emma Patrick made it a 21-8 Greenwood lead, but the match ended when the Lady Bulldogs scored the next four points.

Myia McCoy played a key role in the final set win. She recorded three of the team's first five points to get the offense going.

"She is my lone freshman and has really picked up her game all the way around," Golden said. "She has an arm swing like nobody in the gym. It has been fun for her to step into her role. She has done really well for us."

There were some bright spots from Sheridan, but Greenwood was just too much throughout the game.

"They are by far the best team we've seen this year," Grimmett said. "We don't have players over 6 feet tall, and they have multiple. It is hard to come out and compete against a team like that when you don't see that height all year. It's hard to prepare for something like that." 

More News

Class 5A State Volleyball

At Greenwood

Tuesday’s Scores

Court 1

Match 1 Benton def. Nettleton, 3-0

Match 2 Russellville def. Lake Hamilton, 3-0

Match 3 Jonesboro def. Jacksonville, 3-0

Match 4 Greenbrier def. Hot Springs, 3-0

Court 2

Match 5 Greenwood def. Sheridan, 3-0

Match 6 Marion def. Beebe, 3-0

Match 7 Hot Springs Lakeside def. Mountain Home, 3-2

Match 8 West Memphis def. Little Rock Christian, 3-1

Today’s Matches

Match 9: Benton vs. Russellville, 9 a.m.

Match 10 Jonesboro vs. Greenbrier, noon

Match 11 Greenwood vs. Marion, 3 p.m.

Match 12 Hot Springs Lakeside vs. West Memphis, 6 p.m.

Upcoming Events