CONWAY — The fifth time was the charm for Greenwood Coach Jennifer Golden.
In a match filled with scoring runs, the Lady Bulldogs used a fourth-game spurt to pull away and claim the Class 5A volleyball state championship over Little Rock Christian 25-21, 25-19, 13-25, 25-22 on Saturday at Buzz Bolding Arena.
For Golden and Greenwood, the state title was a long time coming. Under Golden, the Lady Bulldogs advanced to the final and lost each season between 2006 and 2009.
“Finally!” Golden said with a laugh. “We’re just really proud of the girls, for how much they’ve worked and the time they’ve put in.”
Greenwood (21-10) trailed 16-13 in the fourth game before scoring seven consecutive points behind the hitting of Madison Gilliam, and never trailed again.
Xandra Lock’s kill got Greenwood to match point at 24-18, but Little Rock Christian responded, taking the next four points. But Lock’s return from midcourt caught the Warriors off guard. Sara Mitchell and Markie Schaedig ran together, and failed to get the ball across, setting off the Greenwood celebration.
“Momentum is huge in volleyball,” Golden said. “When it swings, it can swing big time. I was proud of the way we were down in that fourth game and we fought back. [Little Rock Christian] fought and played really well.”
In the second game, Greenwood led 7-6 before going on the match’s biggest run, rattling off 12 consecutive points. Lock accounted for seven of the Greenwood points. Again, the Warriors made a late rally, but a kill by Scott finished it off.
Some of that strong play spilled over into the third game for Little Rock Christian. The Warriors scored 11 consecutive points to take an 18-9 lead. Schaedig led the way with numerous kills and well placed touches.
Lock, a sophomore, was named MVP after totaling 18 kills and 15 digs. Gilliam added 18 digs and seven kills, while Morgan Kelly had 44 assists and Savannah Pinkston finished with 37 digs.
For Little Rock Christian (36-5), Schaedig had 17 digs, 14 kills and 4 aces. Kimber Chagnose and Mitchell added 19 digs apiece, while Mollie Pugh had 10 kills.
Sports, Pages 31 on 10/30/2011