Jonesboro looks at home in opener

JONESBORO - Playing on its home court worked in Jonesboro’s favor Wednesday night as it extracted revenge on Greenwood, which knocked the Lady Hurricane out of the quarterfinals of the Class 6A volleyball state tournament last season.

Jonesboro, the tournament’s top seed, defeated Greenwood 25-18, 25-17, 20-25, 25-13 to advance to a semifinal match up today against defending state champion Russellville. Russellville defeated Siloam Springs 19-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21, 17-15 in another quarterfinal matchup.

Nikki Tagupa led Jonesboro with 29 digs and 13 kills, and Sydney Skelton matched her with 29 digs. Caroline Moye added 18 digs for the Lady Hurricane, while Emily Harral had 14 and Susannah Kelley had 15. Frances Fitts added 13 kills.

“Once the school saw we were playing Greenwood, everyone likes revenge, so to speak,” Jonesboro Coach Craig Cummings said. “So it just worked out that we get to play them again. It is what it is.

“I’m proud of my team and how hard they stepped on the court tonight and competed with a great crowd tonight.”

Jonesboro had to battle to win the first set, 25-18, falling behind 7-4 before tying the score at 7-7 and taking 9-8 lead. The teams swapped scores for the rest of the set until Jonesboro broke a 16-16 tie with a 9-2 run for the victory.

The Lady Hurricane didn’t have any problems in the second set, jumping out to a 13-2 lead that eventually grew to 24-9. Greenwood used an 8-0 run to pull within 24-17, but Jonesboro closed out the 25-17 victory.

Jonesboro lost the third set after tying it at 18-18, only to watch Greenwood close it outwith a 7-2 run of its own .

“We didn’t pass as well as we did in the other games,” Cummings said of losing the third set. “Also, Greenwood did a very nice job. They handled our serves better and made some good defensive plays.”

The Lady Hurricane dominated the fourth and final set, opening up with a 10-2 run that it stretched to 13-3, 16-4, 19-5 and 20-8 before Jonesboro put it away.

“I tell the girls to focus on the pass, the hit, the block and the serve,” Cummings said. “Keeping it that simple, the game will take care of itself. We were able to settle back in during Game 4.”