Volleyball: Mack headlines Springdale signing ceremony

Anna Gaddison
Anna Gaddison

SPRINGDALE --Desiree Mack's Springdale High volleyball coaches used a unique motivational tactic her sophomore year.

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Desiree Mack (second from left) smiles with her family — Kizzy Collins (from left), mother; Edward Mack, father; and Kentrez Lowe, brother — after she signed a letter of intent Friday to play volleyball for Jackson State University at a ceremony at Bulldog Gymnasium in Springdale.

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Ryann Goodsell

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Chasidee Owens

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Kyra Kahn

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Payton Morris

Amanda Williford and Ashlee Kemp kept a folder on the bench with two school logos on separate pages: LSU and a small in-state college. Depending on how Mack was playing, they would hold up a corresponding page.

"I've always wanted to go to a Division I school like LSU, so I had to mature and get my attitude right and that's what helped me," Mack said.

Fast forward to November, Mack became the first Springdale athlete since February 2014 to sign with a Division I school when she inked with Jackson State. Friday, she was one of six Springdale athletes honored at a signing ceremony.

"The team is really good and the coach is really nice and the campus is beautiful," Mack said of the Jackson, Miss., school. "And it just seemed like a place I could call another home. I've just been there once but it was really nice. ... I have family that goes there, so I won't be alone."

Mack finished her standout three-year career with 1,050 kills. She led Springdale in kills all three years, totaling 203 as a sophomore, 422 her junior year and 425 as a senior. She set a school single-game record with 40 kills in a match during her senior season.

"She meant a lot to me," coach Kylie Moad said. "I've coached her since seventh grade. She's more than just a player. She's one of my girls. She's special to me. Been a part of my family, come over to dinner. We love her."

She was a leader for the Lady Bulldogs all three years and was also a standout for the Ozark Juniors team, the best club volleyball program in Northwest Arkansas. Mack, 5-foot-11, will play outside hitter at Jackson State, the same position she played for Moad.

"She's such a power hitter from the outside," Moad said.

Mack was a three-sport standout for the Lady Bulldogs. As a junior, she set the school record in the shot put for the track and field team. All three years, she was a standout basketball player for a resurgent program, totaling career averages of 8.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. She earned all-conference honors her senior year.

"I would say Desiree, as far as pure athleticism, would be in the top five ever that I've coached or been around," said basketball coach Heather Hunsucker, who was previously an assistant at talent-rich Fayetteville.

Four of Mack's teammates signed to continue their basketball careers at the next level. Like Mack, Ryann Goodsell signed in November, inking with Arkansas Tech, a Division II school in Russellville. She also decided to wait until the spring to hold a ceremony.

"I wanted to be with everybody whenever they signed," Goodsell said. "That's really important to me, because we've always done things as a team and that was just really special."

Goodsell started for most of her three years with the Lady Bulldogs and averaged 5.4 points and 3.9 rebounds as a senior. She is one of the most decorated female athletes in school history. She won her fourth 7A-West Conference championship in the discus on Thursday and is set to go for her third state title.

Chasidee Owens signed with Ouachita Baptist, a Division II program in Arkadelphia, after an all-state senior season in which she led Springdale in scoring, averaging 11.9 points along with 6.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.3 assists. She was a three-year starter and scored in double figures 42 times in her career.

Guards Anna Gadison and Kyra Kahn signed with North Arkansas College, a junior college in Harrison. Gadison was an impact transfer for Springdale this year, averaging 6.8 points and earning all-conference honors in part thanks to her strong defensive play. Kahn was a three-year letterman with 14 career starts.

With point guard Kierra Lang likely to sign in the near future, six Lady Bulldogs, including Mack, will play collegiately.

"It was neat last year to have (Ja'Vonda Daniels) as the first ever to sign a letter-of-intent for me in my era here, but today, having four-and-a-half sign, counting Dez, it is a special day for our program," Hunsucker said. "They're all deserving."

Wrestler Payton Morris also signed, inking with Muskogee, Okla.-based Bacone College. Morris had a standout senior season, winning the conference title in the 138-pound class and advancing to the state semifinals en route to a fifth-place finish. He will wrestle as a 141-pounder at Bacone and also plans to walk on to the baseball team.

Sports on 04/30/2016

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