PREP VOLLEYBALL: Greenwood sweeps Jonesboro to earn 5A title

HOT SPRINGS -- Greenwood dug its way out of a couple of holes against two-time defending state champion Jonesboro on Saturday to claim a 25-18, 25-20, 25-21 victory to earn the Class 5A state volleyball title in Bank OZK Arena.

The Bulldogs (21-1) trailed only briefly in the first set, then got down 16-10 in the second and 11-3 in the third. They fought back each time to earn their third championship in school history.

"We did our thing of digging a hole and making ourselves climb back out," Greenwood Coach Jennifer Golden said. "That's what we do. It wasn't anything that I didn't feel comfortable with, and I thought we did a great job.

"We've been in that position several times this year, specifically against Marion [in the state tournament], and it was just second nature for us to come back out, dig out and climb out and just come back and win. That's just a testament to these kids. They like the adversity, I guess."

Greenwood jumped in front 7-1 in the opening set before cruising the remainder of the way.

Jonesboro (19-2) fought back with some solid serving, getting the Bulldogs out of sync early in each of the next two sets.

Greenwood found its rhythm to the tune of a 13-3 run in the second set and a 15-5 spree in the third to come from behind. Senior setter Anna Johnson, who was named the tournament MVP, moved the ball around to different hitters in both of those runs. She does that job well, Golden said.

"She runs the court," Golden said. "She knows who's on and who's not. She decides where the ball goes, and she's smart about what she does. It was meant to be. She reads very well, got that court sense and knows what to do."

Johnson had 26 assists and 10 digs while running Greenwood's balanced attack. Caylee Ciesla tied for match-high honors with 10 digs, and 6-7 senior and University of Central Arkansas commitment Hannah Watkins added 8 kills and 2 solo blocks. Myia McCoy, a 5-10 freshman, had six kills, while 6-2 Larkin Luke chipped in with 4 kills, 3 solo blocks and 7 digs.

The Bulldogs, who also defeated Jonesboro in the finals in 2017, also had four players reach double digits in digs, led by libero Maddi Pugh with 11. Sami Stilley and Jocelyn Sewell joined Johnson with 10 each.

Jonesboro Coach Craig Cummings said it's hard to focus on one or two Greenwood players since the Bulldogs have a variety of weapons, but Johnson does stand out.

"She spreads it out well enough, and it's not everything's going here," Cummings said. "It's such a good mix that it's hard to even pick and choose when she's gonna set who, and the girls hit well.

"We had to get them out of sync to have a shot at them because of their weapons. But really the heart of our team is what got us here. The heart that we showed after losing game one, we came back. Jennifer's experience with all her players, they just keep working."

Senior Rosalind Lutes tied for match honors with 10 kills for Jonesboro. Taylor Abernathy added seven. Maggie Orr added a match-high 13 digs and three aces.

Paul Boyd can be reached at pboyd@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWAPaulb.

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