Marion tests Greenwood despite sweep

GREENWOOD -- Greenwood volleyball Coach Jennifer Golden expected her team would be tested by Marion, and that proved true despite a sweep Wednesday.

Greenwood didn't lose a set in a 25-14, 25-23, 25-23 victory in a second-round matchup at the Class 5A state volleyball tournament at H.B. Stewart Bulldog Arena.

But it wasn't easy.

"We feel really great about this win," Golden said. "We knew Marion was going to be tough. It was good to see that because they are one of the better teams we have faced more recently. It was good to see that level of play and advance."

Greenwood (19-1) was led by freshman Myia McCoy with a team-high 11 kills. Hannah Watkins, Caylee Ciesla and Larkin Luke each added eight kills.

Maddi Pugh finished with 17 digs, while Jocelyn Swell had 16 digs for the Lady Bulldogs. Anna Johnson chipped in 25 assists in Greenwood's winning effort.

Marion's Anna Caroline Fesmire got a block of Watkins' shot for the first point of the game. Watkins battled back to make a big impact, including the set-winning kill.

"We know Hannah is going to be keyed on by teams," Golden said. "That's OK because we know there are kids that are going to pick it up behind her. She is one of our go-to players, so we are going to do that. But in the end, she found a way to contribute. I'm proud of that."

Greenwood held a 5-3 lead after back-to-back errors from Marion (15-4) in the first set. Watkins, using a soft touch, got a kill to make it 15-8 midway through Greenwood's 25-14 win.

The Lady Bulldogs used spurts of 3-0, 3-0 and 4-0 to take control before a hit out of bounds by Marion gave Greenwood the set-ending point.

"I thought we played very controlled and well overall," Golden said. "Marion is some of the better competition we have seen in a long time. It was good for us to come out and play well in that first set."

It was all Marion in the start of a critical second set. The Lady Patriots jumped out to a 13-2 lead as Fesmire recorded a pair of aces in that scoring stretch.

The Lady Bulldogs bounced back with a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to 13-12.

"Momentum is a very big thing in this game," Golden said. "When you can get it to swing your way, good things happen. We knew we could build on that and fight back when we started to put together that run."

The set was back and forth after that until Marion's Daedrianna Cail had three consecutive kills to give her team a 21-17 edge.

Greenwood then took control to finish out the second set with a 25-23 victory.

Greenwood held an early 7-3 lead in the third set, but an ace from Madison Keith gave Marion an 11-9 lead.

Cail was big in the third set for Marion. The Lady Patriots had a 5-0 scoring stretch that made it 16-14 and Cail had three of those kills.

Marion pushed its third-set lead to 21-18 with a 4-0 run. That prompted a timeout from Greenwood.

It turned out to be just what the team needed. The Lady Bulldogs closed out the match with a 7-2 run.

Watkins, who is 6-7, is best known for her power game, as she can deliver a ball to the floor with quick pace. She turned to her soft touch in this game, including getting the match-winning point with a quick tip over the net.

"She has some touch and is smart," Golden said. "She knows the game. When she sees a spot open, she is going to look for it and find it. She does a good job there. She has more than just power."