Arkansas volleyball 5A state championship: Benton outlasts Greenwood in five sets

HOT SPRINGS, ARKANSAS — Benton head coach Michelle Shoppach compared her team to Captain America in that while they wear a target on its back, the Lady Panthers find a way to come through when it matters most. 

That was the case Saturday night at Bank OZK Arena when Benton (30-5) lost the first set to Greenwood (23-11) and was forced to go five sets to win 21-25, 25-21, 25-20, 24-26, 15-11 for their second consecutive Class 5A state championship. 

“It’s nice to know like Captain America, who has the target on him, that Captain America always comes though,” said Shoppach. “We were like Captain America; we didn’t win all year long, but we handled it in a good manner and we did here (Saturday). We got punched in the mouth a couple times, but came back with an uppercut to make things happen.

“There were many points, I didn’t think we would get to that 15th point. Greenwood would not go away. They said you could have the lead for a second, but we’re not going to let you have it for long.”

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Benton trailed, 23-21, in the first set before a kill by Greenwood’s Carsyn Holland and an attack error by Lexi Mahan ended the match. In the second set, Benton broke a 21-all tie by scoring the last four points with kills by Parker Stearns and Evie Hendrix, an attack error by Greenwood’s Keke Rice and an ace by Parker Solar.

In the third set, Benton rallied from a 21-20 deficit with two kills by Isabella Lagemann, one by Khenedi Guest and one by Delaney Cooper. Greenwood was down, 24-23, in the fourth set before Myia McCoy tied it with a kill and attack errors by Lagemann and Mahan put Greenwood ahead.

In the fifth set, Greenwood led 2-0 in a set that featured seven ties and one lead change. Benton got the lead for good at 11-10 on a kill by Lagemann.

Stearns later had a kill, and three attack errors by McCoy ended the match.

“I’m so proud of our team,” said Greenwood head coach Jennifer Golden. “(Saturday) was an absolute slugfest and I felt both teams were pretty even.

"If we play them again, I feel we can win, but unfortunately this is the end of the season.”

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Lagemann earned state tournament MVP honors with 18 kills, 20 assists, 19 digs, three blocks and an ace. Guest had 12 kills, six digs and five blocks. Stearns had 13 kills and five blocks, while Drew Hudspeth had 32 assists.

McCoy led Greenwood with 18 kills and 18 digs. Rice had 16 kills and four digs. Karsen Hart had 14 kills and 4 blocks. Loren Eckhart had 47 assists.

THREE TAKEAWAYS

1.

Lagemann, who was named the MVP, had an all-around game, but Shoppach said the Panthers win was a team effort.

“Lagemann did a lot for us (Saturday) with setting blocks as did Guest," Shoppach said. "Guest ought to get some assists on kills because they were focusing on her and she stayed with it and that it makes it so much easier for other hitters. Stearns was hot to begin with. She hung in there.

"Lexi Mahan came in and she helped on back row. I was proud of defensive specialists (Anna Grace) Hardy and (Delaney) Cooper; they got a ton of balls, served well and made some good reads which made things easier for Drew and Lagemann. Drew did a good job setting things up and seeing who can get kills."

2.

After Greenwood tied the match in the fourth set to force a fifth game, Shoppach said some of the sophomores preached the one thing she emphasizes and that’s play one point at a time.

“Going into the fifth set, one of our sophomores said, ‘It’s all one point, go one point at a time.’ And that’s what we preach because that’s what you have to do in volleyball," Shoppach said.

3.

Greenwood, which played a non-conference schedule that included Class 6A champion Fayetteville, 6A runner-up Conway, 6A-West runner-up Fort Smith Southside, 3A champion Baptist Prep and several quality teams in Missouri in the Ozark Grand Slam, was glad to see the bumps it experienced during the regular season pay off with a trip to the finals.

“We’re never going to be undefeated and if we do, then we’re going to be undisputed No. 1, but we always play a tough schedule to prepare us for state with tough non-conference matches early in the season and a late-season tournament to Ozark, Mo., against some great teams in Missouri," Golden said. "I feel the schedule prepared us for this and we played our best the last week of the season.”

Photos by Tommy Land

-- Jeff Halpern | @SBLiveAR