Coverage presented by Arkansas Select Volleyball.
HOT SPRINGS — Trailing 9-4 in the fourth set with his team down 2 sets to 1 in the Class 4A state volleyball championship, Pulaski Academy head coach Jason Lambert called timeout.
His team, which lost the third set 25-16, needed a momentum shift and Lambert was willing to provide it
“We were not playing our game the way we typically play it. We need to get back to playing like ourselves,” said Lambert.
The Lady Bruins went on a 7-1 run to take the lead 11-10 and pushed it to 21-15 before holding off Jonesboro Westside 26-24 to set up a fifth set.
The Lady Bruins (22-7) went on to win the fifth set 15-13, blocking an attack by Westside 29-31, 25-16, 16-25, 26-24, 15-13 for the school’s first state championship.
The fifth set saw nine ties and five lead changes with neither side leading by more than two.
Pulaski Academy broke a 12-12 tie on a kill by state tournament MVP Sophie Greenwood. An attack error by Westside made it 14-12. After Westside’s Macy Milner had a kill, a block ended the match.
“It’s big for the school because they’ve never won it, was their goal all season long, they know they could do it,” said Lambert, who came to Pulaski Academy after serving as the head coach previously at Mount St. Mary.
Pulaski Academy was led by Greenwood, who had 18 kills and 5 blocks. Lexi George and 13 kills, 5 digs and 6 blocks. Rachel Ardoin had 15 kills and 8 digs. Greenlee Elmore had 27 assists and 7 digs. Macy Adametz had 22 digs and 13 digs.
“Sophie, she did and every time she went up she got a point. We have a good front row across the board,” said Lambert.
Milner led Westside (28-4-2) with 21 kills and 19 digs. Kirby Conrad had 18 kills and 11 digs and Kaydence Garland had 12 kills. Mattyx Cureton had 45 assists and 21 digs. Vada Watkins had 29 digs and Kimber Wynn had 18 digs.
Westside head coach Codie Ziegler, who lost the 4A state championship match a year ago at Wynne, said, “PA is a great team, we’re a great team, it was a battle back and forth I don’t think it was the deciding run in the fourth set, you saw two teams willing to leave it all on the floor today.”
In the first set, Pulaski Academy was up 24-21 before Westside loses to 24-24 on three kills by Macy Milner. The two sides went back and fort before Milner had two kills to finish the first set at 31-29.
The second set, which featured 12 ties and 8 lead changes, saw Pulaski Academy going on a 10-1 run to finish it.
Westside turned the tables in the third set winning 25-16.
Lambert said the key to winning the match was wearing down Westside defensively.. “Against a team that sound defensively, you’ve got to wear them out, eventually they’ll get tired of going after all of the balls,” said Lambert.
He also said his team had to stay focused after all of the momentum changes. “Just making sure we’re in the right mindset and keeping the game where we want to control it,” said Lambert.
Ziegler said, “In a two-point game, it can go either way anytime, I really and truly believe that. If we play them next Saturday, the outcome could be different.
Ziegler said she was proud of her team, despite the final outcome. “They gave me so much more than they ever did before. I know without certainly, they poured into this more than they ever had before. They played lights out.
“Moving to Westside was a family move, I really live close and started a family, I didn’t have any expectations, other than wanting them to work hard and give it your all everyday. I think they grew mentally and their character grew this year.”
Cover photo courtesy of Pulaski Academy Athletics
