Green Forest volleyball season comes to a close

The Lady Tigers had a chance to extend their season with a win. But a paltry service game allowed Valley Springs to capture the third and final spot in the Class 3A state tournament with a 25-20, 25-22, 26-24 win.

"Obviously, we are very disappointed," said Green Forest coach Trista Killingsworth. "Our seniors took it really hard."

It was the final outing for seniors Megan Newberry and Tara Harrell. Harrell finished her career with four kills and a pair of aces while Newberry concluded her campaign with eight digs and an ace.

Junior Keylen Bell had 11 digs and three aces, junior Audrey Foster had two kills and an ace, junior Anna Blach added two kills, five digs and an ace, and junior libero Kelsey Deckard finished with 13 digs and two aces. Sophomore Emily Glassell added two kills and four aces while sophomore Payton Watson added nine kills, 10 digs and an ace.

"We had a very young team that made a lot of improvements during the season," Killingsworth said. "We are going to keep our heads up, move on and do better next year."

The Lady Tigers made it to Monday's consolation game after a straight-set win over host Cotter on Saturday before dropping a three-setter to Alpena later in the day.

Against Cotter, Newberry finished with nine digs and an ace while Harrell added two kills and five aces.

Bell was the bright spot on serves with 10 aces, adding seven digs. Blach recorded seven aces, six digs and three kills. Deckard had 23 digs.

Watson added 15 digs and seven kills while Foster chipped in with a kill and a dig.