Bulldogs prepare for district golf tournament

By Abigail Hodgson

UCA Sportswriting

The St. Joseph boys golf team will compete in the 3-2A District Golf Tournament today at The Links at Cadron Valley.

The 18-hole tournament will start at 9 a.m.

The Bulldogs will be competing against Conway Christian, Quitman, Abundant Life, and Bigelow. Coach Chris Kordsmeier pointed out that Bigelow will be a strong team coming in.

Kordsmeier said he believed his team would do its best while playing at a hometown course.

“Playing there will help us,” Kordsmeier said. “We practice there and we play our best matches there.”

Kordsmeier is hoping that Landon Enderlin can perform well on Monday.

“Enderlin has been our go-to guy all year,” Kordsmeier said. “However, playing 18 holes will be a little different, so we will see.”

The top two teams will advance to the state tournament along with the top four individuals. The Class 2A State Tournament will be at Conway Country Club on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

Atkins takes Lady Bulldogs in four sets

By Abigail Hodgson
UCA Sportswriting

For the second time this season, St. Joseph lost to Atkins in volleyball play Thursday.

The Lady Red Devils clinched the match in the fourth set.

The Red Devils are the only team to beat St. Joseph so far in league play. The Lady Bulldogs dropped to 10-3 overall,  7-2 in the 3A-Central conference.

Atkins continues to lead the conference race. 

 The Lady Bulldogs are looking to bounce back after the loss. They are scheduled to play host to Nemo Vista on Tuesday and play at Conway Christian on Thursday.

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Volleyball team trounces Harding Academy, sets up showdown with Atkins

By Hunter Brooks
UCA Sportswriting

The St. Joseph Lady Bulldogs recorded another sweep Wednesday, this time over the Harding Academy Lady Wildcats in Searcy.

The Lady Bulldogs improved to 10-2 overall, 7-1 in the 3A-Central race, with the 25-7, 25-7, 25-17 victory. Harding Academy is a recent Class 3A state champion.

St. Joseph coach Luke Davis said the victory would give his team confidence heading forward.

“It was good win for us,” Davis said. “It’s been two years since we’ve beat them. They’ve had some good teams over the years. They were state champs two years ago and went to the semifinals last year, so it’s a big confidence boost. We took care of business all around.”

The Lady Bulldogs are in the middle of a three-matches-in-three-days stretch. Davis said the team was focusing on one game at a time.

“It’s a mindset,” he said. “We talked about it Monday. We have to treat it like it’s a tournament. I told them every game gets harder, but it’s all mental. It’s just like the state tourney. The next one doesn’t matter if you don’t win the one in front of you.”

St. Joseph looks to avenge its only conference loss of the year when the Lady Bulldogs play host to Atkins on Thursday, Sept. 26.

"Atkins is a good team,” Davis said. “They have a lot of girls back, which is similar to us. Last time, they found our holes and kept us off balance, so I hope we can improve on those things when we face them."

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St. Joseph volleyball team cruises past Perryville

By Wynrick Smothers
UCA Sportswriting

Conway St. Joseph's Lady Bulldogs took down the Perryville Lady Mustangs in three sets Tuesday, 25-6, 25-14, 25-21.

Coach Luke Davis said the key to this victory was starting off fast. In the first set, the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead that ultimately led to the 25-6 final.

“We had a good first two games,” he said. “We set them back pretty early in the match, and I was proud of that.”

On the other hand, he said his team had too many errors, especially in the third set.

“We had more errors in the second set than the first,” he said. “I had some freshmen in there in the third set who had a few errors, but they played OK.”

The Lady Bulldogs improved to 9-2 overall, 6-1 in the 3A-Central conference.

Conway St. Joseph has Harding Academy tonight before coming back home Thursday to compete against Atkins, which has given the Lady Bulldogs their only conference loss and leads the league.

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Lady Bulldog golfers earn return trip to state tournament

By Wynrick Smothers, Hunter Brooks and Abigail Hodgson

UCA Sportswriting

The St. Joseph Lady Bulldogs are headed to the Class 2A State Golf Tournament for the first time since 2011 after winning the 3-2A District Tournament at The Links at Cadron Valley on Monday afternoon.

Led by senior Melissa Hambuchen, who earned medalist honors with five-over-par 40, St. Joseph turned in a team score of 155, followed by Conway Christian, 203; Bigelow, 205; and Abundant Life, 215.

The top two teams will move on to the Class 2A State Tournament on Wednesday, Oct. 2, at Greystone Country Club in Cabot.

St. Joseph coach Chris Kordsmeier said he was pleased that his team would return to the state tournament after finishing third in the district tournament last year.

“It’s nice because you always want to have a chance to go to the state tournament,” Kordsmeier said. “It’s your ultimate goal as a team, and this year the girls did real well and I’m very proud of them. They’re very excited about getting the chance to go play at Cabot next week.”

Lady Bulldog junior Caroline Dail finished second overall with 52.

“Melissa and Caroline have been real consistent all year long,” Kordsmeier said. “All of the girls, for that matter, have been, and today’s score was right in their range, so hopefully they can put one more good round together for state next week.”

Other St. Joe scores were senior Savannah Covington, 63, and junior Isabella Hartman, 73. The low three scores for each school counted for team purposes.

Hambuchen earned all-state honors last year.

“Melissa’s been real strong all year and I’m real proud of her effort,” Kordsmeier said. “She practices hard and works hard. Caroline, Savannah and Isabella are all first-year players, so that’s really good that they will get a chance to go out and play (in the state tournament).”

Bigelow’s Cyndey Tubbs (56) and Madison Smothers (65), Abundant Life’s Ashleigh Batte (63) and Quitman’s Michalea Ball (67) qualified as individuals for the state tournament.

Lady Bulldogs sweep Rosebud for third win of week

By Wynrick Smothers

UCA Sportswriting

The St. Joseph Lady Bulldogs swept the Rosebud Lady Ramblers in three sets Thursday after a minor scare in the last one.

With the 25-12, 25-13, 25-23 win, the Lady Bulldogs improved to 8-2 overall, 5-1 in the 3A-Central conference.

Afterward, Lady Bulldog Coach Luke Davis said the focus of his team isn’t always what it needs to be.

“We played OK,” he said. “When you get a big margin like we had, it’s very easy to lose focus. You can’t expect the other team just to lie down. They came out in the third game and played hard. They gained confidence from our mistakes, and we just kind of basically did what we had to do.”

In the third set, the Lady Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead with junior Madeline Moix serving for all six points.

Not long after, Lady Rambler Harley Mariner led Rosebud to four straight points and kept her team within striking distance.

Rosebud’s biggest lead came toward the middle of the set, 17-14, but it was not long before the Lady Bulldogs rallied back to take the lead. A couple of late errors ultimately led the Lady Ramblers to their fate.

As the third set was coming to an end, seniors Sydney Spradlin and Meagan Briggler helped boost their team to victory. Spradlin is coming off a great conference match against Mayflower where she accounted for 20 digs and served for 19 points. Davis added that Briggler is one of his better hitters and his main kill threat.

All in all, Davis was happy with a win, but he also felt the need for improvement for future matches.

“When it’s a conference game that’s what we’ll take,” he said. “It’s a win, but we need to clean it up for the big picture.”

The Lady Bulldogs are currently second in conference play with their only loss to No. 1 Atkins. The Lady Bulldogs are perfect on the week in conference play, previously defeating Riverview and Mayflower.

After the Panther Power Jam in Greenbrier on Saturday, the Lady Bulldogs will play host to Perryville on Tuesday, Sept. 24 and then be looking for revenge against Atkins at home next Thursday, Sept. 26.

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Lady Bulldogs improve to 7-2 overall, 4-1 in conference play

By Hunter Brooks

UCA Sportswriting

The St. Joseph Lady Bulldogs swept the Mayflower Lady Eagles, 3-0, Wednesday in Mayflower.

St. Joseph coach Luke Davis spoke on the importance of the road victory.

“It was a big win for us,” Davis said. “Mayflower’s one of the best teams in our conference. We’re all trying to get that No. 1 seed for the district tournament and win conference. To come down here at their place and win, especially in three games, is huge. I’m very proud of the girls.”

The Lady Bulldogs (7-2, 4-1 in the 3A-Central) were led by senior libero Sydney Spradlin in the 25-13, 25-15, 25-14 victory.

Spradlin accounted for 20 digs and served for 19 points.

“This is Sydney’s second year as libero,” Davis said. “She can be a very good passer, and I’ve just had to stress that fact to her. She’s starting to come into her own, and her leadership on defense has improved. I want her to mainly focus on passing, but she’s also done a great job of coming in and getting us some points off her serves so that’s a bonus.”

The Lady Bulldogs started the first game behind 6-3 before rallying to take a 16-12 lead. Spradlin served a 7-0 run to extend the lead to 23-12, putting Game 1 out of reach.

Spradlin also led an 8-0 run in Game 2 that saw St. Joseph go from 7-3 to leading, 11-7. The Lady Bulldogs would extend their lead to 18-10 before winning the game.

Junior utility player Holly Rega started the third game with two kills, leading St. Joseph to a quick 7-0 lead. The Lady Eagles would pull to within 11-7 before the Lady Bulldogs closed the match with a 14-7 run.

Senior setter Rachel Briggler recorded 11 assists in the match, with five in the second game.

“Rachel’s my main setter,” Davis said. “Rachel does a great job of not just setting any of the balls in the middle but also hustling to keep any ball off the floor.”

Senior utility player Linzy Hoelzeman added 11 digs and two kills while senior utility player Madison Seiter contributed eight digs and three kills.

St. Joseph plays host to Rosebud tonight before heading to Greenbrier for the Panther Power Jam on Saturday.

Lady Bulldogs begin busy week with sweep

By Abigail Hodgson

UCA Sportswriting

The St. Joseph Lady Bulldog volleyball team began its week Monday by sweeping Riverview, 25-6, 25-8, 25-20.

After dominating the first two sets, Coach Luke Davis decided to try out new formations.

“We’re in a tournament this weekend and a couple of girls will miss the first (match) because they are taking the ACT,” he said. “So I tried a couple of different rotations and gave other girls some more playing time.”

Davis pointed out key players Madeline Moix and Rachel Briggler for dominating the service line. St. Joseph is now 4-1 in the 3A-Central conference and 6-2 overall.

The Lady Bulldogs will continue conference play on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at Mayflower. Junior varsity will begin at 4 p.m. and varsity will follow.

Davis mentioned how important a road win this needs to be.

“All we’re focused on is Mayflower right now,” he said. “Last year we went down there and they beat us. This is a big conference (match).”

With three conference matches and a tournament this week, Davis is stressing to his team how important it is to focus on one at a time.

The Lady Bulldogs return home Thursday to host Rosebud with junior varsity beginning at 5 p.m.

“We will focus on Rosebud right after Mayflower ends,” Davis said.

St. Joseph will then play Saturday in the Panther Power Jam at Greenbrier. The Lady Bulldogs will open pool play at 11 a.m. against Jacksonville.

Last week’s scheduled match at Harding Academy has been rescheduled for Sept. 25.

Lady Bulldogs sweep Conway Christian in 3

By Hunter Brooks

UCA Sportswriting

The St. Joseph Lady Bulldogs swept the Conway Christian Lady Eagles 3-0 Tuesday at the St. Joseph Family Activity Center.

St. Joseph coach Luke Davis was happy with the serving but still feels the team can improve. 

“We didn’t miss too many hits tonight,” Davis said. “But we have got to have more hitting opportunities. Our great serving limited that for the most part, but when we had chances, we had some free balls and tips that I would like to see get cleaned up.”

The Lady Bulldogs (4-1, 3-1 in the 3A-Central) were led by junior middle hitter Madeline Moix in the 25-13, 25-10, 25-8 win.

St. Joseph scored 26 points on Moix's serve including 14 in the first game. Moix also contributed seven kills and 10 digs. 

"Madeline’s a girl that has a lot of potential,” Davis said. “She started the season struggling a bit, but she’s one of my go-to girls that I know is going to work things out and she did tonight. I was hoping she would have a big night tonight and she did. She can be just as strong on the net. She didn’t show much of that tonight but I’ll take anything I can get from her. She served the ball very well tonight.”

After starting Game 1 down 0-2, Moix served for five straight points. The Lady Eagles closed the gap to 13-10 before Moix served the Lady Bulldogs to a 9-0 run that included three aces.

Moix served St. Joseph to a 5-0 lead in the second game and closed with another 5-0 run.

Davis said the team has struggled with leads in the past and wanted to make sure the team stayed focused for the third game.

“I told them that we are going out here for this third game and act like it’s the game to go to the state tournament,” Davis said. “We have to win it so we have to stay focused. That’s been a problem in the past where we have won the first two games and we lose a little focus and make mental mistakes, but they did a great job with it tonight.”

With the third game tied 2-2, senior libero Sydney Spradlin served a 13-0 run to put the game out of reach.

Spradlin had 12 digs during the match, including five in the second game. Senior setter Rachel Briggler led the Lady Bulldogs with 10 assists while senior outside hitter Meagan Briggler had seven kills and four digs and senior Madison Seiter contributed with five kills and five digs.

St. Joseph will next play in a tournament hosted by Vilonia High School on Saturday, Sept. 14.

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St. Joseph golf teams look for more consistency before state

By Wynrick Smothers

UCA Sportswriting

Conway St. Joseph has always been one of the better Class 2A golf programs in the state, but Coach Chris Kordsmeier feels as if his teams need to step it up a bit.

After shooting 131, St. Joseph boys placed fourth Tuesday in a close match at The Links at Cadron Valley behind Bigelow (127), Morrilton (128) and Greenbrier (130).

Landon Enderlin, returning 2012 state runner-up, shot two-under par 33.

“Landon looked real good out there today,” Kordsmeier said. “He is our senior medalist and he plays like it. We still lack consistency among the other players. I have 10 on the team as of now; I’m looking for three other players to take to the state tournament because ultimately we need four good ones.”

As for the girls, Kordsmeier was pleased with the play of returning senior Melissa Hambuchen, who was all-state last season and finished with 43. Caroline Dail, a newcomer, looked pretty good as well Tuesday, finishing second.

“Melissa and Caroline both played well today, which I was very pleased with,” Kordsmeier said.

Still remaining for the Bulldogs before post-season play are matches at Greystone in Cabot on Wednesday Sept. 11; Cadron Valley on Tuesday Sept. 17; and Red Apple Inn at Heber Springs on Sept.19.

Tough week ahead for Lady Bulldogs

By Abigail Hodgson

UCA Sportswriting

The St. Joseph Lady Bulldog volleyball team is in the midst of a challenging week as it prepares for a tournament at Vilonia.

St. Joseph, which finished third in the 3A-Central conference and district last year, swept league foe Conway Christian on Tuesday to improve to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in conference play.

Coach Luke Davis, in his seventh season, hopes the leadership on his roster leads the team to victory this week. With six returning starters, including five seniors, he believes the talent level is there.

“So far, it has been a little more sloppy than I’d like,” Davis said Monday. “The good thing about the seniors is that they know that as well. They know some of the things we need to work on and fix.”

The returning senior starters from 2012 include 5-foot-8 outside hitter Meagan Briggler, 5-5 setter Rachel Briggler, 5-7 utility player Madison Seiter, 5-6 utility player Linzy Hoelzmann and 5-6 utility player Sydney Spradlin.

Madeline Moix, a 5-9 junior, returns as a middle hitter. Holley Rega is a 5-7 sophomore utility returnee.

Heading into the Conway Christian match, Davis said his team was focused.

“Neither of us wants to lose,” he said. “But around here we try to play against them as any other conference match. That’s what I stressed to the girls at practice (Monday).”

The Lady Bulldogs’ match at Harding Academy on Thursday will be rescheduled.

“They have been a good team, and for the most part we have also had a pretty good team over the years,” Davis said Monday. “We haven’t specifically targeted them in practice yet.”

On Saturday the Lady Bulldogs travel to Vilonia to begin tournament matches against Beebe at 9 a.m. Depending on the result, they will face either Vilonia or Heber Springs in the second round.

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