Everyone in attendance at Newport High’s Stan Arnzen Sports Complex heard the sound that has unsurprisingly become a theme for the red and black this season just four serves into the Holy Cross-Villa Madonna volleyball game.
Holy Cross senior setter and Marshall University commit Maya Hunt sets the ball to junior middle hitter and sister Julia Hunt. Julia Hunt follows through then, bang!
The Holy Cross Indians (12-1) used that combination plus much more to win the All “A” 9th Region volleyball crown staying in system most of the game in the 2-0 (25-12, 25-15) victory over the Villa Madonna Vikings (11-2). The All “A” State Tournament takes place at Eastern Kentucky University on Sept. 16 and 17.
“I think Villa has done a great job this year,” said Jill Hunt, Holy Cross head coach. “They do have good control and good hitters. This has been a good season for them so I’m not going to lie. The serve, pass game was real important for us. On occasion, our passing is not great and they serve well. Getting up right away out of the gate made me a lot more comfortable knowing that we could control the game. Offensively, we’re going to be more powerful. But they were scrappy. They did a good job picking up some balls.”
Villa Madonna made it back to the All “A” 9th Region title game for the first time since 2010.
“We’re coming on and we’re very young,” said Sandi Kitchen, Villa Madonna head coach. “The Beechwood game (in the region quarterfinals) was good competition for us to see what we can do. I feel like getting this far was a true testament of their desire to play and to really want to be here. I feel like it prepares us for what’s ahead and that’s real important.”
Holy Cross pounded out 27 kills, 22 assists, 25 digs, two blocks and six aces unofficially. Tournament Most Valuable Player Maya Hunt had three kills on two setter dumps, 20 assists, nine digs, one block and two aces. Julia Hunt had 13 kills, one assist, five digs and one ace.
“We have worked really hard on that,” Jill Hunt said of focusing each and every serve. “We talk about regardless of who’s on the other side of the net, we have to focus on our side and make sure that we stay consistent. We have the ability to play a faster game than a lot of people in the region. So if we play that way, it will be harder for people to beat us. I think they really did a good job of that (Wednesday).”
But the Hunt sisters had the usual help. It started with nice serves. Junior right side hitter Luci Wurtz had two aces and senior defensive specialist Natalie Bessler had one to go with seven digs.
“Most of us have played club for a while so we’re used to serving where we’re supposed to,” Wurtz said. “We don’t let the crowd affect us. We probably could have talked a little more. But I think our defense did pretty well overall. We picked up a lot of balls.”
Julia Hunt may be the Indians’ main hitter. But senior outside hitter Rylee Hood has given opponents other things to think about. Hood had six kills with junior middle hitter Camille Lowe and senior outside/middle hitter Nejai Lewis tallying three and two kills respectively.
“I think that everybody’s accepted their roles very well,” Lowe said. “Even if they’re just coming in for one rotation, they work their hardest to do what they need to do on the court and bring everybody up. If they come in, they bring the best attitude they can to the court.”
Villa Madonna tried everything possible to disrupt the Holy Cross rhythm. Kitchen constantly substituted and even used all available timeouts. But the Vikings had no answer at the net for Julia Hunt and the other Holy Cross hitters.
“I feel like our blocks could have done more to at least get a contact on (the ball),” Kitchen said. “But we really weren’t getting to it. They were setting (Julia Hunt) quick and we were just not timing her up right. Our defense was not pulled in tight enough because she just puts it straight down. She’s a great player.”
Villa Madonna unofficially had 14 kills, 11 assists, 14 digs, two blocks and one ace. Sophomore setter Catherine Gifford had eight assists with junior outside hitter Joci Demler recording five kills.
Both teams return to action Thursday in 9th Region play at 7 p.m. Holy Cross plays host to Highlands (4-7) and Villa Madonna plays host to Boone County (4-13).
All-Tournament Team
Holy Cross: Maya Hunt (MVP), Julia Hunt, Rylee Hood, Natalie Bessler. Villa Madonna: Anna Popham, Maya Kondik, Maddie Mitchell. Newport Central Catholic: Kori Reckers, Camryn Kohrs. Dayton: Kierston Reynolds, Haylee Reynolds. Newport: DeAyjah White. Beechwood: Lily Davis. Ludlow: Mylee Garrett. Bellevue: Greer Hayes. Heritage: Ally Stone.
Volleyball
Dixie Heights 3, Scott 1
The Colonels (6-3 overall) dug deep and overcame the county rival Scott Eagles (13-3) by 22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 31-29 scores.
Dixie Heights has won six in a row after opening the season with three losses. The Colonels have knocked off two teams from the 37th District during the run.
“I am so proud of our team,” said Julie Kelly, Dixie Heights head coach. “They started out slow in the first game. Then the next three, we really pushed through, got more into system and played more our style of volleyball. I feel like we were kind of running around out of sync in the first set. I think we found our groove in the second game and continued it through the third and the fourth.”
Dixie had 54 kills, 50 assists, 12 aces, one block and 72 digs. Junior defensive specialist Christen Tarter had 20 kills and three aces. Senior hitter Maia Long had 27 kills and 14 digs. Junior hitter Maggie Best had 24 kills and 13 digs with freshman setter Maddie Kelly recording 42 assists and 11 digs. Junior Celia Wallace for placing the ball with six aces.
“We pulled it together in the end,” Tarter said. “You just have to take a deep breath and not feel intimidated. You have to lift each other up because if you get down, you just can’t play good volleyball.”
Dixie Heights knew it had to control the net against Scott senior Makaylah Mitchell and freshman Milyn Minor. Minor had 13 kills and Mitchell 11 with senior Lexi Rogers contributing five.
Senior Laine Morman had 19 digs to lead Scott. Minor had nine and sophomore Elise Manhardt had seven. Senior setter Audrey Griffin had 23 assists.
Scott travels to South Oldham (8-5) on Saturday at Noon. The next game on the Dixie Heights schedule is Sept. 13 at Campbell County (4-7) at 7:30 p.m.
Ryle 3, Great Crossing 2
The Raiders (7-2) overcame the defending 11th Region champion Warhawks (8-5) by 25-21, 11-25, 24-26, 25-19, 15-7 scores. Ryle came into the game ranked 13th in the latest statewide top-25 coaches poll and Great Crossing held the 20th spot.
“It was great to bounce back after the second set,” said Tasha Lovins, Ryle head coach. “They graduated nine seniors from last year. But they still have a nice team. They have a good setter and one nice middle (hitter). It was a long night.”
Ryle finished with 46 assists highlighted by senior setter Maddie Clark‘s 27 that pushed her above 1,000 for her career. The Raiders also had 84 digs, eight aces and 46 kills.
“I keep my composure throughout and I always encourage my teammates if they make a mistake like, ‘You got the next one,” Clark said. “We can’t change anything about the past so we look for the next point to get the ball back.”
Junior defensive specialist Alexis Woolf had 24 digs to lead Ryle. Junior Kiana Dinn had 18 kills and freshman Morgan Heater had eight aces.
Louisville plays in the Louisville Invitational Tournament over the weekend.
Other Volleyball Scores
Ludlow 2 (25-13, 25-16), Holmes 0
Campbell County 3 (19-25, 25-21, 25-15, 25-21), Boone County 1
Girls soccer
St. Henry 2, Campbell County 2
The Crusaders (6-1-2) and Camels (5-3-4) left with an even draw. But not before St. Henry senior standout midfielder Mandy Schlueter put up a shot in front of the net that Campbell County blocked in the game’s final minute.
“I think we were rested. I think we played well,” said Brian Bamberger, St. Henry head coach. “We’re seeing constant improvement, which is what we’re looking for. Things like effort and attitude are in our control.
Schlueter made her return after not playing the last three games nursing an injury. But the Ohio State University commit scored both goals bringing her total to 16 on the season to go with four assists.
“From being out from games for two and a half weeks, it felt great to be back,” Schlueter said. “We worked well as a team, especially in the first half to get those two goals. It felt great. I think that we can learn from this not dropping our intensity and winning every 50/50 ball moving forward. I think that will help us in the long run.”
Schlueter had one unassisted goal. Freshman Jayne Knollman had the other goal.
“This shows if you put the effort in, you get the reward,” said Dave Morris, Campbell County head coach. “I think Mandy is by far the best player that we’ve played against and we’ve played against a lot of good players. She was playing attacking (midfielder) so we had people rotating in marking her. But with her skill and speed, she was still able to get free multiple times. She’s an excellent player.”
St. Henry had 11 shots on frame to six for Campbell County. But that evened out at 5-5 in the second half. Senior Morgan Rawe had nine saves at goalkeeper for the Camels with senior Ella Thompson playing the first half and junior Avery Collins playing the second half at goalkeeper for the Crusaders combining for four saves.
Junior midfielder Valerie Stephens had one goal for Campbell County. But senior midfielder Ambria Poynter tied it in the second half on a nice pass from senior midfielder Jeanelle Frimpong-Mansoh.
“I could see (Frimpong-Mansoh) crossing it to me so I tried my hardest to get it in because we were down,” Poynter said. “It went in. I knew we wanted to show out. But we didn’t start doing well until (after halftime) so we put it all together at the end there.”
Campbell County travels to George Rogers Clark (8-3-1) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. St. Henry plays host to Conner (10-3-1) on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
Highlands 2, Simon Kenton 1
The Bluebirds (5-5-2) downed the Pioneers (7-3-3) in the consolation round of the Lexington Catholic Cup.
“It felt great to finally beat a team ranked in the Top 10. That’s for sure,” said Chris Norris, Highlands head coach. “It was a physical match so we had to come out and really trying to get it around them. We ended up having a pretty good first half. Our players came off the bench very well. I think we came together as a team. We shut down a team that used a lot speed up front. I think it’s really going to show for our confidence going forward.”
Highlands outshot Simon Kenton, 10-9. Freshman goalkeeper Natalie Hinegardner made nine saves and senior goalkeepers Olivia York had five saves for the Pioneers.
Senior Anna Melson had one goal with an assist from junior Kate Jamie. Junior Claire Cavacini had a goal on an assist from freshman Reece Wilkins. Senior Bella Moreno moved back to defense for the Bluebirds.
“I think our defense did pretty well,” Moreno said. “We connected passes and got the ball up to our midfielders. I think we did well trying to keep Simon Kenton away from our goalie.”
Freshman forward Ella Smith scored the Simon Kenton goal and junior Cam Ruble had the assist. That is Smith’s fifth goal of the season.
Both teams finish play in the LexCath Cup on Saturday. Simon Kenton plays the loser of the Dixie Heights and Manual game at 1 p.m. Highlands plays the winner of that game at 3 p.m.
Holy Cross 5, Newport Central Catholic 3
The Indians (8-2) downed the host Thoroughbreds (3-7) in 9th Region action.
Seniors Rylee Veneman and Sydney Quercioli had two goals each and Quercioli added an assist. Junior Ivy Hoffman had the other goal with freshman Georgia Fisk adding an assist.
Holy Cross plays twice on Saturday in the Smoky Mountain Classic in Gatlinburg (Tennessee). The first game is at 9 a.m. against Murfreesboro (Tennessee) Siegel.
Conner 5, Ryle 1
The Cougars hit the double-digit win mark at 10-3-1 with the 33rd District seed win over the Raiders (1-6-1). Conner is 2-0 in district seed play and Ryle is 0-2.
Conner outshot Ryle, 18-7. Sophomore Ally Welch had five saves for the Cougars.
Freshman forward Ariel Brogan had one goal and one assist on freshman Cayley Eilers‘ goal. Senior Breanna Maidens assisted Brogan’s goal.
Junior midfielder Ella Mann scored her team-high seventh goal of the season and junior Caitlyn Kenny assisted it. Sophomore forward Milana Arevalo and junior defender Laurel Frazier had the other two Conner goals with senior Juliet Strange recording an assist.
Conner takes on Cincinnati (Ohio) Country Day on Saturday at 10 a.m. in Hebron. Ryle plays Cabell (West Virginia) Midland at 8:40 p.m. Friday at the Rocky Top Sports World Field 1 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
Other Girls Soccer Scores
Bishop Brossart 1, Beechwood 1
Cooper 10, Boone County 0
Bellevue 2, Holmes 1
Villa Madonna 7, Ludlow 1
Boys Soccer Score
Grant County 1, Simon Kenton 0
