Holy Cross finished second in the All “A” state volleyball tournament, falling 2-1 (17-25, 26-24, 25-18) to the Paintsville Tigers (24-2).
The Indians are now 20-3 on the season.
Holy Cross fell behind 14-8 in the first game but rallied behind two kills from junior middle blocker Julia Hunt. The Indians scored seven straight to go up 24-16 including one Hunt kill that came when freshman defensive specialist/setter Olivia McHenry made a nice save to the right side. Junior middle hitter Camille Lowe landed a kill on an assist from senior setter Maya Hunt to end the first game.
The second game stayed pretty even. Holy Cross took control with Julia Hunt at the net. The Indians led 23-17 but could not put away the final two points and bring home the crown.
“We started out slow,” said Jill Hunt, Holy Cross head coach. “We were down in that first game and then all of a sudden, we just decided to show up and play. My big thing is everyone needs to do their job including the kids on the bench who are jumping up and down screaming. We just have to be able to execute when we need to execute. I feel at the end of that second game, they played to win and we played not to lose.”
The Tigers scored six straight points before a net serve gave Holy Cross a 24-22 advantage. After another Tiger kill trimmed the lead to 24-23, the Indians hit one into the net to tie the game at 24. Paintsville senior Blair Ratliff landed two kills to give the Tigers the game.
“They utilized (Ratliff) a lot. Even with a double block and a triple block, we just couldn’t get our hands up fast enough to stop her,” Maya Hunt said. “But after our loss to Notre Dame on Thursday, we did a nice job bouncing back Friday and started off super strong. I think we continued to do that throughout the weekend. I guess at the end, we didn’t have enough gas to keep going. All the way through here, we worked our tails off to get where we were. We couldn’t finish it. But I’m super proud of my team.”
Holy Cross fell behind 9-5 entering the third game and never recovered. The Indians trimmed the margin to 18-16 at one point but the Tigers scored five in a row to go up 23-16 and finished it with a senior Kara Ward kill.
Paintsville won the All “A” State Volleyball Tournament for the first time in school history. Head Coach Dawn Kinner is a 2000 Campbell County graduate and the aunt of Camel freshman volleyball and softball player Faith Whitford.
“We got on a run there and one thing we say is take that momentum and roll into set three,” Kinner said. “We have five seniors and they wanted everybody just to play to their max potential. We did it for them. Kara Ratliff played one of the best games she’s played her whole career.”
Holy Cross knocked off Bishop Brossart, 2-0 (25-8, 25-10) on Saturday morning to conclude Pool C play and earn the top seed in the quarterfinals. The Indians then beat Whitesville Trinity, 2-0 (26-24, 25-19) and Louisville Presentation, 2-0 (25-21, 25-17) to make it to the title game.
Holy Cross had 96 kills, 72 assists all from Maya Hunt, 17 blocks and 114 digs. Julia Hunt had 61 kills with seniors Rylee Hood and Natalie Bessler recording 39 and 28 digs respectively. Maya Hunt, Julia Hunt and Lowe made the all-tournament team.
Bishop Brossart (11-8) downed Todd County Central, 2-0 (25-17, 25-20) then University Heights, 2-1 (25-12, 24-26, 25-16) to make it to the consolation bracket championship game where the Mustangs lost 2-0 (25-14, 25-12) to Somerset Christian.
“We’re still working on finding our rhythm and consistency within our line-up,” said Bree Velasquez, Bishop Brossart head coach. “We’re hoping to build confidence in our hitting and defense before facing Scott and Harrison County this week.”
Bishop Brossart goes to Harrison County on Tuesday for a 6:30 p.m. game. Holy Cross is scheduled to play in the Cake Classic at Highlands starting Friday.
Other Volleyball Scores
Highlands Latin 2 (25-22, 25-15), Heritage Academy 0
Heritage Academy 2 (21-25, 25-19, 15-9), Frankfort Christian 1
Heritage Academy 2 (25-16, 25-15), Oneida Baptist Institute 0
Boys Soccer
Frederick Douglass 3, Dixie Heights 0
The Broncos (10-0-2) downed the Colonels (11-2-1) in a showdown in Lexington.
Dixie Heights senior Braden Blackburn and Frederick Douglass senior Zach Butler had two saves each.
Junior Logan Atkinson scored the game’s first goal with 1:52 left in the first half. The Colonels could not clear the ball.
Dixie Heights nearly tied the game when senior Bennett Gerak hit one toward the goal but it rolled wide.
“We had a big week this week,” said Trey Crone, Dixie Heights head coach. “This was going to be a guideline for where we stand in the state of Kentucky. We know we are competing with the top teams in our region. They’re a good team. They’re big, physical and strong. They have some skilled players. They converted their chances. We didn’t convert ours.”
Dixie Heights travels to Covington Catholic (6-8) on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. game.
Highlands 4, Montgomery County 3
The Bluebirds (8-4-2) won their fourth in a row when senior forward Colin Pieper hit a free kick with around 20 seconds left.
“If there’s a guy you want on the ball at clutch times, Colin Pieper usually comes through and he did again,” said Brandon Ponchak, Highlands head coach. “That was huge, especially on Senior Night for us.”
Pieper and senior forward Casey Stiles scored two goals each. Senior defender Ashton Foley and senior midfielder Dash Macke had one assist each. Piper has 17 goals on the season. Senior goalkeeper Connor Mathis had six saves.
“We just have to keep our focus,” Stiles said. “We just have to clean up our mistakes because we’re a good team. The only thing that’s stopping us is ourselves.”
Highlands plays host to Simon Kenton (6-6-2) on Tuesday. Game time is 8 p.m.
Other Boys Soccer Scores
Cincinnati Moeller 2, Covington Catholic 0
Gallatin County 4, Holmes 0
Holy Cross 5, Calvary Christian 0
Ryle 2, Grant County 0
Beechwood 3, South Dearborn (Indiana) 2
Girls Soccer
Notre Dame 5, St. Henry 1
The Pandas (11-3-1) downed the Crusaders (7-3-2) in 9th Region play.
Sophomore Riley Robertson had a hat trick of three goals in the win. Senior Ellie Greenwell and junior Hannah Knapke scored the other goals.
Senior midfielder Mandy Schlueter scored the lone goal for the Crusaders and sophomore Chloe Shea had the assist. Schlueter has 22 goals.
Both teams return to action Monday. Notre Dame travels to Campbell County (8-3-5) and St. Henry plays at Dixie Heights (6-6-3) at 8 p.m.
Other Girls Soccer Scores
Dixie Heights 0, Simon Kenton 0
Highlands 5, Lafayette 1
Covington Latin 5, Dayton 2
Gallatin County 2, Holmes 1
Holy Cross 10, Boone County 0
Beechwood 1, Lawrenceburg (Indiana) 1
Newport Central Catholic 2, Bishop Brossart 1
Assumption 8, Ryle 0