Scott junior Milyn Minor called Thursday’s 10th Region volleyball final against Bishop Brossart “powerful.”
Eagles coach Andrea Sullivan chose a different adjective: special.
A 12-letter noun was the best description: championship. Scott dropped the first set and rebounded to take down the Lady ‘Stangs, 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 25-22, 25-11), at Bracken County High School.
Next for the Eagles: 12th Region winner West Jessamine in the first round of the state tournament Monday in Taylor Mill. Start times were not available.
Scott (29-11) won its sixth 10th Region title – the others were from 2014-2017 and 2020. Moreover, the Eagles beat the Lady ‘Stangs for the third time this year and ride a 12-game winning streak into Monday’s match against the Colts.
“Man, you know this is probably one of the most special ones because of all the hard work that we all put in,” Sullivan said.
No wonder Minor spent a joyful supine few minutes on the floor.
“It was more of an excitement, you know?” Minor said. “You’re going to state and you’re hosting the first round. It’s a great feeling.”
Minor was a large part of the reason Scott is still playing—she had 20 kills and six blocks. Of course, she was not the only reason: Ryann Grigsby added 34 assists, her sister Payton had seven kills, and Elise Manhardt added 20 digs.
Brossart finished at 26-12. Lady ‘Stangs coach Danielle French considered the season a success.
“We’ve beaten teams that the program has not beaten in 10 years,” French said. “The last time that Brossart beat Holy Cross was in 2014, the last time Brossart beat Dixie (Heights) was in 2014. Brossart’s never taken Highlands to five sets before. We won the (Newport Central Catholic) game, that was the Breast Cancer game. We beat Campbell County twice this season.”
Brossart senior Kate Neltner and sophomore Chloe Hershey gave Scott early problems. Hershey’s block, Neltner’s kill and Hershey’s two aces helped close out the first set with a 6-0 run.
“Sullivan kept telling us to face the adversity and get through it, and we did exactly that,” Manhardt said.
Whatever Sullivan, the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association 10th Region Coach of the Year, told her team between sets worked. Scott ran away to a 13-3 advantage.
Photo slideshow below, provided by Charles Bolton:
Two sequences were especially noteworthy. Minor (the region KVCA Player of the Year) and Ryann Grigsby blocked Neltner to give Scott an 8-1 lead, and when Minor’s serve forced a weak return, Brooklyn Helm tapped down the easy winner for a 12-2 advantage.
“I think the turning point was, we all … just lost the fire, we lost the energy, and we didn’t come out with the same aggression as we did the first set,” Neltner said.
A textbook bump-set-spike – Ryann Grigsby to Manhardt to Minor – gave Scott a seemingly stress-free 16-9 third-set lead. Except that it wasn’t – Aubrey Rebholz’s tap over a block capped a 13-7 run and pulled Brossart to with 23-22.
Scott survived because of Payton Grigsby’s kill and Minor’s block.
There was little suspense in the fourth set. Jaeda Menfee’s block gave the Eagles an 18-6 lead.
Minor explained why she chose “powerful” as her adjective.
“We’ve been through a lot, but we come together at the end, and we’re powerful,” she said. “Every single one of us has a key part.”
