The Holy Cross Indians volleyball team (10-1 overall) came in as favorites to repeat as September Slam Tournament champions at Scott.
The Indians did not disappoint winning all five games for the second straight year. Not only did Holy Cross do that, the Indians have not lost any of the 20 sets they’ve played at the tournament over the past two years. They faced Southwestern and Campbell County on Friday and Head Coach Jill Hunt said each team provided unique challenges.
“We faced some tough competition this weekend,” Hunt said. “Southwestern did a great job with ball-placement. We struggled with it some. But we made some adjustments there and ultimately came through.”
The Indians met the host Scott Eagles (13-2) in the title game winning it 25-20, 25-9. Holy Cross recorded 18 kills, 17 assists, three blocks and 13 aces in the win.
Junior 6-foot-2-inch middle blocker Julia Hunt led the way with 13 kills, one block and two aces. Senior setter Maya Hunt had 17 assists and two aces and senior outside hitter Rylee Hood three kills and five aces.
Scott had nine kills, eight assists, six blocks and four aces. Senior Makaylah Mitchell had three kills and two blocks with senior Lexi Rogers recording three blocks and two aces. Freshman Milyn Minor had four kills and senior setter Audrey Griffin had eight assists.
“When people come and cheer me on, it gets me fired because I know they have my trust for me to kill it on the first time,” Julia Hunt said. “Sometimes when the set was too low and the block was up at the same time, I would have to tip around (Mitchell and Minor) because if I did full swing, they had the chance to block me.”
But a number of players set them up such as senior Natalie Bessler and junior Olivia Gangwish as defensive specialists. The Indians had some issues with serve reception in the first game, but not the second one allowing Julia Hunt, Hood and even junior middle blocker Camille Lowe and senior Nejai Lewis to control the net.
“When everyone works together, you can see it on the court,” Gangwish said. “It’s being prepared. You really want to have a desire for the ball instead of being like, ‘I hope she doesn’t serve to me.’ You want to be like, ‘I have that pass. I’m going to get it to my setter and she’s going to make that play.”
The teams had a tight battle in the first game. Scott tied it 19-19 following two Rogers aces. But Holy Cross led 21-19 after a Julia Hunt ace prompting a Scott timeout. But after a Minor kill, Hood landed a kill and led 23-20 after a Scott dig out of bounds. But following another Scott timeout, Maya Hunt landed an ace then set up Julia Hunt for the game-ending kill.
“We’re really just looking at how we have a strong hitter on the outside so we’re just really working on hitting that then making sure our blocking is good,” Minor said. “Then we’re adjusting our defense to make sure that it’s there to get the pass. It’s hard to get (Holy Cross) out of the system. You have to make sure you place the serves in the seams in the right spots.”
Holy Cross downed Campbell County, 2-0 (25-18, 25-20) to finish pool play at Woodland Middle School in the morning. The Indians then knocked off 35th District rival Beechwood, 2-0 (25-14, 25-11) in the semifinals to make it back to the title game.
“A big part of our offense is our defense,” Hood said. “Our defense is always talking to our hitters. They help us figure out what’s open, where we need to hit our shots. Everyone is working together. The energy is great. It’s just so much fun being out there with everybody.”
Julia Hunt started off the second set with two kills including one on a block to put Holy Cross up 4-1. Bessler then landed three aces to put the Indians up 7-3. The Indians five more aces including three from Hood finishing the game with a 5-0 run. Julia Hunt landed a kill to finish off the crown.
“We did some good things in the first set,” said Andrea Sullivan, Scott head coach. “We just didn’t take advantage of the times Julia Hunt was not in the front row. Ultimately, they overpowered us. It was a good tournament on the whole. The only disappointment was the way we played that second game in the championship. We just didn’t play our best.”
Scott completed the 3-0 through pool play with a 2-0 (25-17, 25-15) win over Boone County (3-12), which finished 0-5 in the tournament. The Eagles downed Newport Central Catholic, 2-0 (25-23, 25-20) in the tournament semifinals. Mitchell has given teams fits all seasons finding ways to hit around blockers.
“You have to make sure your defense talks to you number one,” Mitchell said. “Number two, I get really high above the blocks so I can see down. You just have to know where to place the ball when you have a triple block.”
Beechwood (7-6) finished third in the tournament knocking off Newport Central Catholic, 2-0 (25-22, 25-20). The Tigers had 19 kills, 16 assists, five blocks and six aces in the win.
“We played well this tournament,” said Carly Smith, Beechwood Head Coach. “The only team we struggled with was Holy Cross. I think we were in our own heads that game. But we came out swinging against NewCath and gave them a good game. A lot of the things we learned from the night before, we fixed (Saturday) and we showed who we are.”
Senior defensive specialist Lily Davis dug a number of balls up allowing senior setter Reagen Ramey to set up the hitters with nine assists. Davis had two aces and freshman Piper Steinmentz had three.
“I think the first most important thing in the game is to get a good pass so you can get a good set and swing on it,” Davis said. “You mostly have to have the mindset. You have to want the ball and go for it. If you put your mind to it, you can get any ball that you want if it’s close enough.”
The Beechwood hitters did their thing. Senior outside hitter and defensive specialist Katie Rolf and freshman Isabel Baaker had six kills each with eighth grader Isabel O’Brien making four kills.
“I feel like we’re a very young team,” Rolf said. “We have a ton of young hitters that will grow up to be phenomenal. With them on the team, it’s just going to continue to be the Beechwood way of being a sisterhood and just play as a team.”
The Thoroughbreds had 16 kills, 15 assists and three blocks. Junior Kori Reckers had three kills, 12 assists and one block for NewCath. Sophomore Caroline Eaglin had eight kills and one assist with sophomore Reese McCloskey blocking two balls.
Beechwood and Newport Central Catholic had to win their final pool play games Saturday morning to make it to the Gold Bracket. Beechwood edged Highlands (4-6), 2-1 (21-25, 25-15, 15-13) and NewCath knocked off Southwestern (8-4), 2-1 (19-25, 25-20, 17-15).
NewCath (7-6) also beat old 10th Region rival Campbell County in pool play action. The Thoroughbreds have won 7 of 10 since an 0-3 start against tough 9th Region competition.
“The coaching staff and I made a decision this week to change to a 5-1 offense,” said Angie Reckers, NewCath Head Coach. “I think that really set the tone coming into our first tournament weekend. We wanted more identified roles, a faster offense that we’re trying to work with right now and we’re having more success in the front row with blocking. They understood that. They worked hard and they executed.”
Reckers pointed out a huge momentum switch in the semifinal loss to Scott. The Thoroughbreds led 9-2 before the Eagles rallied. Scott gained momentum after refs took a few minutes to sort out a call. Reckers said the Thoroughbreds have made progress with mental toughness.
“I think taking every piece of advice that our coach gives us and executing it to the fullest extent is a way we can really keep going,” said Annika Obert, NewCath senior middle hitter. “I think we’re on an incline with success. We just have to keep it up. Don’t give up.”
Campbell County (3-6) may not have won any games in pool play. But the Camels came back to beat Highlands, 2-0 (25-20, 26-24) then Southwestern, 2-0 (25-17, 25-22) to win the Silver championship.
“I do hope that they grow from this,” said Mitzi Jones, Southwestern Head Coach. “We did play some tough competition. Holy Cross, Campbell County and Newport Central Catholic are all really tough, competitive teams. It does our team some good to not see the same teams in district and region over and over. Playing teams at a higher level is going to help us get to the next level I feel like.”
Jones said Southwestern could not stop the two Campbell County junior 6-0 middle hitters in Emma Manser and Lexi Scharold. Jones said they hit around the Southwestern blocks.
Volleyball
St. Henry goes 4-2 in Nike Tournament of Champions:
The defending state champion Crusaders (9-3) went 3-0 on the second day of the Nike Tournament of Champions National Division placing 17th out of 32 teams. The tournament took place at the Wiregrass Ranch Sports Campus in Wesley Chapel, Florida.
“Every game was tight,” Kaiser said. “They just buckled down and just tried to focus on the task at hand. They didn’t get nervous or iffy when the other team pulled ahead by two. They kind of were calm, composed and trusted in teach other. We only brought 10 on the trip. We played eight and we used the two when we needed to just for a little help and stayed together.”
St. Henry used just one setter, Macy Lentz, instead of two. Kaiser said that seemed to make a difference on the second day. St. Henry downed three Florida teams in Pensacola Catholic, 2-0 (25-22, 25-15), Seacrest Country Day, 2-0 (29-27, 25-20) then Winter Park, 2-1 (16-25, 25-23, 16-14).
“I think this whole trip has helped us come together and learn where our weak spots are, what we need to work on for (the rest) of the season and be the best that we can be,” said Sam Lewis, St. Henry senior middle blocker. “This was great for team bonding because we have a lot of newer girls to varsity who have never played together before. It was kind of difficult for us to step up. But the juniors have been a huge help. Three of them have been on varsity since their freshmen years.”
St. Henry takes on South Oldham (8-4) on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Simon Kenton earns first victory
The Pioneers ventured to Collins to face the Titans and Shelby County for two games. Simon Kenton (1-8) knocked off Shelby County, 2-0 (25-5, 25-17) and lost to Collins, 2-0 (25-20, 25-21).
Against Collins, Simon Kenton had 23 kills, six blocks, 22 assists, 26 digs and two aces. Junior hitter Alisha Hawkins had six kills, two blocks and seven digs. Junior Sadie Rehkamp had 19 assists with junior Sophie Spanier recording nine digs.
Against Shelby County, Simon Kenton had 29 kills, three blocks, 25 assists, 19 digs and 11 aces. Sophomore Keira Hans had six aces and six digs. Rehkamp had 23 assists and Hawkins had 14 kills and two aces.
Simon Kenton plays host to Oldham County (3-4) on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
Girls soccer
The Conner Cougars (9-3-1 overall) downed the Beechwood Tigers (6-3-1), 3-0 on Saturday. Junior Caitlyn Kenny, freshman Ariel Brogan and junior Ella Mann had the Cougar goals. Junior Taryn Hubbard had the assist. Sophomore goalkeeper Ally Welch had four saves.
Senior Lynden Noll had 15 saves at goalkeeper for the Tigers.
Conner plays at Ryle (1-5-1) on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. Beechwood plays host to Bishop Brossart (4-3-1) on the same day for a 7:30 p.m. game.
Campbell County 0, Highlands 0
The Camels (5-2-3) and Bluebirds (4-4-2) tied in the county rivalry game. Senior Isabella Moreno recorded four saves at goalkeeper for Highlands and senior Morgan Rawe had six for Campbell County.
Campbell County travels to Cincinnati (Ohio) McNicholas for a 7:15 p.m. game on Tuesday. Highlands starts the annual Lexington Catholic Cup on Monday at 6 p.m. against Lexington Dunbar (3-4-2).
Other Girls Soccer Scores:
Brebeuf Jesuit Prep (Indiana) 1, Notre Dame 0
Cooper 10, Christian County 0
Holy Cross 6, Graves County 0
Holy Cross 6, Owensboro 0
Bishop Brossart 10, Paris 0
Boys Soccer Scores:
Conner 1, Scott 0 (forfeit)
Bishop Brossart 6, Paris 0
Football note
Dayton running back continues to thrive:
Green Devil senior running back Landyn Hopper rushed for 251 yards on 18 carries in Dayton’s 42-14 win at Western Hills on Friday. Hopper has 662 yards on 54 carries and 10 touchdowns for an average of more than 12 yards per carry.
Dayton travels to Estill County (2-1) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.