Tasha Lovins could not recall it ever happening before.
Ryle’s volleyball coach talked about the eight seniors from Northern Kentucky being among the state’s 25 best in the PrepDig.com rankings.
“There were some years that we definitely had some really good athletes come out of Northern Kentucky,” Lovins said. “I definitely don’t remember there being eight of them altogether.”
Holy Cross middle blocker Julia Hunt, who is headed to the University of Washington, tops the list.
You can find another four on St. Henry’s campus at the corner of Donaldson Road and Scheben Drive in Erlanger. Outside hitter Alivia Skidmore is second, outside hitter Elizabeth Tabeling is fourth, setter/outside hitter Macy Lentz is 15th, and middle blocker Anna Guard is 20th.
Ryle has two – outside hitter Kiana Dinn is eighth and libero Lexi Woolf is 24th. NewCath setter Kori Reckers is 25th.
“This group is a special group; they’ve worked super hard over the years,” said Julia Hunt’s mom, Jill Hunt, who is also Holy Cross’ coach and director of the Northern Kentucky Volleyball Club in Wilder.
NewCath coach Angie Reckers said having so many local players is “unusual,” but she’s not surprised.
“Hopefully it’s something that’s gonna become the norm with the growing talent in the Northern Kentucky area,” Reckers said. “Kentucky’s always been a strong state competing nationally for volleyball, but you typically see it in the Louisville area. Eight this year is fantastic. It’s no surprise to me because the Northern Kentucky area is loaded with talent this year.”
For Hunt, Skidmore, Tabeling and Dinn, the state rankings are just the beginning.
Start with Hunt. She’s 11th in the PrepDig national poll and 10th according to PrepVolleyball.com.
Continue with Skidmore (who’s going to Western Kentucky University) and Tabeling. Skidmore is 13th in PrepVolleyball and 61st in PrepDig, and Tabeling (Ball State) is 96th in PrepVolleyball and 123rd in PrepDig.
And finish with Dinn, who’s going to the University of Pittsburgh – she’s 134th in PrepDig.
Guard and Woolf are going to Eastern Michigan and Eastern Kentucky, respectively. Lentz and Reckers have not picked a school yet.
That so many Northern Kentucky seniors are among Kentucky’s – and America’s – best is the latest example of a continuing volleyball resurgence.
It started in 2020, when Notre Dame ended a 25-year run of Louisville teams – Assumption, Sacred Heart and Mercy – winning state titles and continued with St. Henry’s title in 2021 and the Pandas winning their 10th crown last year.
So, how has Northern Kentucky become so strong lately?
Playing for elite travel teams could be a factor. Hunt, Skidmore, Tabeling, Lentz and Reckers are NKYVC members, while Dinn, Guard and Woolf play for Tri-State Elite.
St. Henry coach Maureen Kaiser credits legendary Assumption coach Ron Kordes with introducing year-round club programs. She said Skidmore, Tabeling, Lentz and Guard have been able to specialize on one aspect of the game.
“Me being in a small school, they’ve got to play a little bit of everything,” Kaiser said. “ … The speed of the game is so much quicker than it’s been in the past, and (specializing) has helped us in general.”
Lovins thinks volleyball is simply becoming more popular.
“Two weeks ago, we just had a camp at Ryle,” Lovins said. “We had 185 athletes there, and there was boys and girls combined. And I know we had several people there, especially the younger ones, who had never played volleyball before.”
Kaiser concurred.
“We had a summer camp this year, and we had close to 300 future Crusaders, if that’s what you want to call them, attend our camp,” Kaiser said. “I have never had nearly that many; this is the most ever.”
What also pleases Lovins: the addition of boys volleyball as a spring sport.
According to the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association (kvca.org), 31 teams have committed to fielding a team this season; Ryle and Walton-Verona are the only two local schools. Another five, Beechwood, Covington Catholic, Highlands, Holy Cross and NewCath, have expressed interest. When the state reaches 50 teams, it will become a KHSAA sponsored sport.
“Several of the boys on our boys volleyball team, they played other sports,” Lovins said. “We had a tennis player, we had football players, soccer players.”
Lovins noticed one final thing: only private, Catholic schools have won a girls state title since it became a Kentucky High School Athletic Association sport in 1979.
“Now, we’ve got to get those public schools in there,” she said. “Why not Ryle?”