After mowing through their competition in region play, Ryle’s boys volleyball team will take center stage on their own court Wednesday night.
The Raiders will host Trinity in the inaugural KHSAA boys’ volleyball state tournament at 7 p.m.
They’ve earned their spot with a 22-3 record in the inaugural season sanctioned by the KHSAA, their most recent match a 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-21) victory over Oldham County in the Sixth Region Championship on May 10.
“I’d definitely say these boys have exceeded expectations,” Ryle coach Meredith Heater said.
The Raiders competed last year when it was considered a club sport, making it all the way to the state quarterfinals with a lot less teams in the state.
“Our guys fell in love with the sport of volleyball and played club and improved their skills and love for the game,” Heater said. “When we first started, we had dual-sport athletes looking to do something for fun while they didn’t play another sport in the spring and now we have a team full of volleyball players. Guys are passionate about the sport.”
With 64 teams playing in eight regions this season, it created a little more competition than in 2024, including nine teams in the Sixth Region. Five Northern Kentucky schools (Ryle, Dayton, Calvary Christian, Scott and Walton-Verona) mixed with two Oldham County schools (North Oldham and Oldham County) and two Shelby County schools (Collins and Shelby County) form the geographical region.
Ryle went 14-1 against region foes, the lone loss coming to North Oldham while winning 44 of 50 sets played against region opponents. They were recognized state-wide by the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association as one of the top teams in the state, consistently in the top five of the coaches poll all season.
“There was a lot more organization to the season,” Heater said. “Scheduling was easier compared to the past it was get whatever matches you wanted to have. This year it felt more real. We trained every day during the week. Tried to fill the schedule and play teams from all over and we look forward to increasing competitiveness for the future. How do we continue to hit our goals and that’s by playing tough teams.”
Now comes the real challenge where they’ll face programs that may be a bit more advanced with their development, facing programs out of Louisville and Lexington. That’s where the other two Ryle losses came from, one on April 19 against St. Xavier in the championship game of the Franktown Showdown and the other on May 5 against Henry Clay in a four-setter. They havent’ faced Trinity this year, a 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-20) loser to St. Xavier in the Fifth Region Championship (Trinity ended Ryle’s season last year in the KVCA state tournament quarterfinals).
“We’re expecting a really great match. They’ll be super tough and one of the stronger offensive and serving teams we’ll see,” Heater said. “We have the opportunity to make some waves and get into the Elite 8. We’d love to face St. Xavier or Oldham County again. These are fun teams to play and they bring out the best in us.”
Heater feels they’ve been battle-tested this season to prepare them for whatever comes their way. With their ability to serve-receive and have strong ball control makes the Raiders feel comfortable they can compete with anybody in their path.
“Ball control is what sets us apart,” Heater said. “Got guys that can pass and know how to pass first contact well. Aggressive servers and serve-receive helps separate us from teams that are just as athletic and skills are refined like ours.”
Andrew Stropko leads the team in kills with 135, Konnor Farnsworth, who doubles as a lacrosse player for the region runner-up Raiders, is right behind him with 134 kills. Max Kidd (123 kills) and Ishan Senthil (101) have also cleared the century mark in kills. Kidd leads the team in blocks with 66, Eddie Rieffer behind him with 34. Ryota Kondo is the key in setting up the attack with 332 assists, Stropko also vital in setting up the attack with 235 assists. Collin Kemper is the libero and noticeably so with a team-high 149 digs. Kondo (118 digs), Stropko (105) and Senthil (101) also have more than 100 digs on the season. In the service department, Kondo leads with 90 aces, Stropko with 66 and Kidd with 42.
If they win on Wednesday, they’d then be looking at the St. Xavier-Oldham County winner in the quarterfinals on Friday. If St. X wins, they host the Ryle-Trinity winner on Friday at 7 p.m., if Oldham County wins and Ryle wins, the Raiders would host Oldham County on Friday at 7 p.m. The semifinals and championship then move to George Rogers Clark on May 20.
The sport, still in its infancy on the boys side, has plenty of room for growth, especially in Northern Kentucky where the sport on the girls side is one of the strongest regions in the state.
“In NKY there’s so many opportunities for girls, now we’re seeing it for the guys,” Heater said. “Now they have the opportunity to play in club and grow their skills. Volleyball wasn’t available until recently and now you’re seeing teams at the middle school level as well. I’m excited to see how it grows.”