The queens of the All “A” Volleyball State Tournament are headed back there for the first time in two years.
The St. Henry Crusaders handled the Beechwood Tigers, 2-0 (25-18, 25-13) in the All “A” 9th Region championship game at Newport Central Catholic to claim the title.
St. Henry defeated Holy Cross, Bellevue and then Beechwood on their way to the championship.
Beechwood (10-5) had 13 kills, four blocks, 13 assists, 22 digs and three aces in the loss. Isabel Bakker had eight kills to lead the Tigers with Skylr Estep dishing off 11 assists.
St. Henry (10-5) heads to Louisville to play in the Louisville Volleyball Invitational Tournament starting on Friday. Beechwood plays at Simon Kenton (11-2) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Volleyball
Highlands 3, Holy Cross 0 (25-23, 27-25, 28-26)
The Bluebirds handed Holy Cross just their second loss of the season.
Highlands had 38 kills, 37 assists, six blocks, 41 digs and 10 aces in the win. Annie Ellison and Hayden Gessner led the way with 10 digs each. Setters Ava Muzumdar and Ella Cox had 18 assists each with Rachel Ossege recording 21 kills, two blocks, four digs and two aces.
Highlands head coach Jim DeLong said there are still some things to clean up, but he credited Liz Perkins for a boost in the second set. Perkins had a kill then two big aces to help the Bluebirds (5-6) pull it out.
University of Washington commit Julia Hunt had 27 kills, two blocks, six digs and three aces for the Indians (13-2). Skyler Dudderar had 11 digs and two aces with Lucy Lenihan recording 22 assists, seven digs and two kills.
“That crowd was instrumental in us keeping our enthusiasm, our excitement and kept pushing us to play well,” DeLong said. “They did a really good job of paying attention to my game plan of how we wanted to attack Julia (Hunt). We knew we weren’t going to shut her down. The plan was to not let anyone else hurt us. Our outside hitters did a good job of staying away from her.”
Both teams play in the Capital City Classic in Frankfort on Friday. Highlands plays South Laurel (6-11) at 6 p.m. and Holy Cross plays Atherton (3-6) and Southwestern (5-7) at 6 and 8 p.m.
Simon Kenton 3, Dixie Heights 0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-22)
The Pioneers took out the Colonels in the rivalry game.
Simon Kenton (11-2) had 32 kills, 44 digs, eight aces and 32 assists in the win. Jenna Kitchens led the way with 15 kills, three solo blocks and seven digs. Ceanna Scalf had 25 assists, six digs and two aces with Tori Chasteen recording 12 digs, two kills and one ace.
“What’s great about my team is I’ve got such a high talent level across the board that if one person’s not having a great night, someone else is,” said Amy Marx, Simon Kenton head coach. “Jenna Kitchens lately has always been having a good night.”
Keira Hans added five kills, three digs and two aces. Sophie Spanier had four kills and six digs with Alisha Hawkins landing five kills.
“We’ve all just grown and gotten better,” Spanier said. “We did have rough patches at first. But we picked it up and kept the energy up.”
Maggie Best led Dixie Heights (8-8) with 19 kills and Maddie Kelly had 25 assists. Christen Tarter had 20 digs with Celia Wallace tallying seven kills and three aces.
Simon Kenton plays in the Tournament for the Heroes Classic at Henry County all day Saturday. Dixie Heights plays at Highlands (5-6) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Conner 3, Campbell County 2 (17-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-23, 15-12)
The Cougars survived a tight road battle against the Camels in non-region action.
Campbell County (5-7) had 42 kills, 15 blocks, 37 assists, 68 digs and five aces in the loss. Ella Thorwarth and A’Lon McIntyre had 22 and 14 digs, respectively, for the Camels with Hope Hamilton recording 17 assists and 13 digs. Ava Crowl had 18 assists and two aces.
Campbell County’s two big middle blockers had big games. Emma Manser had 17 kills and four blocks with Lexi Scharold recording 16 kills and four blocks.
Campbell County plays at Calvary Christian (8-3) on Monday at 7 p.m. Conner (12-2) plays at Holy Cross (13-2) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Boone County 2, Walton-Verona 1 (26-28, 25-20, 25-23)
The Rebels snapped a nine-game losing streak with the road win.
Marlee Vier led Boone County (5-11) with 11 kills and Amariana Sweet had nine. Devin Readnour had 21 assists with Azaria Sweet recording 21 digs. The Sweet sisters combined for 11 aces.
Walton-Verona had 34 kills, 34 assists, 73 digs, eight aces and one block in the loss. Amber Hall had 31 assists and Winter Vandiver 12 kills. Annie Allen had 20 digs and Isabella O’Brien had 14. Macie Godwin had 11 digs and three aces.
Boone County plays host to Bishop Brossart (9-2) on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Walton-Verona plays four times in the Tournament for the Heroes Classic on Saturday at Henry County starting with Dayton (4-8) at 11 a.m.
Bishop Brossart 3, Grant County 0 (25-22, 25-10, 25-15)
The Mustangs recorded their third win in three nights taking care of the Braves at home.
Bishop Brossart (9-2) had six aces, 37 kills, four blocks, 35 assists and 69 digs in the win. Kate Neltner had 15 kills and 14 digs in the win with Maddie Kremer digging up 17 balls. Aubrey Rebholz tallied 19 assists including her 500th career one and Nadia Shurley had 11.
Brossart plays in the Glacier Invitational on Saturday at Bracken County against Augusta (1-11), Williamstown (4-6) and Calvary Christian (8-3) at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 2 p.m.
Other Volleyball Scores
Dayton 2, Williamstown 0 (26-24, 25-21)
Bracken County 2, Newport 0 (26-24, 25-19)
Scott 3, Lloyd Memorial 0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-19)
Calvary Christian 3, Pendleton County 0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-15)
Boys Soccer
Simon Kenton 2, Grant County 1 (2OT)
The Pioneers earned the 32nd District’s automatic bid to the 8th Region Tournament, winning the second of two district seed games.
“You can focus on getting better every day without that pressure of getting out of districts, especially with districts being played at Grant this year on grass,” said Jeremy Wolfe, Simon Kenton head coach. “We don’t get to play on grass a whole lot so it can definitely affect a game. It was huge to get that win.”
Simon Kenton (8-4-1) scored the game-winner with 1:12 left in the second overtime when Draven Dean found the back of the net. That is Dean’s third goal of the season.
“I hope our team takes it as more of an indication to keep working harder than slow down,” Dean said. “Grant has a solid defense. But it was hard to keep up with the passing we were doing. The kick was nice. But the runs around it are what made it big because all the defenders starting running around with the players giving me more time in the middle.”
Simon Kenton outshot Grant County (5-5), 10-4. Goalkeeper Miles Mullen made three saves for the Pioneers.
Dominick Dornbusch scored Simon Kenton’s other goal and Lucas Smith had the assist to tie the game 1-1. Dornbusch has a team-high eight goals on the season.
Simon Kenton plays at Scott (4-7) on Saturday at 8 p.m. in a Kenton County rivalry game.
Bishop Brossart 7, Montgomery County 0
The Mustangs won their fourth in a row dominating the rematch of last year’s 10th Region championship game at the Mustang Athletic Complex.
Tyler Smith led the Mustangs (8-2-3) with three goals and one assist. Landon Guidugli had one goal and two assists with Brennan Callahan and Alex Runge scoring one goal and adding one assist each. Samuel Chirumbolo had the other goal with Luke Alwell and Max Keller adding assists. Goalkeeper Michael Cooney saved three shots preserving the shutout of the Indians (6-8).
Brossart plays at Calvary Christian (5-6) on Saturday in the All “A” 10th Region championship at 11 a.m.
Campbell County 2, Beechwood 0
The Camels won their fifth in a row with a non-region win.
Noah Rittinger scored both goals for the Camels (6-5-1) with Kaden Rose and Austin Bush adding the assists. Goalkeeper Alexander Jenkins had six saves.
Campbell County plays host to Bishop Brossart (8-2-3) on Tuesday in a huge 37th District seed game at 7:30 p.m. Beechwood (4-6) plays at Dixie Heights (5-5-1) at the same time.
Newport Central Catholic 3, Scott 0
The Thoroughbreds broke their two-game losing streak with the non-region win.
Brady Diedenhofer led NewCath (9-3) with one goal and two assists. Chase Fields and Owen Roeder had the other goals and Ryan Desmond added an assist. Goalkeeper Mason McCloskey had three saves.
Scott (4-7) goalkeeper Aiden Taylor recorded nine saves.
Both teams play again Saturday. NewCath plays at Holmes (3-7) at 10 a.m. and Scott plays host to Simon Kenton (8-4-1) at 8 p.m.
Dixie Heights 3, St. Henry 0
The Colonels clinched the top seed in the 37th District Tournament with a shutout of the Crusaders.
Aiden Sanders scored twice for the Colonels (5-5-1) and Ezequiel Bautista scored one goal and assisted another. Dixie Heights goalkeepers Brandon Honnerlaw and Brady Meyer combined for three saves.
Dixie Heights hosts Beechwood (4-6) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. St. Henry (1-9) plays host to Aiken (Ohio) at 6:30 p.m. the same day.
Conner 4, Boone County 1
The Cougars downed the visiting Rebels for their sixth straight win.
Noah Walker, Jeremy Thornton and Jeremy Alig had one goal and one assist each for Conner (6-3-1). Grady Noble scored the other goal with goalkeepers Trey Wagner and Owen King recording six and three saves, respectively.
Edwin Pajazetovic scored the lone goal for the Rebels (4-7) and Sakeria Ali had the assist. Goalkeeper David Courtney had four saves.
Conner plays at Holy Cross (5-5-1) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Boone County plays at Villa Madonna on Tuesday at 5:15 p.m.
Walton-Verona 2, Carroll County 1
The Bearcats downed the Panthers in an 8th Region home game.
Brennan East and Mason Morwessel scored the goals for Walton-Verona (5-5) with Tyler Wolfe adding an assist. Walton-Verona goalkeeper Drew Howe had 10 saves.
Walton-Verona plays at Villa Madonna (3-3-3) on Saturday at Noon.
Villa Madonna 8, Aiken (Ohio) 1
The Vikings dominated the Cincinnati Public Schools opponent behind Ethan Mai’s three goals.
Ivan Potapenko, Carson Patrick, Tommy Wenning, Ryan Timm and Jay Meyers scored the other goals for the Vikings (3-3-3). Goalkeepers Noah Vick and Liam Currie had four and two saves respectively.
Villa Madonna plays host to Walton-Verona (5-5) on Saturday at Noon.
Trinity Christian 4, Calvary Christian 3
The Cougars lost a tight one on the road in Danville.
Joshua Ruwe and Ian Scroggins had one goal and one assist each for Calvary (5-6). Goalkeeper Jonah Roszkowski had 13 saves.
Calvary plays host to Bishop Brossart (8-2-3) on Saturday at 11 a.m. in the 10th Region All “A” title game.
Holy Cross 5, Holmes 0
The Indians downed the Bulldogs in a 35th District seed game as Holmes celebrated the 40th season of the program.
Nico Voight had three goals for the Indians (5-5-1) with Brady Reusch and Jackson Houston scoring the other two goals. Logan Brunk had two assists with Will Schaffeld and William Fisk adding assists. Goalkeeper Wyatt Driscoll had three saves.
Holmes (3-7) plays at Newport Central Catholic (8-3) on Saturday at 10 a.m. Holy Cross plays at Carroll County (4-5) on Monday at 7:45 p.m.
Girls Soccer
Notre Dame 2, Loveland 1
The Pandas crossed the river and took down the Tigers in non-region action.
Hannah Holocher and Riley Robertson scored the goals for the Pandas (11-1-1) with Hannah Knapke and Chloe Fullenkamp adding assists. Goalkeeper Adilynn Melton had eight saves and Hannah Renaker had five.
Notre Dame faces Assumption (6-2-1) in the Lexington Catholic Cup Challenge on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
Other Girls Soccer Score
Assumption 10, Newport Central Catholic 0