A pretty dominant performance for the St. Henry volleyball team this weekend down in Richmond on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University. This is how dominant the St. Henry Crusaders played winning their seventh All “A” State championship at Eastern Kentucky University.
The Crusaders (21-7) won their seventh All “A” state title and didn’t drop a set in the six games doing so. Head coach Maureen Kaiser said she only called one timeout the entire tournament and they averaged a margin of victory by 14 points each set.
St. Henry beat Presentation, 2-0 (25-17, 25-12) in the championship game. It was the fourth time they met in the title game since 2012, St. Henry winning three of the four meetings. The only loss St. Henry has ever had in the All “A” tournament was in 2016 in the championship. They are 47-1 all-time at the All “A” state tournament in eight trips.
“It was definitely a sweet victory, especially over Presentation because of the history,” Kaiser said. “But it was a great team effort. We’ve got some injuries. A lot of these younger players stepped up and had some fun.”
Macy Lentz earned the tournament’s most valuable player honor. Anna Guard, Elizabeth Tabeling, Madi Demler and Lizzie Casey joined Lentz on the all-tournament team.
“Things went really well. I think we just kind of found what positions we were in and our roles,” Demler said. “We pick each other up when we make mistakes and support one another. That’s our number one goal.”
Bishop Brossart came the closest to even sniffing winning a set, putting up 21 points in the second game during pool play. But none of the other five teams scored more than 17 points on St. Henry.
“We kind of came out in the Brossart game, I wouldn’t say unprepared,” said Lentz. “We just weren’t really focused in, coming from school and traveling. But we were able to refocus and help each other. We pulled it out.”
The Mustangs (16-7) finished 2-2 in the state tournament losing to Presentation, 2-0 (25-18, 25-21) in the championship bracket quarterfinals. The Mustangs beat Williamsburg, 2-0 (25-18, 25-17) and Raceland, 2-0 (25-22, 25-21) in pool play to make it to the gold bracket.
Walton-Verona lost all four games in the tournament. The Bearcats (13-12) lost to Kentucky Country Day to finish pool play then lost to defending All “A” State champion Paintsville, 2-0 (25-10, 25-22) in the consolation bracket.
Ryle finishes 5-1 in Tennessee
The Raiders won the Silver Bracket of the Border Battle on Saturday in Franklin, Tennessee going 4-0 to finish 5-1 overall in the tournament.
“It was a great tournament. It was so well-run (with) great competition,” said Tasha Lovins, Ryle head coach. “We did not play a single team that was an easy win. We just really found our rhythm and we’re doing really well. I already told them I’m coming back next year. This is great.”
Ryle (13-9) beat Dobyns Bennett from east Tennessee, 2-0 (25-18, 25-10) to finish pool play in the morning. The Raiders then beat Siegel (Tennessee), 2-0 (25-20, 25-14) to start the Silver Bracket then Valor College Prep (Tennessee), 2-0 (25-20, 25-23) before besting Ravenwood (Tennessee), 2-0 (25-10, 25-19) in the silver bracket championship game.
Against Ravenwood, Ryle had eight blocks, 35 kills, 32 digs and 23 assists. Morgan Heater had 23 assists and nine digs for Ryle. Karsyn Griffin had a team-high 10 kills and Abby Lester had three blocks. Alexis Woolf and Francesca Hansel had two aces each.
“I was super proud of us,” Griffin said. “I think we bonded and we really worked together the past few days.”
Ryle plays at Dixie Heights (8-10) on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Holy Cross finishes runner-up in Cake Classic
The Indians lost in the championship game to undefeated Great Crossing, 2-0 (25-23, 25-23) at Highlands.
In the title game, Holy Cross (20-6) had 12 kills, eight blocks, five aces and 21 digs. Lucy Lenihan led the Indians with seven assists and Olivia Gangwish had eight kills and two blocks. Julia Hunt landed eight kills, two blocks and one ace.
Conner (17-4) and Simon Kenton (21-5) finished 4-1 in the tournament. Conner lost to Holy Cross, 2-1 (18-25, 25-19, 15-7) to start Saturday, but rebounded to beat Highlands, 2-1 (25-18, 21-25, 16-14) then Beechwood, 2-1 (25-13, 14-25, 15-11). Simon Kenton beat Beechwood, 2-0 (32-30, 25-21) before losing 2-0 (25-15, 25-20) to Great Crossing in the semifinals. But the Pioneers beat Campbell County, 2-0 (25-21, 25-23) in the third-place game.
Other Cake Classic Scores
Beechwood 2, Boyd County 1 (25-13, 15-25, 15-12)
Boyd County 2, Highlands 1 (17-25, 25-14, 25-12)
Campbell County 2, Highlands 0 (25-18, 25-23)
Football
Cincinnati College Prep Academy 36, Holy Cross 25
The Indians saw their three-game winning streak snapped crossing the Ohio River.
Holy Cross outgained the hosts, 277-254, but still fell behind 30-7 at halftime. Ulysses Porter ran for 220 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Indians (3-2). Defensively, Donovan Ambrocio and Ryan Elhman recovered fumbles for Holy Cross.
Holy Cross has its bye week on Friday before playing host to Morgan County (3-2) on Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Girls Soccer
Highlands 1, West Jessamine 0
The Bluebirds concluded the week with a win over the visiting Colts.
Laney Smith found Lindsay Stein for the game’s lone goal. Smith leads Highlands (11-2-1) with 12 assists.
Highlands outshot West Jessamine, 8-2. Goalkeeper Natalie Hinegardner had two saves.
The Bluebirds play Cooper (7-4-2) on Monday at Tower Park at 8 p.m.
Notre Dame 3, Elizabethtown 0
The Pandas recorded a win in the final game of the Lexington Catholic Cup.
Notre Dame (12-3-1) put up 14 shots. Caroline Harper, Cameron Kirtley and Sadie Yapp scored the goals with Eva Dozier and Hannah Holocher tallying assists. Goalkeepers Hannah Renaker and Joelle Hentz had three saves each.
Notre Dame plays host to Assumption (8-3-2) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Campbell County 1, George Rogers Clark 0
The Camels took care of the Cardinals in 10th Region action.
Ryan Weghorn scored the lone goal of the game for the Camels (7-7-2). Campbell County outshot George Rogers Clark (4-5-3), 13-8. Campbell County goalkeepers Abi Medaugh and Morgan Roomes had four saves each.
Campbell County plays host to Newport Central Catholic 92-13) on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Other Girls Soccer Scores
Conner 2, Holy Cross 1
DuPont Manual 5, St. Henry 0
Ludlow 2, Boone County 1
Oldham County 5, Simon Kenton 9
Roger Bacon (Ohio) 4, Villa Madonna 1
Boys Soccer
Highlands 2, Ballard 0
The Bluebirds ended the tough week with a non-region home win after losing to county rivals Newport Central Catholic and Bishop Brossart earlier in the week.
“We’ve been dealing with injuries this week,” said Suli Kayed, Highlands head coach. “We had a different approach, stayed really compact and really came ready to play. It was a good team win.”
Chad Gesenhues and Nick Wilson had goals for the Bluebirds (8-4-2) and Jack Haggard assisted both. Goalkeeper Sam Lang made three saves.
Highlands travels to Montgomery County (6-10) on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
Other Boys Soccer Scores
Beechwood 4, Carroll County 0
Holy Cross 2, Bourbon County 0
Villa Madonna 3, Sayre 0
Walton-Verona 0, Scott 0