The Campbell County Camels and Simon Kenton Pioneers volleyball teams hit the road and won their region quarterfinal games Tuesday.
Here is how it happened:
10th Region Quarterfinals at Harrison County
Campbell County 3, George Rogers Clark 0 (26-24, 25-23, 25-20)
The Camels overcame the challenges from the Cardinals to advance in the tournament.
George Rogers Clark (25-6) came into the game with just one 10th Region loss against Scott on Aug. 26 in the Dink Scott Memorial Tournament at Montgomery County. The Cardinals were led by senior setter Kelsey McKeehan, who came in with 754 assists, and Mia Pendley with a team-high 373 kills entering the game.
“Something that was a bit of a challenge is their shots,” said Mikah Freppon, Campbell County head coach. “They tipped, rolled, hit deep corners. Their hits were even cutty shots and just powerful angle shots. Something that made it difficult for us is changing our defense around to where their shots had been working for them and playing the best in our game to pick those up.”
Campbell County (17-13) countered with its own weapons. Emma Manser recorded 17 kills to go with three aces and Lexi Scharold had 14. Those two had three solo blocks each.
The Camels had 39 kills, 35 assists, 37 digs, nine blocks and five aces overall. Hope Hamilton recorded 32 assists and two blocks with Ella Thorwarth and A’lon McIntyre digging up 10 balls each.
“We struggled at first. But once we started working together as a team, we picked it back up,” said Lola Haun, Campbell County defensive specialist. “Hopefully we can continue to do it like we did toward the end of the game.”
Campbell County takes on host Harrison County (28-9) on Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. The Camels beat the Fillies, 2-1 (22-25, 30-28, 25-20) on Oct. 10.
Scott faces Bracken County in the first semifinal at 6 p.m.
8th Region Quarterfinals at Eminence
Simon Kenton 3, Eminence 0 (25-16, 25-7, 25-13)
The Pioneers downed the host Warriors to open the region tournament.
“They’re very focused. They went in there and got the job done,” said Amy Marx, Simon Kenton head coach. “Our hitting efficiency was high when you look at it overall and that’s a great place to be.”
Simon Kenton (29-7) had 40 kills, 37 assists, 30 digs, 14 aces and five blocks in the win. Tori Chasteen started things with eight digs and once ace and Gracie Meyer had seven digs and three aces. That allowed setter Sadie Rehkamp to record 26 assists to go with two aces and CeCe Scalf had eight assists to go with five aces.
“We knew what we had to do to be prepared for this week and we knew high energy would get it done,” Chasteen said. “Bringing up your team is a big part of the game. After every point, we come together to support each other no matter the outcome. We have the next point mentality.”
The Pioneers then displayed their usual balanced offense as Jenna Kitchens had 13 kills and Alisha Hawkins had 11 kills to go with two aces. Sophie Spanier and Keira Hans recorded five kills each and Madeline Johnson had two blocks.
Simon Kenton takes on North Oldham (25-9) in the region semifinals on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. back at Eminence.