District champions were crowned this week on the volleyball court from the 32nd through the 37th District.
Here’s how they went down:
32nd District
Simon Kenton def. Grant County, 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-14)
The Pioneers (28-5) won a seventh straight district championship and will enter the 8th Region tournament with the best record in the field.
They’re 14-0 in region play with the region tournament starting on Monday. The draw is on Saturday.
Madeline Johnson and Keira Hans were named to the All-Tournament team for Simon Kenton while Jenna Kitchens was named Tournament MVP.
33rd District
Ryle def. Cooper, 3-0 (25-10, 25-16, 25-15)
The Raiders won a fifth straight 33rd District title on Thursday over Cooper.
Ryle (23-8) will look to continue their momentum into the 9th Region tournament that begins on Sunday at St. Henry. The draw for the region tournament is on Saturday.
Ryle enters as a top 10 team in the state, the final regular season KVCA poll having them ranked No. 9.
Morgan Heater was named tournament MVP while Ashley Towner and Karsyn Griffin took home All-Tournament team honors for Ryle.
Carly Schroder and Audrey Schilling were named to the All-Tournament team for Cooper (13-20).
34th District
St. Henry def. Villa Madonna, 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 25-10)
The Cruasders (31-5) won their fourth straight district title with a straight set victory over the Vikings.
The tournament MVP was Emily Helmers with Madelyn Keipert and Madi Demler making the All-Tournament team.
They also enter with a high ranking, the final regular season poll having them ranked No. 4. Their lone losses this year are to Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, Assumption, Ursuline Academy (Ohio) and Bowling Green.
Villa Madonna (22-7) will be a No. 2 seed in the region tournament facing either, Ryle, Notre Dame or Highlands.
35th District
Notre Dame def. Beechwood, 3-0 (25-11, 25-17, 25-22)
Since the district aligned the way it is in 2012, there’s been no other champ than Notre Dame and the Pandas kept it that way on Wednesday.
Julia Grace was named the tournament MVP, Lizzy Larkins and Ava Tilden making the All-Tournament team.
In the victory, Notre Dame (28-3) racked up 44 kills, 41 assists, 36 digs, 11 blocks and five aces. Tilden led the way with 13 kills, Lizzy Larkins had 40 assists, Grace had 16 digs, Ella Goetz had four blocks and Grace had three aces.
Beechwood (25-8) entered the match on fire, winning 16 of their last 17 matches. Despite the loss, they’ll enter the region tournament as a No. 2 seed and an opponent no district champion will want to see on Sunday in the first round of the 9th Region tournament.
Isabel O’Brien and Rachel Lewandowski were named to the All-Tournament team for the Tigers.
Both teams are state ranked, Notre Dame at No. 1, Beechwood at No. 18.
36th District
Highlands def. Newport Central Catholic 3-0 (25-13, 25-10, 25-12)
(submitted by Kyle Stevie)
While she did not make the 36 th District All-Tournament Team, Highlands’ Sydney Schomaker made her presence felt in the final against Newport Central Catholic (15-20).
So much so, that Bellevue High School’s administrators must have grimaced watching laser beam after laser beam crash onto their wooden gym floor.
The first set saw Highlands (29-9) run out to a 10-0 lead and an ultimate 25-13 win, with Schomaker firing 10 kills on her way to 15 for the game. Highlands closed out the match with margins of 25-10 in the second set and 25-12 in the third.
Ella Cox was on the money for 21 assists in the game while Ava Muzumdar chipped in 14, many of those to Liz Perkins, who finished with seven kills.
When the Blueirds weren’t reigning down terror on the NewCath’s net, they were serving it hot. As a team, they had 10 aces, led by Lyla Bottom’s three. Hayden Gessner led the defensive charge with 11 digs on her way to tournament MVP. NewCath was led statistically by Madison Wolf with five kills and Reese McCloskey with four blocks.
All-tournament team selections Vivian Fassler had 11 assists and Jordyn Reckers made 10 digs in the losing effort.
Highlands closed out the regular season ranked No. 24 in the final KVCA poll.
37th District
Scott def. Bishop Brossart, 3-0 (26-24, 25-14, 25-21)
Scott won back-to-back district titles with the straight set victory over Brossart.
Brooklyn Helm, Ryann Grigsby and Milyn Minor were named to the All-Tournament team.
The Eagles (26-11) will enter the 10th Region tournament as the favorite, 10-0 in region play this season. The 10th Region tournament begins on Monday with the draw coming out on Saturday.
Kate Neltner and Grace Frommeyer made the All-Tournament team for the Lady ‘Stangs (24-11).