Weekly Notes: Week 7 Top Team, Big Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Team of the Week: Kings Knights</em></strong><br>The Knights solidified their position as a major contender for the Division I crown come postseason as they took down top-ranked and previously unbeaten Seton over the weekend. The five-set win was not without its battles along the way as both teams asserted themselves in various phases as the match progressed, which included alternating set for set wins before Kings ultimately prevailed 17-15 in the fifth frame. Winning the offensive battle by way of 70-61 kills overall, Kings was led by the senior duo of [player_tooltip player_id='114584' first='Elise' last='Marchal'] and [player_tooltip player_id='114565' first='Sydney' last='Barrett'] who each contributed 32 and 26 kills respectively. Senior setter [player_tooltip player_id='139272' first='Abby' last='Yoder'] dished a match high 61 assists that led to a .277 team efficiency. This trio of seniors contributed in other ways as well as Marchal added four blocks, Barrett contributed 13 digs, and Yoder served up a team high three aces while picking up 11 digs. A pair of sophomores also came up big as [player_tooltip player_id='227799' first='Sophia' last='Richardson'] also reached double figure kills with 10 as [player_tooltip player_id='222621' first='Ava' last='McIntyre'] added 16 digs. For Seton, they saw double-double performances from senior [player_tooltip player_id='114583' first='Alli' last='Kirch'] (16 kills, 10 digs) and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='227615' first='Callie' last='Combs'] (14 kills, 16 digs). Sitting atop the ECC league standings with a two match lead heading into the final phase of regular season play, the Knights are poised to earn a repeat crown as conference champions. Earlier this week they defeated another GGCL team in Ursuline as they swept the defending DI state champions handily as the trio of attackers in Marchal, Barrett, and Richardson earned double-digit kills each for a total of 32 of the team's 39 kills. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='114578' first='Dakota' last='Henry'] was terrific in the defensive phase with a match high 19 digs. They are scheduled to see Loveland and Lebanon this week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Big Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='239230' first='Olivia' last='Batch']</strong> - St. Ursula (Toledo) | 2024<br>With a team high 19 kills, Batch led SUA to a solid win over a good Bishop Watterson team by a 3-1 outcome. She also added 11 digs as the Arrows improved to 12-6 overall. She is the team's offensive leader at 4.4 k/s, a career best average for a season, which has led to her recently surpassing the 500 kills mark for her three years as a varsity contributor. She uses her 5'11 length well to get up and create solid contact at the pins. She is committed to Wheeling University.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='401341' first='Londyn' last='Stone']</strong> - Avon | 2026<br>Stone led Avon with 17 kills to help the Eagles take down Brunswick 3-2 to improve to 16-1 overall. She also added a team high 15 digs in the win. She leads Avon's offense at 3.8 k/s, which is just ahead of her season average from her freshman season in 2022. She has great arm control to move the ball around with purpose while also showing versatility to be able to terminate from a variety of locations around the floor. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='289176' first='Parker' last='Vackert']</strong> - Carey | 2025<br>The 5'11 junior provided a big effort in Carey's weekend win over Arlington. Vackert terminated a match high 21 kills with an efficiency of .558 as the Blue Devils beat the Red Devils 3-1 to improve to 14-2 overall. Vackert had a huge stat line overall as she also dished 21 assists while finding success on the defensive side with 13 digs and two blocks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Amelia Graham</strong> - Antwerp | 2026<br>Graham, a 5'3 outside hitter, earned a career best 17 kills in Antwerp's 3-1 win over Edon this past Saturday. She is a spark plug for the Archers as she is fearless in her attacking opportunities to elevate and take aggressive swings. She is averaging 2.3 k/s this season along with 3.2 digs per frame. <br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->