Across the Commonwealth: Bowling Green beats Dominant Five team

The state's Dominant Five teams consisting of Louisville powers Assumption, Sacred Heart and Mercy along with northern Kentucky powers St. Henry and Notre Dame had gone a combined 65-2 against in-state teams outside of games against each other.   The host Bowling Green Purples (28-6) from the 4th Region became the third in-state team outside the group to do it with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-17) win over the Crusaders (29-5). St. Henry had not lost to an in-state opponent outside of the Dominant Five since a 3-2 (13-25, 25-22, 25-20, 10-25, 15-9) home loss to Ryle on Oct. 5, 2021.   Keith Carver is in his first season leading the Purples and he took over a talented group led by 6-4 middle blocker and Louisville commit [player_tooltip player_id='212192' first='Amirra' last='Bailey']. Bailey had 470 kills entering the game Saturday including 24 in the Bowling Green win over Elizabethtown on Tuesday.   Bailey has plenty of help. Five players had at least 102 digs on the season led by 228 from [player_tooltip player_id='477191' first='Claire' last='Lawless'] entering Saturday. [player_tooltip player_id='741315' first='JoEllen' last='Marshall'] has done a good job setting up Bailey and other hitters such as [player_tooltip player_id='276175' first='Morgan' last='Rockrohr'], Addie Kincheloe (pictured above left) and [player_tooltip player_id='577773' first='Chayse' last='Gilliland']. Lawless also led the Purples in aces entering the Saturday game.   Bowling Green has gone 9-1 in 4th Region action with the lone defeat coming 3-2 (15-25, 25-22, 25-19, 16-25, 15-10) against 14th District rival Greenwood on the road Aug. 29. The Purples have won four in a row to end the regular season.   Bowling Green takes on Warren Central (9-15) at home on Monday at 5:30 p.m. CST in the 14th District semifinals. The Purples have won the district tournament three years in a row.   DuPont Manual beat Mercy, 3-1 (26-24, 25-19, 19-25, 25-21) on Oct. 9 at home and Ryle beat Assumption, 2-0 (26-24, 25-21) for those other two losses. That marked the first in-state loss for the Rockets outside of the Dominant Five since 2003.   Region 5 District Semifinal interesting Matchups   20th District   The Adair County Indians finished the regular season 22-9 improving on last year's record-setting season with eight more wins this year. Balance has been a key for the Indians as seven different players have at least 102 digs on the season and five have at least 101 kills. Anslie Spoon and [player_tooltip player_id='210630' first='Jazlyn' last='Kemp'] continue to anchor the offense with 449 and 372 assists, respectively.   Adair County has not advanced out of the 20th District since it formed in 2010 and this year will not be any easier. The Indians take on Marion County (19-14) at home on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Adair County won two of the three meetings in the regular season.   Veteran head coach Dave Hibbard has guided the Knights to another solid season. [player_tooltip player_id='397728' first='McKenna' last='Thomas'] leads the Knights with 343 kills, 275 digs and 27 solo blocks on the season. Kendra Gaddie has set the ball well with 752 assists. Kacy Mattingly leads Marion County with 487 digs with [player_tooltip player_id='612196' first='Ella' last='Marrett'] and Grace Mattingly recording 238 and 137 kills, respectively.   19th District   Bethlehem (15-9) rose up and finished 7-1 in district play to take the top seed. Nelson County handed the Banshees their lone district seed loss. Addy Greenwell leads Bethlehem with 556 digs and Danika Street has 369 with two more with at least 102. Allie Thompson and Matti Deopere have 416 and 320 assists, respectively with [player_tooltip player_id='603333' first='Alexis' last='Lanz'] leading the Banshees with 215 kills, 73 solo and 11 assisted blocks. Three others have at least 131 kills.   Bethlehem plays the winner of Tuesday's Bardstown (13-14) and Washington County (4-17) game on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Commanderettes finished 0-8 in district seed play and the Tigers finished 4-4.   The second semifinal game Wednesday could be interesting. Thomas Nelson (17-13) is looking to make it to the 5th Region Tournament for the first time since 2020. The Generals have balance with libero Savannah Settles leading the way defensively with 554 digs and five more have at least 105 digs. [player_tooltip player_id='533368' first='Elle' last='Osborne'] and [player_tooltip player_id='774748' first='Hadley' last='Brooks'] have 372 and 284 assists, respectively and [player_tooltip player_id='533370' first='Tori' last='Osborne'] leads the Generals with 278 kills. The balanced Generals have five players with at least 105 kills.   The season may not have lived up to expectations, but the two-time defending district champion Cardinals (10-13) will not go down easily on their home court. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='477109' first='Madison' last='Edelen'] is having a stellar season with 428 kills and 330 digs with [player_tooltip player_id='477135' first='Remmi' last='Cooke'] recording 389 kills, 46 solo blocks, 17 assisted blocks and 253 digs.   Notable Performers    Bailey dominates the net with her size making a tough matchup for opponents. Bailey forms good double blocks then quickly transitions to offense. She smacks down short sets in the middle and even adjusts in mid-air to tap balls to open parts of the court. Bailey forces opposing hitters to go over her helping her teammates get to balls to make smooth passes. Bailey swing blocks well including moving her hands to the sides to touch balls. Bailey had 470 kills, 33 solo, 44 assisted blocks and 28 aces entering Saturday for the Purples. Bailey made the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association All-State First Team last year.     Marshall has delivered in an important role in a big way for the Purples this year. Marshall does a number of short and long sets including back sets. She places balls where her the tall Purple hitters can be successful. Marshall is also valuable on defense for the Purples. She anticipates balls well hustling to them, then squaring her arms up to make nice passes. Marshall also does well with net coverage. Marshall had 750 assists and 110 digs on the season entering Saturday.     Akin has been a huge key to the record-setting season for the Indians. She has dressed for varsity for five years now and led the team in digs three straight seasons. Akin constantly finds ways to pass better with more experience. Akin does a great job making two and three-point passes to get the Indians into a good offensive flow.     Logsdon has been a huge key to the turnaround for the Banshees this year. Logsdon can smoke balls from the strong left side and throw in deceptive shoves to the opposite line. Logsdon is not afraid to use her left hand to put balls down when she sees the openings. Logsdon has 164 kills on the season for the Banshees.     Brooks has taken the load off the main setter giving the Generals more weapons offensively. She does a good job putting the hitters in position to succeed and going to her knees defensively to dig up balls. Brooks also puts good spin on her serves. Brooks has 284 assists, 170 digs and 26 aces on the season for the Generals.

The state's Dominant Five teams consisting of Louisville powers Assumption, Sacred Heart and Mercy along with northern Kentucky powers St. Henry and Notre Dame had gone a combined 65-2 against in-state teams outside of games against each other.

The host Bowling Green Purples (28-6) from the 4th Region became the third in-state team outside the group to do it with a 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-17) win over the Crusaders (29-5). St. Henry had not lost to an in-state opponent outside of the Dominant Five since a 3-2 (13-25, 25-22, 25-20, 10-25, 15-9) home loss to Ryle on Oct. 5, 2021.

Keith Carver is in his first season leading the Purples and he took over a talented group led by 6-4 middle blocker and Louisville commit Amirra Bailey Amirra Bailey 6'4" | MB Bowling Green | 2026 State #160 Nation KY . Bailey had 470 kills entering the game Saturday including 24 in the Bowling Green win over Elizabethtown on Tuesday.

Bailey has plenty of help. Five players had at least 102 digs on the season led by 228 from Claire Lawless Claire Lawless DS/L Bowling Green | 2025 State KY entering Saturday. JoEllen Marshall JoEllen Marshall 5'7" | S Bowling Green | 2027 State KY has done a good job setting up Bailey and other hitters such as Morgan Rockrohr Morgan Rockrohr 5'9" | OH Bowling Green | 2026 State KY , Addie Kincheloe (pictured above left) and Chayse Gilliland Chayse Gilliland 6'1" | OH/S Bowling Green | 2028 State #78 Nation KY . Lawless also led the Purples in aces entering the Saturday game.

Bowling Green has gone 9-1 in 4th Region action with the lone defeat coming 3-2 (15-25, 25-22, 25-19, 16-25, 15-10) against 14th District rival Greenwood on the road Aug. 29. The Purples have won four in a row to end the regular season.

Bowling Green takes on Warren Central (9-15) at home on Monday at 5:30 p.m. CST in the 14th District semifinals. The Purples have won the district tournament three years in a row.

DuPont Manual beat Mercy, 3-1 (26-24, 25-19, 19-25, 25-21) on Oct. 9 at home and Ryle beat Assumption, 2-0 (26-24, 25-21) for those other two losses. That marked the first in-state loss for the Rockets outside of the Dominant Five since 2003.

Region 5 District Semifinal interesting Matchups

20th District

The Adair County Indians finished the regular season 22-9 improving on last year's record-setting season with eight more wins this year. Balance has been a key for the Indians as seven different players have at least 102 digs on the season and five have at least 101 kills. Anslie Spoon and Jazlyn Kemp Jazlyn Kemp 5'7" | S Adair County | 2025 State KY continue to anchor the offense with 449 and 372 assists, respectively.

Adair County has not advanced out of the 20th District since it formed in 2010 and this year will not be any easier. The Indians take on Marion County (19-14) at home on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Adair County won two of the three meetings in the regular season.

Veteran head coach Dave Hibbard has guided the Knights to another solid season. McKenna Thomas McKenna Thomas 5'11" | OH Marion County | 2026 State KY leads the Knights with 343 kills, 275 digs and 27 solo blocks on the season. Kendra Gaddie has set the ball well with 752 assists. Kacy Mattingly leads Marion County with 487 digs with Ella Marrett Ella Marrett 5'9" | OH Marion County | 2028 State KY and Grace Mattingly recording 238 and 137 kills, respectively.

19th District

Bethlehem (15-9) rose up and finished 7-1 in district play to take the top seed. Nelson County handed the Banshees their lone district seed loss. Addy Greenwell leads Bethlehem with 556 digs and Danika Street has 369 with two more with at least 102. Allie Thompson and Matti Deopere have 416 and 320 assists, respectively with Alexis Lanz Alexis Lanz 5'11" | MB Bethlehem | 2027 State KY leading the Banshees with 215 kills, 73 solo and 11 assisted blocks. Three others have at least 131 kills.

Bethlehem plays the winner of Tuesday's Bardstown (13-14) and Washington County (4-17) game on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The Commanderettes finished 0-8 in district seed play and the Tigers finished 4-4.

The second semifinal game Wednesday could be interesting. Thomas Nelson (17-13) is looking to make it to the 5th Region Tournament for the first time since 2020. The Generals have balance with libero Savannah Settles leading the way defensively with 554 digs and five more have at least 105 digs. Elle Osborne Elle Osborne 5'8" | S Thomas Nelson | 2026 State KY and Hadley Brooks Hadley Brooks 5'5" | S Thomas Nelson | 2027 State KY have 372 and 284 assists, respectively and Tori Osborne Tori Osborne OH Thomas Nelson | 2026 State KY leads the Generals with 278 kills. The balanced Generals have five players with at least 105 kills.

The season may not have lived up to expectations, but the two-time defending district champion Cardinals (10-13) will not go down easily on their home court. Senior Madison Edelen Madison Edelen OH Nelson County | 2025 State KY is having a stellar season with 428 kills and 330 digs with Remmi Cooke Remmi Cooke 5'11" | OH Nelson County | 2025 State KY recording 389 kills, 46 solo blocks, 17 assisted blocks and 253 digs.