No surprises as all four district champs advance in 9th quarters

Attend the Top 250 Expo 12/1 in Wilder, KY! Use coupon code "GrahamExpo2024" at checkout for $10 off registration fee! Here's the link to the event page: <a href="https://events.prepdig.com/e/1299/register/kentucky-top-250-expo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://events.prepdig.com/e/1299/register/kentucky-top-250-expo</a>   The first day of the 9th Region Tournament at St. Henry saw no big surprises.   All four district champions came into the day favored and all four advanced to the semifinals Tuesday back at St. Henry. Highlands takes on Notre Dame at 5:30 p.m. then St. Henry faces Ryle at 7:30 p.m.   Ryle, Notre Dame and St. Henry all advanced to the semifinals together for the fourth consecutive year. Highlands became the fourth different team in four years to make it to the semifinals adding on to the eight consecutive 36th District championships. The Bluebirds last made the region semifinals in 2019.   St. Henry 3, Beechwood 1 (25-16, 25-15, 11-25, 25-21)   This game turned out to be the closest of the four games Sunday.   The Crusaders (32-5) imposed their will in the first two games. [player_tooltip player_id='610406' first='Kenadi' last='Sieg'] and Caroline Tabeling led with solid first contacts for St. Henry with [player_tooltip player_id='451098' first='Madi' last='Demler'] recording a solid all-around game and [player_tooltip player_id='612108' first='Madelyn' last='Keipert'] doing some setting freeing Demler up for swings. [player_tooltip player_id='159378' first='Corrine' last='Blackburn'], [player_tooltip player_id='594619' first='Emily' last='Helmers'], Gianna Butler, Violet Main and [player_tooltip player_id='159389' first='Elizabeth' last='Casey'] gave the Crusaders their usual offensive balance. Beechwood (25-9) battled back in the third game taking control at the net. [player_tooltip player_id='456263' first='Rachel' last='Lewandowski'] and Isabel Baaker had some big blocks at the net. [player_tooltip player_id='484442' first='Isabel' last='O'Brien'] landed some big aces during that game and had a solid all-around game for the Tigers. Maggie Dawson, [player_tooltip player_id='594624' first='Kendale' last='Lair'] and [player_tooltip player_id='456668' first='Skylr' last='Estep'] made some big digs trying to keep plays alive and propel Beechwood into the next round. Estep once again set up the offense nicely with Baaker, Lewandowski, O'Brien and even [player_tooltip player_id='484443' first='Macy' last='Armstrong'] landing big kills.   Beechwood built a 16-12 lead in the fourth game. However, Blackburn took over at the net and the Crusaders rode the momentum to the win avoiding a premature end to the season by their standards.   The good news for the young Tigers is everyone could return next season with no seniors on the roster. Baaker, Dawson, Lair, Ellie Stamm and Piper Steinmetz are juniors.   Highlands 3, Cooper 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-20)   The Bluebirds (29-9) knocked off the Jaguars for the third time this season and just the fourth time in school history. Entering the season, the Jaguars (13-20) had won 19 in a row against the Bluebirds dating back to the first meeting between the two on Sep 19, 2009. That included four region quarterfinal wins in 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2021.   [player_tooltip player_id='276170' first='Hayden' last='Gessner'] led the defensive effort for Highlands once again with Mia Perron and Ellie Mohr also coming up with big digs. [player_tooltip player_id='503792' first='Ava' last='Muzumdar'] and [player_tooltip player_id='395942' first='Ella' last='Cox'] consistently dished out assists with [player_tooltip player_id='486914' first='Sydney' last='Schomaker'], [player_tooltip player_id='590640' first='Liz' last='Perkins'], [player_tooltip player_id='590644' first='Alexis' last='Steinhauser'], [player_tooltip player_id='486907' first='Lyla' last='Bottom'] and [player_tooltip player_id='608333' first='Bella' last='Thomas'] coming up with huge kills and blocks. Cox threw in a few setter dumps.   Two Bluebirds hit 500 milestones on the season in the win. Gessner hit her 500th dig on the season and Muzumdar had her 500th assist.   Cooper saw [player_tooltip player_id='535268' first='Addison' last='Warth'] try to lead on defense and [player_tooltip player_id='159399' first='Audrey' last='Schilling'] come up with big kills in the final game of her storied career, but the Jaguars could not keep up with the experienced Bluebirds. The Jaguars especially could not stop Shomaker from the strong left side.   Cooper graduates seven seniors in Schilling, Dani Depenbrock, Makenna Depue, Carman Kemper, Madeline Mahoney, Jessica Matusik and Carly Schroder.   Ryle 3, Newport Central Catholic 0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-11)   The Raiders used their size to down the Thoroughbreds for the second straight season.   Ryle (24-8) may have lost two of the top three hitters for the season, but the 5-11 freshman Ashley Towner has picked up her game to go with Layna Wilkinson. [player_tooltip player_id='253871' first='Karsyn' last='Griffin'], [player_tooltip player_id='486910' first='Ria' last='Furuta'], [player_tooltip player_id='334217' first='Francesca' last='Hansel'] and Lucy Baker had good games defensively and [player_tooltip player_id='212347' first='Morgan' last='Heater'] once again commanded the offense in her usual fashion.   [player_tooltip player_id='484445' first='Jordyn' last='Reckers'] tried like crazy to keep plays alive for the Thoroughbreds (15-21), but NewCath struggled to put balls down against the taller Raiders. [player_tooltip player_id='693877' first='Piperlyn' last='Kramer'] also had a nice game digging for NewCath and Vivi Fassler tried to spread things out in her final game at setter.   The Thoroughbreds graduate nine seniors in Fassler, Jaylee Brannen, Katelyn Brannen, Elise Fowler, Addison Dufeck, Elena Henderson, Reese McCloskey, Madison Wolf and Madison Wherry-McFarland.   Notre Dame 3, Villa Madonna 0 (25-10, 25-9, 25-10)   The Pandas earned their 30th win of the season in convincing fashion, besting a Villa Madonna team (22-8) that made the first appearance in the region tournament since 2015. It marked the first meeting between the two since meeting in the same round in 2012.   The biggest storyline in this game is two sisters (pictured) playing on opposite sides of the net. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='484250' first='Teagan' last='Kondik'] had eight kills for Notre Dame and senior [player_tooltip player_id='210638' first='Maya' last='Kondik'] had seven to go with two blocks for the Vikings.   The Pandas have run a fast-paced offense for years and the Vikings could not keep up. [player_tooltip player_id='379687' first='Lizzy' last='Larkins'] dished it all over the place once again. [player_tooltip player_id='210633' first='Ava' last='Tilden'] and [player_tooltip player_id='231876' first='Ella' last='Goetz'] led the way offensively and [player_tooltip player_id='210634' first='Julia' last='Grace'] once again led the Pandas in digs.   Villa Madonna graduates three seniors in [player_tooltip player_id='210638' first='Maya' last='Kondik'], Catherine Gifford and Rebecca Raziano.   Notable Performances    If there is a time to turn into Corrine Block-burn, it is now and she did that in the quarterfinals with five big ones including ones in the fourth game. She rose up and timed several with solid precision. Blackburn (pictured) also took some short sets from both setters and slammed balls down. Blackburn said the Crusaders had good energy in the first two games then flipped the switch back on in the fourth game. Blackburn said her mentality was owning the net and not letting anything past her. Blackburn finished with 14 kills in the game.     Sieg has been wanting to play for the Crusaders for a long time and has put in the work the coaching staff expects to contribute the way she has. The libero said she tries to be dialed in and focused every single play. The hustler made a number of big plays to keep balls alive for St. Henry in the quarterfinal win. Sieg credited her teammates and coaches for pushing her to improve daily. Sieg had 19 digs in the win.     Butler provides good depth for the Crusaders. She takes good swings and gives St. Henry good net coverage. Butler had a big kill in the fourth game to put the Crusaders up 21-19. Butler said it is imperative to take deep breaths and try to stay in control at all times. Butler said the players huddle in between plays to figure out what needs to happen next. Butler had six kills in the win.     O'Brien gave everything she had trying to propel the Tigers into the region semifinals for the first time since 2017. O'Brien takes swings at all six positions trying to land big kills. The versatile O'Brien tried constantly moved her feet trying to dig up balls against the tough St. Henry hitters. O'Brien did manage to get her hands on balls keeping plays live. O'Brien had 14 kills, 17 digs and two blocks.     Schomaker excelled against Cooper, especially from her strong left side. She has good approaches to the net, rising up and pounding balls to different parts of the court. Schomaker takes things off balls to place them to different parts of the court. Schomaker said the team has put in a lot of hard work to make it to this point. Schomaker finished with 15 kills in the win to lead the Bluebirds.     Muzumdar commands the offense well giving the Bluebirds steady play on the court. She knows her the strengths of her hitters and tries hard to mix things up so defenses do not key on one hitter. She agreed that seeing the court is vital to setting and credited the team for keeping the energy up the entire match. Muzumdar hit her 500th assist of the season in the win tallying 23 total to go with five digs.     Schilling laid it on the line in the last game of her career for the Jaguars. She took big swings all game and landed some kills keeping games close. Schilling had 10 kills in the game and finished second all-time in program history in digs.     Towner has stepped in for injured teammates and given the Raiders a needed lift in the middle with her size. This experience will only help her grow. She is in sync with her teammates at the net, forming good double blocks and provides a good offensive option. Towner makes things happen out of system. Towner said it was tough at first adjusting to varsity, but her teammates helped her. Towner led Ryle with nine kills in the win over NewCath.     One can not say enough about the play of [player_tooltip player_id='484445' first='Jordyn' last='Reckers']. She has a nose for the ball constantly trying to track them down with two and three-point passes. Reckers consistently puts NewCath in position to run various routes offensively. Reckers recorded 22 digs in the losing effort finishing the season with more than 500.     Goetz continuously takes good approaches at the net on both hitting and blocking. Goetz is a true leader on the court. She sends hard serves to different parts of the court. She said the team is not taking things for granted at this point in the season knowing a loss means the end of the season. Goetz finished with 10 kills and three aces.

Attend the Top 250 Expo 12/1 in Wilder, KY! Use coupon code "GrahamExpo2024" at checkout for $10 off registration fee! Here's the link to the event page: https://events.prepdig.com/e/1299/register/kentucky-top-250-expo

The first day of the 9th Region Tournament at St. Henry saw no big surprises.

All four district champions came into the day favored and all four advanced to the semifinals Tuesday back at St. Henry. Highlands takes on Notre Dame at 5:30 p.m. then St. Henry faces Ryle at 7:30 p.m.

Ryle, Notre Dame and St. Henry all advanced to the semifinals together for the fourth consecutive year. Highlands became the fourth different team in four years to make it to the semifinals adding on to the eight consecutive 36th District championships. The Bluebirds last made the region semifinals in 2019.

St. Henry 3, Beechwood 1 (25-16, 25-15, 11-25, 25-21)

This game turned out to be the closest of the four games Sunday.

The Crusaders (32-5) imposed their will in the first two games. Kenadi Sieg Kenadi Sieg 5'6" | DS/L St. Henry | 2028 State KY and Caroline Tabeling led with solid first contacts for St. Henry with Madi Demler Madi Demler 5'9" | OH/S St. Henry | 2026 State KY recording a solid all-around game and Madelyn Keipert Madelyn Keipert 5'8" | S/RS St. Henry | 2028 State KY doing some setting freeing Demler up for swings. Corrine Blackburn Corrine Blackburn 6'3" | MB St. Henry | 2025 State KY , Emily Helmers Emily Helmers 6'1" | MB St. Henry | 2026 State KY , Gianna Butler, Violet Main and Elizabeth Casey Elizabeth Casey DS/L St. Henry | 2025 State KY gave the Crusaders their usual offensive balance.
Beechwood (25-9) battled back in the third game taking control at the net. Rachel Lewandowski Rachel Lewandowski 5'11" | OH/RS Beechwood | 2027 State KY and Isabel Baaker had some big blocks at the net. Isabel O’Brien Isabel O’Brien 5'8" | OH Beechwood | 2027 State KY landed some big aces during that game and had a solid all-around game for the Tigers. Maggie Dawson, Kendale Lair Kendale Lair 5'6" | OH Beechwood | 2026 State KY and Skylr Estep Skylr Estep 5'9" | S/DS/L Beechwood | 2027 State KY made some big digs trying to keep plays alive and propel Beechwood into the next round. Estep once again set up the offense nicely with Baaker, Lewandowski, O'Brien and even Macy Armstrong Macy Armstrong 6'0" | MB Beechwood | 2027 State KY landing big kills.

Beechwood built a 16-12 lead in the fourth game. However, Blackburn took over at the net and the Crusaders rode the momentum to the win avoiding a premature end to the season by their standards.

The good news for the young Tigers is everyone could return next season with no seniors on the roster. Baaker, Dawson, Lair, Ellie Stamm and Piper Steinmetz are juniors.

Highlands 3, Cooper 0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-20)

The Bluebirds (29-9) knocked off the Jaguars for the third time this season and just the fourth time in school history. Entering the season, the Jaguars (13-20) had won 19 in a row against the Bluebirds dating back to the first meeting between the two on Sep 19, 2009. That included four region quarterfinal wins in 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2021.

Hayden Gessner Hayden Gessner 5'3" | DS/L Highlands | 2026 State KY led the defensive effort for Highlands once again with Mia Perron and Ellie Mohr also coming up with big digs. Ava Muzumdar Ava Muzumdar 5'5" | S/RS Highlands | 2026 State KY and Ella Cox Ella Cox 5'10" | S Highlands | 2025 State KY consistently dished out assists with Sydney Schomaker Sydney Schomaker 5'10" | OH Highlands | 2025 State KY , Liz Perkins Liz Perkins 5'9" | OH Highlands | 2026 State KY , Alexis Steinhauser Alexis Steinhauser 5'10" | OH Highlands | 2028 State KY , Lyla Bottom Lyla Bottom 5'10" | MB/OH Highlands | 2025 State KY and Bella Thomas Bella Thomas 5'8" | MB/RS Highlands | 2028 State KY coming up with huge kills and blocks. Cox threw in a few setter dumps.

Two Bluebirds hit 500 milestones on the season in the win. Gessner hit her 500th dig on the season and Muzumdar had her 500th assist.

Cooper saw Addison Warth Addison Warth DS/L C | 2027 KY try to lead on defense and Audrey Schilling Audrey Schilling 5'8" | OH Cooper | 2025 State KY come up with big kills in the final game of her storied career, but the Jaguars could not keep up with the experienced Bluebirds. The Jaguars especially could not stop Shomaker from the strong left side.

Cooper graduates seven seniors in Schilling, Dani Depenbrock, Makenna Depue, Carman Kemper, Madeline Mahoney, Jessica Matusik and Carly Schroder.

Ryle 3, Newport Central Catholic 0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-11)

The Raiders used their size to down the Thoroughbreds for the second straight season.

Ryle (24-8) may have lost two of the top three hitters for the season, but the 5-11 freshman Ashley Towner has picked up her game to go with Layna Wilkinson. Karsyn Griffin Karsyn Griffin 5'9" | RS Ryle | 2025 State KY , Ria Furuta Ria Furuta 5'5" | DS/L Ryle | 2026 State KY , Francesca Hansel Francesca Hansel 5'5" | DS/L Ryle | 2027 State KY and Lucy Baker had good games defensively and Morgan Heater Morgan Heater 6'0" | S/OH Ryle | 2026 State KY once again commanded the offense in her usual fashion.

Jordyn Reckers Jordyn Reckers 5'4" | DS/L Newport Central Catholic | 2027 State KY tried like crazy to keep plays alive for the Thoroughbreds (15-21), but NewCath struggled to put balls down against the taller Raiders. Piperlyn Kramer Piperlyn Kramer 5'2" | DS/L/S Newport Central Catholic | 2026 State KY also had a nice game digging for NewCath and Vivi Fassler tried to spread things out in her final game at setter.

The Thoroughbreds graduate nine seniors in Fassler, Jaylee Brannen, Katelyn Brannen, Elise Fowler, Addison Dufeck, Elena Henderson, Reese McCloskey, Madison Wolf and Madison Wherry-McFarland.

Notre Dame 3, Villa Madonna 0 (25-10, 25-9, 25-10)

The Pandas earned their 30th win of the season in convincing fashion, besting a Villa Madonna team (22-8) that made the first appearance in the region tournament since 2015. It marked the first meeting between the two since meeting in the same round in 2012.

The biggest storyline in this game is two sisters (pictured) playing on opposite sides of the net. Sophomore Teagan Kondik Teagan Kondik 6'1" | OH/RS Notre Dame | 2027 State KY had eight kills for Notre Dame and senior Maya Kondik Maya Kondik 6'0" | MB Villa Madonna | 2025 State KY had seven to go with two blocks for the Vikings.

The Pandas have run a fast-paced offense for years and the Vikings could not keep up. Lizzy Larkins Lizzy Larkins 5'8" | S Notre Dame | 2026 State KY dished it all over the place once again. Ava Tilden Ava Tilden 6'1" | OH Notre Dame | 2025 State #165 Nation KY and Ella Goetz Ella Goetz 5'9" | OH Notre Dame | 2025 State KY led the way offensively and Julia Grace Julia Grace 5'6" | DS/L Notre Dame | 2025 State #146 Nation KY once again led the Pandas in digs.

Villa Madonna graduates three seniors in Maya Kondik Maya Kondik 6'0" | MB Villa Madonna | 2025 State KY , Catherine Gifford and Rebecca Raziano.

Notable Performances

Corrine Blackburn

HEIGHT 6'3"

POS MB

CLASS 2025

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Corrine Blackburn

State: Kentucky

School: St. Henry

Club: Northern Kentucky Volleyball Club (NKYVC)

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Highlights

Kenadi Sieg

KY #8

DS/L #1

HEIGHT 5'6"

POS DS/L

CLASS 2028

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Kenadi Sieg

State: Kentucky

School: St. Henry

Club: Northern Kentucky Volleyball Club (NKYVC)

Sieg has been wanting to play for the Crusaders for a long time and has put in the work the coaching staff expects to contribute the way she has. The libero said she tries to be dialed in and focused every single play. The hustler made a number of big plays to keep balls alive for St. Henry in the quarterfinal win. Sieg credited her teammates and coaches for pushing her to improve daily. Sieg had 19 digs in the win.

Highlights

Gianna Butler

HEIGHT 5'9"

POS OH

CLASS 2026

Gianna Butler

School: St. Henry

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Isabel O’Brien

KY #14

OH #8

HEIGHT 5'8"

POS OH

CLASS 2027

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Isabel O’Brien

State: Kentucky

School: Beechwood

Club: Tri-State Elite

O'Brien gave everything she had trying to propel the Tigers into the region semifinals for the first time since 2017. O'Brien takes swings at all six positions trying to land big kills. The versatile O'Brien tried constantly moved her feet trying to dig up balls against the tough St. Henry hitters. O'Brien did manage to get her hands on balls keeping plays live. O'Brien had 14 kills, 17 digs and two blocks.

Highlights

Sydney Schomaker

HEIGHT 5'10"

POS OH

CLASS 2025

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Sydney Schomaker

State: Kentucky

School: Highlands

Club: Northern Kentucky Junior Volleyball (NKJV)

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Ava Muzumdar

KY #124

S/RS #20

HEIGHT 5'5"

POS S/RS

CLASS 2026

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Ava Muzumdar

State: Kentucky

School: Highlands

Club: Northern Kentucky Junior Volleyball (NKJV)

Muzumdar commands the offense well giving the Bluebirds steady play on the court. She knows her the strengths of her hitters and tries hard to mix things up so defenses do not key on one hitter. She agreed that seeing the court is vital to setting and credited the team for keeping the energy up the entire match. Muzumdar hit her 500th assist of the season in the win tallying 23 total to go with five digs.

Highlights

Audrey Schilling

HEIGHT 5'8"

POS OH

CLASS 2025

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Audrey Schilling

State: Kentucky

School: Cooper

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Highlights

Ashley Towner

MB/RS

HEIGHT 6'0"

POS MB/RS

CLASS 2028

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Ashley Towner

State: Kentucky

School: Ryle

Club: Northern Kentucky Volleyball Club (NKYVC)

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Highlights

Jordyn Reckers

KY #55

DS/L #11

HEIGHT 5'4"

POS DS/L

CLASS 2027

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Jordyn Reckers

State: Kentucky

School: Newport Central Catholic

Club: Northern Kentucky Volleyball Club (NKYVC)

One can not say enough about the play of Jordyn Reckers Jordyn Reckers 5'4" | DS/L Newport Central Catholic | 2027 State KY . She has a nose for the ball constantly trying to track them down with two and three-point passes. Reckers consistently puts NewCath in position to run various routes offensively. Reckers recorded 22 digs in the losing effort finishing the season with more than 500.