Season in Review: 8th Region

The North Oldham Mustangs have not gone consecutive years without region championships since the current format formed in 2012 so after only making it to the semifinals last year, history showed the Mustangs back on top and it came to fruition.   North Oldham (28-10 overall) saw Brian Jones return to the sideline to lead the program and the Mustangs took some lumps early, but rolled come tournament time. The Mustangs won all three region tournament games in three sets. Campbell Floyd led the way on defense with sisters [player_tooltip player_id='212386' first='Reagan' last='Baxter'] and [player_tooltip player_id='724992' first='Berkeley' last='Baxter'] putting together solid play at the net. [player_tooltip player_id='484260' first='Lilah' last='Anthony'], Josie Scales and [player_tooltip player_id='706522' first='Vita' last='Sensenbrenner'] had big hits with [player_tooltip player_id='477099' first='Lucy' last='Proud'] adding depth at setter. Senior Hannah Morrison also contributed a good bit on defense. North Oldham lost 3-1 at Mercy in the first round of state.   Simon Kenton (30-6) won another district crown and made it to the region championship for the third time in four seasons, but still could not get over the hump. The Pioneers won their first 17 games including a home win over North Oldham, not losing a region game until the region title game. They had to beat Oldham County a third time in the first round of region. The senior-laden Pioneers need other players to step forward around [player_tooltip player_id='212349' first='Jenna' last='Kitchens'] next year.   Oldham County (24-9) put together another solid season. The Colonels took two sets from North Oldham in the district title game. Similar to Simon Kenton, Oldham County needs others to step forward around [player_tooltip player_id='479281' first='Ava' last='Arterburn'] and Ella Regenhold.   Collins (21-13) won the 30th District title for the first time since 2018 and won a region tournament game for the first time since 2017. A strong senior class of four played a big role in that.   Eminence was the fifth team to win at least 20 games this past fall. The Warriors hoped to win a district crown, but an injury to one of the main hitters hurt their chances and Henry County (15-15) wound up winning the 31st District for the second year in a row. Henry County features one of the region's top young hitters in [player_tooltip player_id='594447' first='Karma' last='Price'].   Solid Returning Players    Baxter (pictured) split time at the setter spot and took some swings from the right side for the Mustangs this past fall. She uses her height to set balls at solid angles away from blockers. Baxter consistently sets her feet at the right depth away from the net to make solid sets. North Oldham is so loaded that Baxter takes advantage of setter dumps. Baxter had 561 assists, 54 solo and 19 assisted blocks to go with 64 kills and 67 digs helping North Oldham to a 28-10 record, a 29th District crown and 8th Region title this past fall.     Jones came around for the Pioneers later in the season and needs to take things to another to keep Simon Kenton in contention for the region crown. Jones does a great job putting balls down on short sets in the middle. She disrupts a number of plays at the net. She'll improve as her blocking evolves.     Regenhold has been the leading setter for the Colonels these past two seasons and upped her defensive play a good bit her junior year. Regenhold puts hitters in position to succeed as a setter and dives for a lot of balls defensively. She extends one arm to keep plays alive if needed. Regenhold had 560 assists, 262 digs and 33 aces for the Colonels this past season.     Aspillaga brings versatility to the Titans. She takes solid swings offensively and puts first touches forward with a purpose starting a big offensive flow. Aspillaga also earned Collins a lot of points serving this year. Aspillaga had 203 kills, 254 digs and 58 aces for the Titans this past season.     Mahorn is off to a solid start making the Red team for club this year. Mahorn attacks balls with a lot of force. Mahorn reads defenses then takes solid four-step approaches to the net mixing in hard hits and soft touches to different parts of the court. Mahorn is also a valuable defender for the Yellow Jackets. Mahorn had 446 kills, 20 solo blocks and 228 digs for Woodford County this past fall.

The North Oldham Mustangs have not gone consecutive years without region championships since the current format formed in 2012 so after only making it to the semifinals last year, history showed the Mustangs back on top and it came to fruition.