Five teams most likely to break Dominant Five's State Stronghold

The Notre Dame Pandas won the first Kentucky High School Athletic Association state volleyball tournament in 1979. They've gone on to win nine more since then as part of the state's Dominant Five that have won all but the second one in 1980 when Villa Madonna won it.   In the 1980s, Notre Dame and Mercy primarily battled for state titles. It was not until 1992 when the current leader in the Assumption Rockets won their first of a state record 24 crowns. Assumption has only not won state championships nine times since then including a recent three-year stretch between 2020 and 2022. Mercy is third with seven crowns with the last one coming in 2014.   St. Henry happens to be in the same 9th Region with Notre Dame and Sacred Heart is in the 7th Region with Assumption so all five can not be in the state tournament in the same season. The last time neither Notre Dame nor Assumption made the state tournament was 2021. Mercy has been every year since 1980.   St. Henry and Sacred Heart have two crowns each. St. Henry won it in 1981 when current head coach Maureen Kaiser was a freshman on the team, then in 2021 with her as the head coach. Sacred Heart's two crowns came in 2003 and 2016.   One of the reasons for the domination is private schools started their programs before public schools did. For example, Somerset started its program in 2003 and Mason County started its program in 2010. A lot of those players also got involved in club volleyball when it became popular in Kentucky in the 1990s.   Participation numbers are high in the sport all over the country, especially in Kentucky. With players involved in club volleyball all over the state, another state champion could emerge sooner than later, potentially from this group of five.   DuPont Manual   Current head coach Richard Weaver took over the program in 2019. Weaver said he barely had any kids playing club ball. Weaver said they developed plans to change that and are starting to see results. The Crimsons currently have a lot of players on the second teams at KIVA such as [player_tooltip player_id='768464' first='Avery' last='Schrenger'] and Avery Easley on the 17 White team then [player_tooltip player_id='484427' first='Piper' last='Fulton'], [player_tooltip player_id='484421' first='Suzetta' last='Fuller'] and Calista Easley on the 16 White team.   Manual did knock off Sacred Heart both times in 2022 on the way to making the 7th Region title game. The Crimsons have also beaten Mercy three times in the last six meetings. DuPont Manual has closed the gap on Assumption in recent years, making it back to the region title game this year and hosted it, nearly taking the first set from Assumption in a 30-28 loss minus the best player. The next step for Manual against Assumption is taking that elusive first set from the Rockets.   Ballard   The Bruins once again broke a school record for most wins in a season going 29-8 and winning the 28th District crown. Ballard then made it to the region semifinals before losing in four to Manual.   Ballard has the size to compete with teams all over the state with the 6-6 [player_tooltip player_id='212348' first='Ella' last='Grivna'] and 6-4 [player_tooltip player_id='443382' first='Ava' last='Liening'] in the middle. The outside game led by freshman [player_tooltip player_id='752300' first='Journey' last='Gibson'] should be improved this fall along with the defense led by [player_tooltip player_id='750447' first='Megan' last='Helander']. The key for the Bruins is finding ways to run a quicker offense and improve more on defense. Ballard has a number of players involved with the MidAmerica Volleyball Academy.   Ryle   On the morning of Sept. 14, Ryle bested eventual state champion Assumption, 2-0 (26-24, 25-21) to become the first Kentucky team outside the Dominant Five to beat the Rockets since 2003. The Raiders are the lone public school in Kentucky to beat both Notre Dame and Assumption since that 2003 season. Ryle beat Notre Dame, 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 25-19) in Park Hills on Oct. 12, 2021 and stayed close to the Pandas during the regular season this year in Union before a key injury occurred.   Ryle head coach Tasha Lovins has been in that position since 2002. She has some experience returning this year in [player_tooltip player_id='334217' first='Francesca' last='Hansel'] and [player_tooltip player_id='486910' first='Ria' last='Furuta'] on defense along with setter [player_tooltip player_id='212347' first='Morgan' last='Heater']. Freshman [player_tooltip player_id='767630' first='Morgan' last='Gehring'] has looked good in club season so it may give Lovins and staff some options to allow the dynamic Heater to take some swings. [player_tooltip player_id='731690' first='Layna' last='Wilkinson'] gives the Raiders size and the return of [player_tooltip player_id='535265' first='Rachel' last='King'] from injury should help. Freshman [player_tooltip player_id='712121' first='Ashley' last='Towner'] came on during the postseason as well. It always helps that other players tend to emerge on a yearly basis.   Bowling Green   The Purples have been to the state tournament three times in the last four years advancing to the state semifinals in 2022. Bowling Green had the size to make a deep run with the solid 6-4 [player_tooltip player_id='212192' first='Amirra' last='Bailey'], a University of Louisville commit. The Purples made it back to the state quarterfinals this year, but started off slow and could not recover in a 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 30-28) loss to Mercy. The Purples played competitive volleyball with the Jaguars once settling down in that third game.   Bowling Green has to fill in some roles on defense, but Bailey returns along with sophomore setter [player_tooltip player_id='741315' first='JoEllen' last='Marshall'] along with dynamic hitters [player_tooltip player_id='276175' first='Morgan' last='Rockrohr'] and freshman 6-0 [player_tooltip player_id='577773' first='Chayse' last='Gilliland']. Gilliland was not able to play in the state tournament as the result of an ACL injury, but she hopes to be back stronger this fall.   McCracken County   The Mustangs have been to the state tournament, winning the 1st Region every year since coming together as a high school in 2013. Other teams in the 1st Region have begun to develop some depth, but it still may take more years to catch the Mustangs.   The furthest McCracken County has gone in the state tournament is the state semifinals in 2017. The issue for the Mustangs is similar to other teams in terms of depth. They've yet to take a set from any of the Dominant Five.   Head Coach Chancie Coleman will lose the top two hitters to graduation in [player_tooltip player_id='159358' first='Addison' last='Hart'] and [player_tooltip player_id='531304' first='Elizabeth' last='Gilbert']. However, the Mustangs return setter [player_tooltip player_id='757541' first='Taylor' last='Dugan'] along with two sound defensive specialists in [player_tooltip player_id='477251' first='Caroline' last='Presswood'] and [player_tooltip player_id='533342' first='Penny' last='Kirkham']. Other hitters such as [player_tooltip player_id='533343' first='Reagan' last='Hill'], [player_tooltip player_id='747618' first='Neely' last='Nyberg'] and [player_tooltip player_id='757579' first='Kambell' last='Dunning'] should step forward to keep the offensive production level high. Another name to watch out for is defensive specialist [player_tooltip player_id='747076' first='Mollie' last='Canter'].   Darkhorses   A number of other teams could also emerge. Two come from the 5th Region, 17th District in Elizabethtown and Central Hardin. The Panthers return 6-6 Pittsburgh commit middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='212253' first='Jessica' last='Smallwood'], who plays for the KIVA 17 Red squad with many Assumption players, along with setter [player_tooltip player_id='533345' first='Addison' last='Janes'] and a promising young hitter in [player_tooltip player_id='748731' first='Maci' last='Singleton'].   Central Hardin did graduate a bit. However, the likes of [player_tooltip player_id='212390' first='Klaire' last='Warrell'] and [player_tooltip player_id='591652' first='Jordan' last='Fortner'] return. A number of players tend to emerge for veteran head coach Bill Rineker.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-crowdsignal wp-block-embed-crowdsignal"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://poll.fm/15392445 </div></figure>   Players to Watch    Faber prides herself on being calm and collective on the court and it shows. Faber continuously stays on an even keel. Faber does a good job mixing things up setting the ball getting a number of hitters involved and keeping defenses guessing. Faber will continue to grow during club season with the talent around her.     Tennen is one of several promising freshmen for the Bruins. She does a great job making first contacts whether serve-receiving or on hits across the net. Tennen does a good job backing up the net and smacking a sound line drive serve.     Towner earned the Gray Middle School Most Valuable Player honors in the seventh and eighth grade in 2022 and 2023, then moved next door hoping to do the same thing for Ryle. She stepped in as the result of injuries and made the 33rd District All-Tournament team last fall. Towner takes smooth swings from different parts of the net sending balls screaming away from defenders. Towner sends soft balls off blockers then pounds 31 routes to the lines. Towner is especially tough on the slides.     Rockrohr (pictured) does a good job leaping high and fitting balls over and through tight spots at the pins. She can angle balls away from defenders, making sound mid-air adjustments. Rockrohr quickly transitions from blocking to her hitting approach then puts power into balls. Rockrohr had 232 kills, 252 digs and 64 aces, helping the Purples go 34-7, win the 14th District crown, win the 4th Region crown for the third time in four years then advance to the state quarterfinals.     Hill's athleticism has paid off for the Mustangs on both the volleyball and basketball courts this year. Hill makes a lot of things happen controlling the net in the middle. She mixes up the soft hits over and to the sides of blockers then pounds balls to the back line. Her repertoire there is tremendous. Hill had 146 kills, 30 solo and 32 assisted blocks to help McCracken County go 35-6, win more 2nd District and 1st Region titles then go back to the state quarterfinals.    Note from the Writer   Mike Graham has been writing for Prep Dig for one year and has enjoyed getting to know the volleyball scenes in both Kentucky and Ohio. If you liked the story, please copy and paste to X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. You may also follow us at @prepdigkentucky or @prepdigoh on Instagram in addition to @PrepDigKy or @PrepDigOH on X. If you feel someone in Kentucky or Ohio needs coverage, please email Mike at pnmikeg@yahoo.com. You may also follow him on X @GMCgrah or Instagram @g.michaelgraham. Subscriptions give you access to exclusive content. For a 30% discount, enter code graham30 at checkout.

The Notre Dame Pandas won the first Kentucky High School Athletic Association state volleyball tournament in 1979. They've gone on to win nine more since then as part of the state's Dominant Five that have won all but the second one in 1980 when Villa Madonna won it.