Union County rises from 41 straight losses to region runner-up

Union County sits along the banks of the Ohio River adjacent to both Indiana and Illinois in western Kentucky. The county with a 2020 census population of 13,668 people stands between Paducah and Henderson. It is about half an hour drive to Henderson from the county seat of Morganfield and about 1.5 hours to Paducah.   Morganfield is the birth place of former Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons head coach and University of Kentucky men's basketball assistant Dwayne Casey. It is also the site of President Abraham Lincoln's lone speech in the state, and has an amazing story behind the Union County Bravettes volleyball team.   That story began on Sept. 9, 2019 when Union County knocked off Trigg County, 3-1 (25-21, 26-24, 22-25, 25-21) at home, but would not win again for another 35 months and a week. The Bravettes lost at home one day later by a 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-15) score to Webster County in what started a rough streak of 41 losses in a row including an 0-7 campaign in the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic-shortened 2020 season and an 0-20 season the following season.   However, Quaid Girten, who also coaches the boys basketball team at Union County, took over in 2022 and the Bravettes ended the unwanted streak in the season opener of his first game as head coach on Aug. 16 of that year with a 3-1 (12-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-9) win over Webster County. That team finished 11-10 for the program's first winning season since going 17-16 in 2008. The team proceeded to go 13-11 in 2023 and make it back to the 2nd Region Tournament for the first time since 2015.   The icing on the cake came last fall when Union County finished 16-8, won the 6th District Tournament for the first district crown in program history then drove to the 2nd Region title game losing 3-1 (25-23, 25-22, 23-25, 25-18) to Heritage Christian. The team graduated six seniors including Dana Curry and the team's leader in kills and digs in Serena Oba. Jordyn Gobin moved away and Ali Green graduated early.   However, the cupboard is not bare for new head coach Jesa Allee. Allee, a 2012 Henderson County graduate, comes into her first varsity head coaching job with middle school experience.   "I've started open gyms and conditioning and I can see (the enthusiasm) already," Allee said. "It definitely makes a difference when there's success. More people are ready to come out and work."   Allee said communication is a big part of success. Understanding that each player is different, she wants the players to trust themselves and the coaches. She is a believer in the last ball, next ball mentality where players better balls after making mistakes. In terms of games, Allee said she wants the team to be able to spot serve and see that trickle down to the lower levels in addition to being able to put balls down on the first attacks. Allee noted she will try to prepare the team for every scenario in practice noting repetitions lead to faster-paced offensive flows.   The main returning players Allee has to build around are senior middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='788299' first='Rosella' last='Greenwell'], junior setter [player_tooltip player_id='788322' first='Claudia' last='Wheatley'] and junior [player_tooltip player_id='788312' first='Aubree' last='Wedding']. None of those three play club ball. Allee said Union County players generally go play for Evansville United in Indiana if anywhere. Seniors Raylen Davis, Naiah Manuel and junior Kennedi Clements saw limited action on varsity last year.   Greenwell said Heritage Christian's defense was better than Union County's in the 2nd Region championship game. Greenwell said the Warriors knew exactly where balls were headed, adding a defender can look at an opposing hitter's hands, but it is hard to tell sometimes. Wedding said Heritage Christian played with more energy, adding communication on the court will be a key to this season.   Wheatley is Girten's sister-in-law. She stepped in at setter last year after the starting setter in senior Jaylei Davis went out with an injury. Wheatley credited her teammates for helping her be the best setter she can be. Wheatley said Allee's done a good job watching film and talking to Girten trying to figure out how to help everyone get better.   The team has tryouts on July 14 and 15 after the dead period finishes July 9. The season starts in August.   Players to Watch    Wheatley (pictured) stepped into a big spot and excelled in helping the Bravettes drive to the region championship last fall. Wheatley does a good job figuring out where hitters want balls and figures out ways to get balls into the power zones. Wheatley reacts quick on balls trying to make nice passes. Wheatley wins jousts at the net and hits soft ones to the front row when the team is out of system. Wheatley said she's been getting reps in practice and become physically stronger. Wheatley had 454 assists and 235 digs for Union County last fall.     Greenwell has played libero and outside hitter in the past, but moved to middle blocker last season. She brings versatility to the Bravettes, making plays at all six spots on the floor. Greenwell makes crisp passes in the back row to jumpstart the offense. Then at the net, Greenwell may be undersized, but plays well above her height. Greenwell does a good job smacking balls over and around blockers to certain zones on the floor. Greenwell had 153 kills, 28 solo blocks, 24 assisted blocks and 133 digs for the Bravettes last fall.     Wedding gives the Bravettes a sound presence at the net, even though she's only played the sport for two years. The lefty places balls well from the ground. She hits balls of blockers for kills. Wedding said she has been working on her hitting, footwork and timing on her blocks, noting she is still learning things about the game. Wedding had 25 solo blocks, 27 assisted blocks and 78 kills for the Bravettes last fall.    Note from the Writer   Mike Graham has been writing for Prep Dig for one year and a half 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. 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Union County sits along the banks of the Ohio River adjacent to both Indiana and Illinois in western Kentucky. The county with a 2020 census population of 13,668 people stands between Paducah and Henderson. It is about half an hour drive to Henderson from the county seat of Morganfield and about 1.5 hours to Paducah.