Letcher County Central seeks return to 14th mountain top

The school that opened in 2005 with the consolidation of Letcher, Whitesburg and Fleming-Neon High schools into one sits on the side of a mountain near Whitesburg.   The banners on the inside of the gym reflect the time when the Letcher County Cougars were the toast of the 14th Region. The Cougars have won 14 14th Region titles since that consolidation including 13 of 14 from 2005 to 2018. The last one came in 2021 when the Cougars lost in the first round of the state tournament at eventual state champion St. Henry.   Taylor VanHoose took over the program in 2024 coming over from Shelby Valley hoping to help guide the Cougars back to that perch. The Cougars finished 21-16 in her first season losing 3-2 (19-25, 26-24, 15-25, 25-18, 15-4) to Wolfe County in the 14th Region semifinals at Powell County.   The first order of business is reclaiming the 53rd District. Rival Knott County Central has won it the last three seasons and went on to win the first 14th Region crown in program history, then beat visiting Ashland, 3-1 (25-16, 25-23, 20-25, 25-9) in the first round of the state tournament, marking just the second time a 14th Region team has won a state tournament game since the state expanded from eight to 16 regions in 2003. Letcher County Central has the region's other state tournament win in 2006 with a 2-0 (25-16, 25-21) win over Belfry in the first round. The Patriots have won eight in a row in the series against the Cougars.   VanHoose said things are the opposite of last season entering this year. The Cougars had an established setter in Amelia Lucas and a nice outside hitter in Maddison Napier with question marks around them. However, eighth grade libero [player_tooltip player_id='762378' first='Piper' last='Adams'] emerged along with junior hitters [player_tooltip player_id='603819' first='Hanna' last='Eldridge'], [player_tooltip player_id='771734' first='Calissa' last='Lowe'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='612103' first='Evany' last='Pack']. Many of them played on a local [program_tooltip program_id='740321' first='Bluegrass' last='Volleyball Academy'] team in the spring. VanHoose said she told Eldridge and Lowe the region can be theirs the next two years if they want it.   VanHoose has spent the spring and summer figuring things out at the setter spot. The team ran a 6-2 during the summer games with Eldridge and junior Kelsi Holbrook as setters after running a 5-1 last year. VanHoose said she can put Eldridge anywhere hoping to see her take some swings. VanHoose is hoping to see others step forward such as sophomore middle blocker Tiara Bailey.   "I'm definitely trying to get them to be faster and such," VanHoose said. "I'm trying to really implement being volleyball players and not volleyball position players. We had some a few go down with injuries and such and so we kind of needed two backup middles. That's why we didn't get to the region championship. I had (Eldridge) go down in the region semifinals against Wolfe. That was the loser for us. So we're trying to get everyone in that mindset of being position players, getting everyone to have hands and able to play multiple positions. That's why Eldridge is on a different level."   After the dead period concludes, the team will hold tryouts. The season begins in August.    Eldridge is the definition of versatile. Eldridge (pictured) sends tough cut shots to the lines and back row. Eldridge has great precision on her sets and does a wonderful job hustling on defense. Her energy on the court is contagious. Eldridge said her setting has been a focus during the club and summer and she plans to go to some camps to help improve her wrist snaps among other hitting tangibles. Eldridge said she's also trying to focus on staying calm on the court, admitting the focus has to be on next balls after mistakes.     Adams has taken major strides in the spring and summer having attended a camp at the University of Nebraska. She watches hitters and makes good decisions going after balls. Her range has improved dramatically in the summer. She's gotten better at communicating with teammates and staying under control with her first touches. Adams has a sound jump serve and makes good out of system passes. Adams said she's been working with her teammates daily having more connections with teammates trying to figure out who is going to get which balls.     Pack has a good wrist snap. She's a deceptive hitter. Pack goes up for a potential tip, only to pound the ball to the back row. Pack can also send tough balls to the middle of the floor. Pack adds in tough serves. Pack credited BVA and VanHoose for helping her improve her hitting.     Lowe does a great job controlling the net using a good vertical jump. That often forces opponents to hit balls high and wide. Lowe puts balls all over the court consistently keeping defenders on the move. Lowe adds in a sound jump serve. Lowe said the team appreciates the ways VanHoose and staff are teaching them to run faster offenses. Lowe added the repetitions in practice have helped there.    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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The school that opened in 2005 with the consolidation of Letcher, Whitesburg and Fleming-Neon High schools into one sits on the side of a mountain near Whitesburg.