Midweek Notes: Libero cousins square off in NO-St. Henry game

The North Oldham Mustangs and St. Henry Crusaders managed to schedule a game in Erlanger that is more than just a huge non-region battle at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.   It features two starting liberos that are cousins in North Oldham junior [player_tooltip player_id='547082' first='Ashlyn' last='Thompson'] and St. Henry sophomore standout [player_tooltip player_id='610406' first='Kenadi' last='Sieg']. Outside of two games, Sieg has 72 digs on the season.   The two teams played at the Showdown at the Sunsphere Tournament in Knoxville on Friday and Saturday. They may have had around 15 family members there to watch them plus Thompson's younger sister Kylee, who plays for the North Oldham junior varsity team.   Both teams are trying to bounce back from losses Tuesday. St. Henry (7-2 overall) led Assumption 2-1, but the Rockets roared back with their backs against the wall to stay undefeated at 8-0, defeating St. Henry for the second time in four days.   Visiting Holy Cross (Louisville) came in and knocked off the Mustangs, 3-1. Senior Ellery Warnock and junior [player_tooltip player_id='784803' first='Kylie' last='Harrington'] led the way for the Cougars on defense with 18 and 11 digs respectively.   Adair County ends long losing skid against Taylor County   The Indians (4-0) ventured north to Campbellsville and came away with a 3-0 win over the Cardinals (2-2). That marked Adair County's first win over Taylor County since Aug. 23, 2011, ending a 36-game losing streak in the series. [player_tooltip player_id='666959' first='Josie' last='Blair'] had 12 kills and [player_tooltip player_id='828340' first='Olivia' last='Mantooth'] 10 in the win. [player_tooltip player_id='828879' first='Addison' last='Spoon'], sophomore Addison Bowman and [player_tooltip player_id='793716' first='Kinzlee' last='Akin'] led the Indians on defense and setter Anslie Spoon set up the hitters.   Key Thursday Matchups   16th Region   Ashland (4-0) at Rowan County (5-0), 7 p.m.   The Kittens are receiving the balance and contributions from the middles and outsides they expected to in addition to the setters and defensive specialists. One player that has jumped into the fray is sophomore Mel Kelley.   Ashland does have the size advantage with 6-0 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='781585' first='Elise' last='Marcum'] and 5-11 senior [player_tooltip player_id='782415' first='Miley' last='Murphy'] in the middle. Expect Ashland setters [player_tooltip player_id='782955' first='Sydney' last='Mertz'] and [player_tooltip player_id='786656' first='Caroline' last='Lowman'] to feed them consistently unless Rowan County holds its own there.   Rowan County has seen the consistency they expected from setter [player_tooltip player_id='253881' first='Mallory' last='Jones'] and the two outsides in junior [player_tooltip player_id='535235' first='Belle' last='Mains'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='697081' first='Ella' last='Breeze']. They've also received sound hitting contributions from seniors Brooklyn Tenyer, Ella Brinker and freshman [player_tooltip player_id='874785' first='Eva' last='Brinker']. One or two of them may need to have big games in addition to Mains and Breeze if the Valkyries are to pull off the win.   10th Region   Nicholas County (3-1) at Harrison County (4-1), 7 p.m.   Harrison County wants the district crown back after not winning it last year for the first time since 2012. The Fillies took care of the other two district opponents the last two nights and hope for a clean sweep at home. Senior twins Lauren and Lexie Highlander in addition to senior Shyanne Ross and junior [player_tooltip player_id='532789' first='Audree' last='Whitaker'] have performed well as expected.   The Fillies have never lost to the Jackets in 42 meetings. Senior middle [player_tooltip player_id='765664' first='Morgan' last='Broderick'] and junior setter Allison Reid hope that changes. Reid has split the setting duties with senior Mackenzie Davenport. Senior Kylie Earlywine and junior Loralee Orazen have been good hitting options for Nicholas County as well.   9th Region   Conner (2-2) at Ryle (2-1), 7 p.m.   The Raiders have won 37 in a row in this series. Will it continue or end? Conner sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='579836' first='Charlotte' last='Patton'] and senior [player_tooltip player_id='602465' first='Annika' last='Berwanger'] may have something to say about that. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='484447' first='Shylyn' last='Koerber'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='782751' first='Alexis' last='Kampsen'] have distributed balls well with junior Makena Marks leading the way in digs. Junior outside Aurora Sandfoss has also emerged as a threat for the Cougars.   Ryle is young in key spots. However, the Raiders seem to play their best in district games. They've not lost to a district opponent since 2022.   Players to Watch    Sieg's reflexes have taken tremendous stride early this fall. She sets up near hot spots and sticks arms out quickly to make huge saves in addition to making the simple passes on soft and hard hit balls. Sieg (pictured) constantly has her arms in position to make walls around the balls and make sure they go to the front row for two to three-point passes. Sieg also makes good sets out of system, including back ones when St. Henry needs them.     Marcum has performed up to standards in the middle thus far for the Kittens. Marcum uses her size and a good wrist snap to send balls flying toward the lines. Marcum also mixes in soft touches to the middle to keep defenses guessing. She helps control the net with good timing on her vertical jumps.     Blair was electrifying against Taylor County from both the outside and the middle. Blair put so much force on balls that even if the Taylor County players were in good position, balls caromed off their arms way out of play. Blair sent a lot of hard cross shots all game and hit balls over and around double teams using her size well.     Reid leads the Jackets in assists and digs early in the season. She'll need to do that and more if Nicholas County is to pull off the first win in program history against Harrison County. Her good range will be key to digging up Harrison County's sound hitters. She also does a good job setting up hitters and make crisp first passes.     The Cougars expected some younger players to step forward to help out their three key returning players and Kampsen has been one to do that. Kampsen has split time with Koerber at setter allowing Koerber to take some swings. Kampsen can also take nice swings when needed. Kampsen reads defenses well putting teammates in position to succeed.    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. If you feel someone in Kentucky or Ohio needs coverage or even have feedback on the Kentucky rankings, 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. 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The North Oldham Mustangs and St. Henry Crusaders managed to schedule a game in Erlanger that is more than just a huge non-region battle at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.