Seeds for Success Tournament Notable Hitters

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The tournament had a total of four pools and 14 teams after one ended up playing in another tournament Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Pool A power pool consisted of 13th Region contender Corbin, 16th Region contender Russell and Great Crossing from the 11th Region. All three advanced to the gold bracket no matter what transpired in the pool and crossover games against teams in Pool B that consisted of Scott County, host Fleming County and Lewis County. Russell, Scott County, George Rogers Clark and Henry Clay wound up winning their pools to advance to the gold bracket along with Pool C runner-up East Jessamine and Pool D runner-up Bourbon County.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When the dust settled, the Henry Clay Blue Devils (7-1 overall) wound up winning the tournament with a spotless 6-0 mark besting Great Crossing, 2-0 (25-20, 25-19) in the championship game. Many of the Blue Devil players played together for the Bluegrass Reign club in the spring and that experience paid off in this tournament. [player_tooltip player_id='796354' first='Lola' last='Gleason'] and [player_tooltip player_id='754079' first='Riley' last='Slattery'] started things in the back making sound first touches to dynamic setter [player_tooltip player_id='397716' first='Emma' last='Jane Hurley']. Hurley then set up a number of hitters such as [player_tooltip player_id='753685' first='Kelsie' last='Lawson'], [player_tooltip player_id='832728' first='Heidi' last='Fay'], [player_tooltip player_id='812356' first='Charlotte' last='Young'] and [player_tooltip player_id='879599' first='Annie' last='Millar']. Young, Hurley, Fay and Gleason made the all-tournament team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"I'm really proud of how they played," said Dale Grupe, Henry County head coach. "Russell came out and played their tales off. I love how we kept fighting, came back and did what we needed to do. That's six solid wins."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Great Crossing (6-2) made it to the title game surviving a thriller against Russell. The Warhawks are battling some injuries now. Senior opposite hitter [player_tooltip player_id='479272' first='Emily' last='Erwin'] is out for the season. They also saw freshman setter [player_tooltip player_id='662587' first='Clarke' last='McDonald'] and senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='774977' first='Jenna' last='Browning'] go out during the championship game with various ailments. However, senior [player_tooltip player_id='792638' first='Brooklyn' last='Walls'] stepped in at setter and junior [player_tooltip player_id='511012' first='Alexis' last='Ingle'] took over the libero spot, which is what she played in club during the spring. Senior outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='343939' first='Erin' last='Thomas'] and junior opposite [player_tooltip player_id='535187' first='Gabrielle' last='Bray'] took big swings trying to lift the Warhawks to the crown. [player_tooltip player_id='807714' first='Rylie' last='Roby'], Thomas and Bray made the all-tournament team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The tournament saw a number of hitters take their huge swings trying to help their teams to wins.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Performers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["812356"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68aa8fbf5ffad"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Young gives Henry Clay big swings from the inside and outside. She is not afraid of big moments. Young has nice hits down the line. Young also forms big double blocks at the net trying to help save the legs of the defensive specialists with touches. Young credited Hurley for helping put the hitters in successful positions to keep options open.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["832728"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68aa8fbf60013"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Similar to other hitters, Fay and Hurley are more than on the same page. Fay (pictured) gets the most out of her swings and draws blockers away from teammates. Fay will continue to see a number of solo blockers with the balance of the Blue Devils. Fay said she thanks the middles for creating those one-on-ones on the outside because they're great at pulling and being loud. Fay also said the balance comes down to trusting each other to do the jobs and players will step up if one player has some rough couple of points, and doing what is needed to win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["343939"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68aa8fbf60064"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Thomas sends hard crosses to the other lines that defensive specialists have a difficult time picking up. Thomas executes tandems with teammates to give something extra for defenses to consider. Thomas has a high vertical jump to go over and around blocks, even pushing balls off blocks. Thomas shows her versatility running the pipe play in the back row.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["535187"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68aa931936d67"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Bray had a number of big kills for her club team and it has continued in the fall. She has a good wrist snap allowing her to pound balls to the floor. She can hit off blocks and even power through some. Bray mixes in soft and hard shots well. Bray also forms sound double teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["879613"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68aa931936dc7"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Duvall is a nice six-rotation player for the Bulldogs. Duvall helps Clinton County control the net with her sound blocking form. Duvall takes quality swings from the middle and pins. Duvall does not hide behind blocks, therefore making crisp first passes. Duvall also did a good job making things happen on out of system sets both long and short.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["811207"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68aa931936e12"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Clemens has turned into a huge addition for the Redhounds thus far with her size and athleticism. Clemens has timely blocks and makes hitter go above and around solo and double blocks. Clemens uses her off (left) hand to surprise defenders and put balls down. Clemens said good competition motivates her to do better at the net.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Note from the Writer</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>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. For a 30% discount, enter code graham30 at checkout.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->