Campbell County at Simon Kenton Takeaways

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Campbell County Camels and Simon Kenton Pioneers have been contenders in their respective regions in the last decade or so.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>However, both teams are dealing with some inexperience in key positions so they've taken some lumps. One team would take more steps in the right direction in this non-region game. The host Pioneers (13-10 overall) did that with a 3-1 (25-13, 22-25, 25-23, 25-19) victory over the Camels (5-13).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Camels had no answer for Simon Kenton senior standout outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='212349' first='Jenna' last='Kitchens']. It helped that sophomore libero [player_tooltip player_id='890445' first='Allie' last='Ross'] and teammates made better first touches in order for sophomore setters [player_tooltip player_id='890591' first='Faith' last='Lockhart'] and Sophia Deaton to set her and the likes of [player_tooltip player_id='819729' first='Taylor' last='Jones'] and [player_tooltip player_id='806651' first='Maria' last='Mullis'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Volleyball is a game of runs," Simon Kenton head coach Amy Marx said. "We played almost perfect the first set on paper and we didn't the second set. We are young so our highs are high and we have to work on the rest. I just told the girls, 'More good. More good. More good."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Campbell County senior setter [player_tooltip player_id='212251' first='Hope' last='Hamilton'] put together another solid game and senior outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='749992' first='Faith' last='Whitford'] tried to lead the Camels to another win. [player_tooltip player_id='882255' first='Amerie' last='Mullins'] also had a nice game at the net with libero Kendyl Hartman improving as the game went along. The Camels had the chance to tie the third set down 24-23 but served the ball into the net.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ross had served her four aces in the second set to give Simon Kenton an 18-13 advantage, but the Camels rallied with runs of their own. Tied at 22, Hamilton had a block then sent one over the net on a second touch followed by a hitting error gave the Camels the second set.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The fourth set saw the Pioneers pull away and not look back that time. Kitchens ended the game with a thunderous kill.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Simon Kenton plays at Walton-Verona on Thursday with Campbell County hosting Newport Central Catholic on Tuesday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Performances</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["212349"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":890437,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","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-68db5ca381bc0"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Kitchens is Simon Kenton's career kills leader for a reason. She puts tremendous force into balls with a lot of accuracy, including from the back row. If she senses a player having problems with her spikes, she'll continue to send balls that way in addition to sending them away from opponents. Kitchens had tough crosses and pounded balls off blockers in the win. Kitchens makes good passes and has a nice jump serve. Kitchens said players still have to listen to everyone else even as leaders as part of a team effort.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["890445"],"_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-68db5dfaf2851"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ross (pictured) has stepped into a huge role for the Pioneers and delivered. Ross is a hustler on the court. Ross reads opposing hitters well and squares her arms up with balls to make crisp passes. She also has tough serves sending balls to different parts of the court unless she finds an opponent struggling with first touches. Ross said the Pioneers work on serve reception a lot in practice. Ross added that's more a mental game then a physical game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["890591"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":890570,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","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-68db605971893"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Lockhart is locked in with the Simon Kenton hitters. Lockart sets to the middle and the pins with accuracy. She is not afraid to mix in setovers to keep opponents guessing in the 6-2 Simon Kenton offense. Lockhart has developed a tough serve that proved to be key in keeping the Camels out of system. Lockhart noted each player has different strengths and weaknesses, thus making it vital to focus on the strengths, communicating with them as much as possible or the hitting connection does not work.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["212251"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":890561,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","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-68db6059718ff"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hamilton lays it on the line each time she takes the court. The two-sport standout benefits in each sport using different muscle groups for volleyball and softball. Hamilton produces at all six spots on the court. Hamilton tries to find the hot hitters at all times and has minimized her mistakes from previous years. Hamilton is a true leader on the court for the Camels.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["749992"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":890580,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","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-68db6370bc852"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Whitford consistently tries to make things happen on the outside. She's done a better job in recent years hitting balls away from blockers. She's played with Hamilton for years so they work well together and they both are trying to get their teammates to manufacture similar type connections with each other. Whitford may have had some serve reception issues at times in the game, but rebounded to make some good passes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Stat Leaders</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kills</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='212349' first='Jenna' last='Kitchens'], Simon Kenton - 27</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='882255' first='Amerie' last='Mullins'], Campbell County - 15</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='749992' first='Faith' last='Whitford'], Campbell County - 13</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Assists</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='212251' first='Hope' last='Hamilton'], Campbell County - 28</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='890591' first='Faith' last='Lockhart'], Simon Kenton - 24</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophia Deaton, Simon Kenton - 16</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Digs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='890445' first='Allie' last='Ross'], Simon Kenton - 23</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kendyl Hartman, Campbell County - 11</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hamilton - 10</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Aces</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Deaton - 4</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ross - 4</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hamilton - 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Blocks</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lydia Fry, Campbell County - 4</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kamdyn Brogan, Simon Kenton - 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Caroline Logsdon, Simon Kenton - 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hamilton - 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- 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 -->