District Tourney Notes: Somerset wins first-ever crown

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Many agree the first title is always the toughest one for a number of reasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>LaDawna Tucker entered her first season leading the Somerset Briar Jumpers hoping to lead them to their first district championship in program history. Started in 2003, Somerset did not make it to the 12th Region Tournament until 2021 losing to Rockcastle County in the 47th District title game then beat Lincoln County for the first region tournament win in program history before losing to Southwestern in the region semifinals. Somerset made it back in 2023, losing to Pulaski County in the district title game before falling to Somerset Christian in the region quarterfinals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Somerset came into the season with just four wins over the Pulaski County Maroons previously. The Jumpers did it twice this season with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-23) win on Sept. 18 at home then again Tuesday in a tight 3-2 (12-25, 17-25, 25-21, 25-16, 15-12) victory in the 47th District championship game to bring home the first district crown in program history.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In that historic win, [player_tooltip player_id='535194' first='Sara' last='Tucker'] had 31 kills and four aces for the Jumpers with [player_tooltip player_id='770381' first='Sarah' last='McBride'] recording 21. Charleston Girdler had 53 assists and 18 digs with [player_tooltip player_id='535263' first='Reagan' last='Childers'] tallying 48 digs and four aces. Addison Fleshman added 10 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Somerset is the 12th Region host this year. The Jumpers drew Trinity Christian in the first game on Monday at 6 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Paul Laurence Dunbar stuns Lexington Catholic</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bulldogs (20-17) may have been young entering the season, but veteran head coach Jenni Morgan has them playing well at the right times with five wins in the last six games. Dunbar defeated Lexington Catholic, 3-1 (17-25, 25-20, 29-27, 25-18) in the 43rd District title game for the fifth straight district crown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Morgan credited [player_tooltip player_id='535210' first='Mia' last='Pendley'] for having an unbelievable game with 32 kills and 15 digs, adding it was a team effort. Morgan also said [player_tooltip player_id='276177' first='Sadie' last='Stuart'], Sloan Atkins, [player_tooltip player_id='484320' first='Peyton' last='Beatty'] and Ava Martha had nice games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Monroe County captures 16th District title</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Falcons (18-10) took down Cumberland County, top-seeded Russell County and Clinton County on the way to the first district championship since 2016. The Falcons have four players in triple digits with kills led by [player_tooltip player_id='533361' first='Ansley' last='Turner'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Monroe County takes on Greenwood on Monday at in the 4th Region quarterfinals at 5:30 p.m. Central Standard Time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hickman County back on top of 1st District</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In her second season as head coach, Melissa Sampson guided the Falcons to a second 1st District crown in three seasons with a 3-2 (16-25, 25-23, 25-21, 17-25, 15-12) win over Carlisle County despite graduating nine seniors from last year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='612112' first='Macy' last='Howell'] led Hickman County with 15 kills, four aces and 13 digs with sophomore Kylie Meshaw putting up 12 kill and 16 digs. Bailey Childress had 16 assists, four aces and 12 digs. Junior Keyshia Sawyer had 14 digs with junior Katie Dowdy recording 12 assists and five aces.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hickman County takes on Community Christian (Paducah) at 7:20 p.m. CST in the auxiliary gym at Calloway County in the 1st Region quarterfinals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Knott County Central dominating 14th Region</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Many thought it would be a rebuilding year for the Patriots. Instead, they've followed up last season's successful 31-10 run to the state quarterfinals with a 33-2 run including a fourth straight 53rd District title with an 11th straight win over rival Letcher County Central, 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-18, 25-19).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Knott County Central has not gone undefeated against region opponents like last year. The season opening loss at Leslie County is the lone region loss out of 22 games. The other loss came in the All "A" State quarterfinals to eventual runner-up Holy Cross (Louisville).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Patriots take on Perry County Central at 3 p.m. EST in the 14th Region quarterfinals on Saturday at 3 p.m.</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":["535194"],"_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":896807,"_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-68fbc6f1e7a19"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The lefty has delivered her entire high school and club career and this fall has been no different with the Jumpers. Tucker has a nice on the right side to put good power into balls. Her passing has also improved. Tucker also does a good job forming double blocks at the net. Tucker has 598 kills, 36 blocks, 108 digs and 77 aces for 22-13 Somerset, helping the Jumpers to the first district championship in program history.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["535210"],"_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-68fbc6f1e7b02"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Pendley knew she'd need to pick things up for the young Bulldogs this year and has delivered. She has a good arm swing and is a sound server and passer for the Bulldogs. Her versatility has helped Dunbar win a fifth straight district championship. Pendley may not be the tallest player on her team, but her size does help the Bulldogs control the net.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["603826"],"_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-68fbcb036fc47"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Thompson has made contributions setting up the ball and on first touches for the Falcons. Thompson puts her teammates in position to succeed. Thompson does a good job setting up behind blockers to guard against soft tips. She uses a good platform to make good first passes to her teammates to set up the offensive flow.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["612112"],"_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-68fbcb036fcaa"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Howell had a big game in the 1st District championship. Howell has sound roll shots, aiming balls to different parts of the court and off blockers. She has a sound technique on her hits. Howell makes things happen out of system. Howell makes crisp passes then hustles into her hitting stance quickly. Howell could turn into a sound hitter if she her arm swing improves.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["896832"],"_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-68fbcf163e3fc"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Baker does a good job bringing balance to the Patriots, making it hard for opponents to double block teammates. Baker takes a sound approach to the net and puts the right touch on balls to paint lines and hit off blockers. Baker is in a good rhythm with both setters. Baker also makes good passes and has good spin on her jump serves.</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 -->