Final Regular Season Week in Review: Assumption finishes 31-4

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This may sound like a broken record, but the two-time defending state champion Assumption Rockets finished the regular season 31-4, winning the final 10 games of the regular season including the Asics Challenge in Chicago.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Assumption finished 11-0 against Kentucky competition. However, two of the other Dominant Five in St. Henry and Sacred Heart both took the Rockets to five games. The Rockets wound up losing six sets to Kentucky competition as Mercy took the Rockets to four games twice. The two could meet again at Assumption in the first round of the state tournament if they both win their respective regions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In pursuit of their state record 25th state championship, Assumption beat Notre Dame at home Tuesday and at DuPont Manual on Thursday by 3-0 scores. Sophomore sensation [player_tooltip player_id='611724' first='Brooke' last='Codey'] led the Rockets with 22 kills against the Crimsons and 16 against the Pandas. Codey had 308 kills in the regular season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dominant Five Checkup</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sacred Heart finished the regular season below .500 at 16-17, but the Valkyries have played a loaded schedule, going 1-8 against the other four Dominant Five teams. The Valkyries concluded the regular season with 3-0 wins over Holy Cross (Louisville) and Christian Academy-Louisville. Junior lefthanded outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='484247' first='Taylor' last='Frey'] finished with 376 kills, 188 digs and 46 aces.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mercy (24-10) finished the regular season with a win over St. Henry on Monday. Senior power hitter [player_tooltip player_id='479273' first='Mady' last='Yaden'] pounded out 12 kills in that victory with sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='554148' first='Emma' last='Cronen'] recording 18 digs. Yaden had 342 kills, 67 blocks and 157 digs to conclude the regular season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Notre Dame (24-7) rebounded from the loss at Assumption to handle Ryle at home. The Pandas have displayed their usual balance across the board with [player_tooltip player_id='507601' first='Grace' last='Portwood'] and [player_tooltip player_id='484250' first='Teagan' last='Kondik'] leading the way with 258 and 221 kills, respectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Henry (20-15) broke its five-game losing streak to conclude the regular season with 20 wins with a 3-0 win at Dunbar. In that win, [player_tooltip player_id='594619' first='Emily' last='Helmers'] had nine kills with [player_tooltip player_id='709517' first='Violet' last='Main'], [player_tooltip player_id='451098' first='Madi' last='Demler'] and [player_tooltip player_id='805561' first='Gianna' last='Butler'] tallying eight each. Main leads the Crusaders with 244 kills on the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Two More Red Hot Teams</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Ballard Bruins concluded the regular season at 28-3 winning their last 19 games with two tournament wins including the Jefferson County Invitational, beating All "A" State champion Beechwood in the title game. The Bruins have balance across the board, but took advantage of the size in the middle with seniors [player_tooltip player_id='212348' first='Ella' last='Grivna'] at 6-6 and [player_tooltip player_id='443382' first='Ava' last='Liening'] at 6-4. They finished with 289 and 217 kills, respectively. [player_tooltip player_id='629192' first='Marleigh' last='Tripp'] and [player_tooltip player_id='752300' first='Journey' last='Gibson'] give Ballard balance with 206 and 161 kills, respectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eminence (30-3) has won 18 in a row since losing to Holy Cross (Louisville) in pool play in the All "A" State Tournament. The Warriors came back to win the bronze bracket at the All "A" State Tournament then won all six games on Sept. 27. [player_tooltip player_id='484434' first='Bryce' last='Berry'] leads a balanced Warriors attack with 232 kills.</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":["611743"],"_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-68f588844e79a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">McKenzie (pictured) has put a lot of work into her vertical and it shows on the court. McKenzie deposits four balls down the left lines and to the two zones on crosses on the go routes off solid sets. McKenzie's offense often overshadows her defense. McKenzie makes crisp passes then quickly hustles into her approaches at the net.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["895476"],"_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-68f5975d94389"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ayres gives the Valkyries a nice presence at the opposite hitter spot to take attention away from other hitters. Ayres uses her size well to hit over and around opposing blockers. Ayres has a good approach and is not afraid to take steps inward to hit to different parts of the court. Ayres hits balls down the right line and goes to the four and five zones on crosses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["554148"],"_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-68f5975d943ee"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Not enough can be said of Cronen's versatility. Cronen takes a lot of good swings, but can step into the libero position for the Jaguars if needed. She does not rush things on her swings, often putting the right amount of power on swings to put balls through or off blocks for big points. Cronen makes crisp passes then quickly transitions to offense. Cronen also produces with her serving consistently keeping opponents out of rhythm.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["790727"],"_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-68f597a6ac049"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Thomas provides the needed balance for the Warriors to force opponents to defend one-on-one at the net. Thomas goes up in the middle and shoves balls to the shallow five zone away from defenders. Thomas makes things happen at the pins and the middle, especially on ones. Thomas pounds balls to different parts of the court.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["752300"],"_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-68f597a6ac0aa"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Gibson has improved tremendously on the outside for the Bruins this fall. Gibson continues to take good follow-throughs and send balls flying to the ground with strong wrist snaps. That forces opponents to block her and teammates one-on-one. Gibson has improved her net defense with better timing on her blocks. She forms good double blocks with teammates.</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 -->