Team Profile: Nicholas County starting to believe

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is one thing for a coach to believe it. It's a matter of a special group going out and doing what it takes to lift programs to that next level.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Nicholas County Jackets have been knocking on the door of taking some giant steps the last nine seasons. After recording double-digit victories one time in the first 13 seasons since the first varsity season in 2004, Nicholas County has recorded at least 13 victories seven times in nine seasons. Standing at 16-5 overall, this year's team has clinched the fifth winning season in 22 years following the 2018 (18-14), 2019 (17-14), 2022 (14-11) and 2023 (13-12) teams.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Head coach Kim Denkins, who played a big role in guiding the Nicholas County girls basketball team to the state championship in 1993, laid down a huge goal for this season. Denkins said there is no reason why the Jackets can't win the first 38th District championship in program history. Nicholas County has made it to the 10th Region Tournament three times previously in 2013, 2017 and 2018 losing in the quarterfinals all three times.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>To win that elusive district crown, Nicholas County had to overcome some big hurdles in the 38th District. The Jackets won both meetings against Robertson County (4-22) this year after splitting the two last year to even the all-time series at 18-18.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But facing Pendleton County and Harrison County historically had been an issue prior to this season. The Jackets had lost 13 in a row against Pendleton County dating back to Oct. 14, 2019 and had only taken one set in 42 meetings against Harrison County.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That changed this year. Nicholas County won both games against the rebuilding Cats (4-26) and had a breakthrough 3-2 (22-25, 26-24, 27-25, 23-25, 15-10) victory on Oct. 6 in Carlisle for the first win in program history against the Fillies, who had won the previous 12 district championships before Pendleton County beat them in last year's title game. Playing without a key player on Aug. 28, Nicholas County lost 3-1 (20-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-9) to Harrison County in Cynthiana, but managed to take just the second set all-time in the series.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"I've told them since they were freshmen this is a special group of girls," Denkins said. "They could beat the Harrison Counties. They never believed that until this year. It's been really wonderful. They're playing as a team."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Denkins praised the team's mental toughness. Denkins said they'd have given up if trailing by five or six in the past.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The team has five seniors in 5-11 middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='765664' first='Morgan' last='Broderick'], setter Mackenzie Davenport, outside hitter Kylie Earlywine, defensive specialist Isabella Ramey and libero [player_tooltip player_id='895514' first='Sadie' last='Vice']. Broderick, Vice and junior setter [player_tooltip player_id='757958' first='Alison' last='Reid'] play club volleyball for Alpha Performance in Georgetown in the spring. Broderick said then it's a matter of them coming together.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Things start on defense. Vice, Earlywine, Broderick, Reid, Davenport and junior outside hitter Loralee Orazan all have hit triple digits in digs with Vice leading the way with 215. Reid said the team plays well together defensively, noting some players play better on defense. Reid and Earlywine also lead the Jackets with 53 and 46 aces, respectively. Vice said the players began to believe the older they got adding it has helped they've played together for a long time. Vice also said the team chemistry is great.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Broderick leads Nicholas County with 164 kills. Earlywine and Orazan are second and third with 127 and 123, respectively. Earlywine noted everyone makes mistakes. However, Earlywine said the players did not get down on each other in the second Harrison County game, instead keeping their heads up and playing through it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomores Danica and Madelyn Amburgey have also had some nice kills for the Jackets. Danica Amburgey leads Nicholas County with 25 solo and four assisted blocks on the season. Orazan said the upperclassmen are trying to be good role models to the younger teammates such as the Amburgeys.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nicholas County hosts the 38th District Tournament this year. The Jackets take on Pendleton County at 7 p.m. after Harrison County faces Robertson County at 6 p.m. The district championship game is Wednesday at 7 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Players</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["757958"],"_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":895506,"_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-68f5ad3589b2f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Reid plays her part in the 6-2 Nicholas County attack. Reid puts her teammates in position to succeed. Reid has nice range allowing her to track down a number of balls and make things happen is first touches sway outside the preferred setting spots on the front row. Reid is also a solid setter for the Jackets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["765664"],"_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-68f5ad3589d36"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Broderick brings sound leadership to the Jackets. Her club team dealt with some injuries and she has missed some games this year as the result of an injury, but Broderick bounces back even stronger. Broderick helps the Jackets control the net with her size and hits balls to many parts of the court to keep defenses guessing. Broderick is also a sound passer for Nicholas County.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["895514"],"_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-68f5bfd56b456"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Vice handles both hard and soft touches using her club experience to her advantage. Vice is a clear communicator on the court. Vice can make good passes out of system to make sure the hitters can take nice swings and sends free balls over with a purpose.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Kylie Earlywine","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32564","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Nicholas County","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68f5bfd56b519"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Earlywine brings a strong presence on the outside for the Jackets. Earlywine does not allow teammates to get down on each other and that's played a big role in the 16-5 season for the Jackets thus far. Earlywine hits to different parts of the court and consistently keeps opponents out of system with her serving.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Loralee Orazan","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'6u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32564","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Nicholas County","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68f5bfd56b618"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Orazan gives the Jackets balance as another option on the outside. Orazan mixes in strong and soft hits to keep defenses guessing. She comes up time and time again when the Jackets need a big kill.</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 -->