13th Region Recap: Whitley County, Corbin battled for crown again

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the sixth straight year, the 50th District powers Whitley County Colonels and Corbin Redhounds met for the region championship. During that run, the team that won the 50th District championship has also won the 13th Region crown in the rematch, with the lone exception being last year when Corbin won the district championship and Whitley County won the rematch in the region championship.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two teams wound up meeting five times this season. Corbin won both regular season meetings and the Class 2A Section championship battle. However, Whitley County wound up winning both the district and region championships before losing to Ashland in the first round of the state tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Whitley County (35-6 overall) welcome in last year's region player of the year [player_tooltip player_id='603744' first='Reagan' last='Isaac'] into the mix and she led the team with an astounding 568 kills. [player_tooltip player_id='831031' first='Chandra' last='Price'], Jada Smith along with Makenzie Mills and [player_tooltip player_id='893446' first='Taryn' last='Bennett'] gave setter [player_tooltip player_id='603768' first='Jonna' last='Rice'] a number of options to set. [player_tooltip player_id='603765' first='Khylea' last='Ray Collier']. [player_tooltip player_id='793229' first='Courtney' last='Claxton'] and Jordan Smith led the Colonels defensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Corbin (26-14) saw freshman sensation outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='877421' first='Shelbi' last='Carroll'] put together a strong season on her way to winning the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association's 13th Region Player of the Year honor. The Redhounds went 1-1 in the 2A State Tournament. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Caroll along with Isaac, Bennett and two younger Whitley County players will play for the strong K2 club team in Louisville, Tennessee, which is 22 minutes to the southwest of Knoxville. Others will play for the local Horizon and SKEVA East volleyball clubs. The 6-3 [player_tooltip player_id='811207' first='Aubree' last='Clemens'] gave Corbin solid play in the middle with [player_tooltip player_id='479307' first='Brook' last='Mills'], [player_tooltip player_id='890400' first='Annabelle' last='Griffin'] and [player_tooltip player_id='535272' first='Laura' last='Newcomb'] giving the Redhounds balance for eighth grade setter [player_tooltip player_id='890925' first='Harper' last='Newcomb'], who dished out 1,148 assists this season. [player_tooltip player_id='897255' first='Tatum' last='Strain'], [player_tooltip player_id='915757' first='Izzy' last='Evans'] and [player_tooltip player_id='850687' first='Aden' last='Nipper'] led the Redhounds defensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Harlan County (18-14) won the 52nd District championship for the second year in a row with a thrilling 3-2 (22-25, 25-21, 16-25, 25-20, 15-10) win over Bell County. The Black Bears made it back to the region semifinals before losing to Corbin. They graduate their top two hitters in [player_tooltip player_id='533349' first='Kylee' last='Hoiska'] and [player_tooltip player_id='212276' first='Kalista' last='Dunn'] along with setter [player_tooltip player_id='533350' first='Savannah' last='Hill'] and defensive specialist [player_tooltip player_id='795269' first='Karli' last='Shoupe']. They return libero [player_tooltip player_id='612091' first='Ashlynn' last='Williamson'] and junior middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='603869' first='Madi' last='Nolan'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bell County (26-12) put together a nice season behind the play of senior 6-3 middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='608199' first='Kairi' last='Lamb'], [player_tooltip player_id='915776' first='Emma' last='Winkler'] and Adyson Scott. [player_tooltip player_id='484290' first='Lexie' last='Brown'] also had a nice season at defensive specialist. Nevaeh Allen and Reece Jasick handled the setting duties with freshman Hailee Daniels providing sound play on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Knox Central (15-14) won its first district championship since 2022 behind a solid season from junior [player_tooltip player_id='535274' first='Kennadi' last='Jones'] with senior Emma McDonald also giving the Panthers a lift on offense and defense. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='612187' first='Blakely' last='Castle'] handled the majority of the sets with juniors [player_tooltip player_id='915781' first='Amelia' last='Ledford'] and Katie Collins leading the way defensively.</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":["603765"],"_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-69365084042b4"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Collier (pictured) is the team's catalyst defensively. Collier does a great job reading hitters and sliding her feet into position quickly to make quality passes. Collier reacts quickly on hard hit balls. She can handle hard crosses and soft shots near lines. Collier can also paint back lines with her serves. Collier also makes sound out of system sets. Collier had 596 digs, 60 aces and 115 assists for the Colonels this past season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["915757"],"_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-6936508404318"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Evans helps solidify the Corbin defense. She patrols the back row with authority making the simple passes. Evans beats balls to their spots and uses a good platform to jumpstart the tough Corbin offense. Evans uses one arm to make saves when needed. Evans also has a deceptive serve. Evans had 247 digs and 41 aces for Corbin in the fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["795269"],"_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-69365593edfbe"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Teammates could rely on Shoupe to make simple passes. She squares her body up well to balls and has good form following through on the first touches. Shoupe provides sound net protection and backs up quickly to track down soft touches. Shoupe had 153 digs for Harlan County this past fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["915776"],"_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-6936594bbe84f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Winkler had a role setting the ball as a freshman but moved to more of outside hitter and defensive specialist roles for the Cats this year. Winkler takes nice swings offensively and is not afraid to push balls to the shallow one zone to surprise defenders. She makes solid passes defensively. Winkler handles hard hits and moves in position quick to handle softer hits. Winkler uses her athleticism well to keep plays alive. Winkler had 209 kills and 428 digs for Bell County this past fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["915781"],"_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-69365b919e98b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ledford moved to the libero role after doing a lot of setting as a sophomore. She does not let mistakes phase her, trying to better balls on her next chances. Ledford handles hard hits in the back row using good form with her legs and arms. Ledford also mixes up locations with her serving. Ledford had 269 digs for Knox Central this past fall.</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 nearly two years 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 -->