Northern Kentucky Volleyball Club 15 Tsunami, Tide look-ins

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The [program_tooltip program_id='481203' first='Northern' last='Kentucky Volleyball Club'] with its home facility in Wilder has long been a standard for club excellence in the area. These two teams hope to add to that legacy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tsunami</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Every player on this roster is currently a freshman at the respective high school except for defensive specialist [player_tooltip player_id='935335' first='Sophie' last='Frietch'], who is an eighth grader at Mason Middle Schools.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Four made huge impacts on the varsity this season. Holy Cross (Covington) setter/outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='731693' first='Lacey' last='Hunt'] has dressed for varsity since her seventh grade year and will have similar roles like she did for the Indians. The other three are hitters in Bishop Brossart outside/right side hitter [player_tooltip player_id='885299' first='Evelyn' last='Laker'], Milford outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='774812' first='Lydia' last='Berube'] and St. Ursula (Cincinnati) outside hitter/middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='778092' first='Parker' last='Terrill'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two hitters give the team size at 5-10 in middle/outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='934973' first='Sofia' last='Lanham'] from McNicholas and Notre Dame middle/outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='731698' first='Ellie' last='Breitling']. Lanham dressed for four games on varsity and Breitling gained valuable varsity experience at another school in the seventh and eighth grade.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The other three players will contribute at defensive specialist. St. Ursula's Courtney Doxsey and McNicholas' [player_tooltip player_id='936015' first='Victoria' last='Schmidt'] could also set with St. Ursula's Harper Majors also hitting from the outside.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The head coach is once again Renae Taylor. The team is 7-5 on the season so far finishing third out of 34 teams in the 15 Girls Division in the Early Bird Shootout and taking ninth out of 32 teams in the 15 Open Division of the Nike Classic. The next tournament is the Triple Crown National Invitational Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri on from Feb. 14 to 16.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Tide</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This team made of 10 freshmen is off to an outstanding start to the season at 10-3 overall. The Tide won the 15 Premier Division at the Nike Classic and finished second in 15 Girls at the Early Bird Shootout.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Holy Cross (Covington) middle/outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='816874' first='Maya' last='Hayden'] and Lawrenceburg middle/right side hitter Madelyn Ellis have extensive varsity experience. The team also has St. Henry outside/right side hitter Natalie Flick, Notre Dame outside/middle hitter [player_tooltip player_id='908473' first='Pippa' last='Holbrook'] and Anderson's Kamrie England at right side/middle hitter taking swings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The three defensive specialist/liberos are Ursuline's [player_tooltip player_id='936861' first='Faith' last='Kluska'], along with [player_tooltip player_id='918854' first='Claire' last='Helton'] and [player_tooltip player_id='918837' first='Anna' last='Holte'], both from McNicholas. Notre Dame's Mia Rinaldi and Beechwood's [player_tooltip player_id='936108' first='Emma' last='Dickman'] will both set. Dickman also plays right side hitter and Rinaldi also plays outside hitter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Peyton McCarthy is the team's head coach. The next event is the Nike President's Day Classic on Feb. 14 to 16 in St. Louis, Missouri.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["885299"],"_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-69766e86084a0"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Laker (pictured) is one of many young players that is making not only this fall, but future seasons exciting for the Mustangs. Laker can perform any role asked of her with her versatility of athleticism. She mainly hits from all six spots on the floor and plays sound defense. Laker even stepped into to run the offense at setter for three games during the All "A" State Tournament when the main one went down with an injury. Laker has good form to land kills from the back row and makes the simple passes. Laker had 171 kills and 316 digs in the fall, helping Bishop Brossart go 24-11 on the season, making it back to the in-season All "A" State Tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["934973"],"_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-69766e8608510"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Lanham got her feet wet on varsity some this year for the eventual Division IV state champions playing in four games. Lanham takes good rips from the middle and pins. She is not afraid to adjust at the last second and tip balls near the shallow sidelines. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["936861"],"_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-69768c27d31bc"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Kluska's development is one to watch this fall. Kluska does a good job stepping toward balls then making nice first touches. Kluska can execute both bump and overhead passes. Kluska has developed a sound jump serve. Kluska can also take nice swings when the team is out of rhythm.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["918854"],"_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-69768c27d324a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Helton developed some good habits on the McNicholas junior varsity in the fall. Helton makes the simple passes. She handles crosses and other hard hits. Helton also does a good job making out of system sets. Helton will improve tremendously with the competition the team will see this club season.</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 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 -->