South Central Sparks Team Overviews

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The South Central Sparks fielded a team made of schools around the Lake Cumberland area. However, the club has two teams this year made primarily of players from the Somerset Briar Jumpers, where head coach LaDawna Tucker just finished her first season coaching.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>17</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seven of these players helped Somerset to a 22-14 and the first district championship in program history. The Commonwealth Journal Player of the Year in junior opposite hitter [player_tooltip player_id='535194' first='Sara' last='Tucker'] leads the way along with junior setter [player_tooltip player_id='917151' first='Charleston' last='Girdler'] and junior libero [player_tooltip player_id='535263' first='Reagan' last='Childers']. Talented eighth grade outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='930797' first='Olyvia' last='Keck'] made her way into the rotation this fall with freshman right side/middle blocker Kodi Easter leading the team in blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore defensive specialist Ally Idlewine and junior Cadence Garland hope to step forward after seeing limited action on varsity for Somerset. Sophomore setter Brooke Church has not played club before, but Coach Tucker said she like's Church's heart and determination. Coach Tucker also said to watch out for talented eighth grade middle blocker Maggie Sobieck, who is about [player_tooltip player_id='535194' first='Sara' last='Tucker']'s height of 5-10, but similar to Keck, comes from an athletic family.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The team's first tournament could be the [program_tooltip program_id='510734' first='Lexington' last='United'] Martin Luther King Remembrance Tournament on Jan. 17 and 18 in Lexington.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>15</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Somerset freshman defensive specialist [player_tooltip player_id='932239' first='Haley' last='Bragg'] saw a good bit of time on the varsity playing in 34 games. Two more Somerset freshman in setter Jocelyn Poynter and defensive specialist Paisley Stringer saw limited action on varsity. The other two Somerset players are Jensyn Fitzpatrick and Taegan Bullock. Sophia Bingham plays at Somerset Christian with Maddie and Katelyn Gallo attending Science Hill Middle School.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The team's first tournament could be the [program_tooltip program_id='510734' first='Lexington' last='United'] Martin Luther King Remembrance Tournament on Jan. 17 and 18 in Lexington.</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":["535194"],"_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-695f145fc5bd8"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Tucker's experience has come full circle for the Briar Jumpers. She has amazing precision with her swings. Tucker (pictured) consistently puts the right amount of touch on balls. Tucker sends tough crosses across the net and can hit balls off blockers. Tucker also capitalizes on tandems. Blocked balls do not deter Tucker. She stays with plays and tries other types of swings. Tucker adds in sound passes and serving. Tucker had 615 kills, 30 assisted blocks, eight solo blocks, 111 digs and 78 aces for Somerset, helping the Briar Jumpers go 22-14, win the 47th District championship for the first time in program history and make it to the 12th Region Tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["917151"],"_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-695f162eca043"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Girdler does a sound job hitting targets allowing solid hitters to take great swings. Girdler executes a number of short and long sets. Girdler is also solid on first touches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["535263"],"_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-695f162eca0e5"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Childers flies around the court making play after play. Childers only dives out of necessity. She does a good job forming walls around balls to make sound passes. Childers consistently encourages her teammates. Childers can make quality sets when the team is out of system. Childers quickly tracks down deceptive setovers. She had 683 digs and 65 aces for Somerset this past fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["932239"],"_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-695f196d1dc06"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Bragg is showing tremendous potential on the court. Bragg is not afraid to get down after balls. She handled a tough tip from the back row against one of the state's top players. Bragg can make simple passes and showed she can also track down shoves to the back row. Bragg will continue to improve with more repetitions. She had 82 digs for Somerset in the 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 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 -->