Bracken County at Calvary Christian 10th Region Battle Takeaways

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Calvary Christian Cougars have shown early on they are ready to make a run at a second straight region tournament berth.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Calvary Christian (9-3 overall) made a case to be in the region's top five with a solid 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-15) victory over the three-time defending 39th District champion Bracken County Bears (6-2). Calvary Christian earned the first region win in three tries against 10th Region competition while Bracken County drops to 2-1 against region competition.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Cougars controlled the game with better serve reception and defense. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='896714' first='Madison' last='Stelzer'] led the way there for the Cougars with juniors [player_tooltip player_id='918951' first='Natalia' last='McGlynn'] and [player_tooltip player_id='779514' first='Megan' last='Arthur'] making their usual versatile contributions. The trio also combined for 17 of the team's 19 aces. Sophomores Annabel Leach and Nora Baker made some nice digs and took some nice swings with junior Georgia Morgan, sophomores Kelsey Clark and Ava Dahler also making small contributions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"It helps when we have a really tough serve to start us off then a solid defense to try to combat teams that are a little bit more aggressive at the net," Calvary Christian head coach Becky Stelzer said. "But I'm not going to take anything away from my hitters. They came out. They swung tough. They placed the ball a bit better than we have in the past."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bracken County saw senior setter [player_tooltip player_id='535232' first='Rees' last='Hargett'] make good contributions per usual and senio libero Aleigha Leist improved as the game went along and [player_tooltip player_id='795859' first='Kyndall' last='Johnson'] making nice defensive contributions. The two leading hitters in [player_tooltip player_id='819271' first='Sophie' last='Bachman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='805758' first='Izzy' last='Godman'] may not have landed as many kills as they've had in the past, but they tried to keep Bracken County in games with senior [player_tooltip player_id='1037471' first='Halle' last='Routt'] picking things up. Kalyn Browning, Ella Jones and Willow Tarter also made some small contributions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Calvary Christian hosts Villa Madonna on Tuesday with Bracken County hosting Mason County on Wednesday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Unofficial Stat Leaders</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kills</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='779514' first='Megan' last='Arthur'], Calvary Christian - 9</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1037471' first='Halle' last='Routt'], Bracken County - 7</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='819271' first='Sophie' last='Bachman'], Bracken County - 6</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nora Baker, Calvary Christian - 6</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Assists</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='535232' first='Rees' last='Hargett'], Bracken County - 19</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='918951' first='Natalia' last='McGlynn'], Calvary Christian - 9</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Digs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='896714' first='Madison' last='Stelzer'], Calvary Christian - 17</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Aleigha Leist, Bracken County - 11</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='795859' first='Kyndall' last='Johnson'], Bracken County - 8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hargett - 8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Arthur - 7</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Annabel Leach, Calvary Christian - 6</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McGlynn - 5</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Aces</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Stelzer - 6</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McGlynn - 6</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Arthur - 5</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Performers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["896714"],"_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":1037461,"_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-6a96403d1d4d7"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">When balls come near her, Stelzer steps to them and makes quality two to three-point passes. Her aggressive mentality on defense led to a lot of key points for the Cougars in the region win. Stelzer take minimal steps to balls and forms walls around them. Stelzer also served aggressively and it helped the Cougars go on a 10-0 run to pull away from the Bears in the third set. Stelzer served hard at the struggling passers on the other side of the net. Stelzer said she focuses on being intense on the court and intentional with her play to help out the Cougars.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["918951"],"_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-6a96403d1d542"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">With no seniors on the team, McGlynn uses her experience and versatility to make plays for the Cougars. McGlynn takes a number of tough roll and cut shots and gets up to win net battles. She sets up her hitters well and gives the team nice net backup. McGlynn steps into balls in the back row and makes nice first touches. McGlynn said the team's mindset is to strive for the best.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["779514"],"_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":1037466,"_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-6a96403d1d59b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Arthur also showed off her versatility in the Calvary Christian win. Arthur does not give up on plays and gets on top of balls to send hard crosses over the net. Arthur places overpassed balls away from opponents and also makes nice first touches. Her aggressive serving kept Bracken County out of system all game. Arthur said playing at a smaller school helps get some one-on-one coaching with very specific instructions. Arthur said they can break down film then go over what went well and what needs fixed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["535232"],"_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":1037468,"_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-6a96403d1d5ee"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hargett does what she can trying to help the Bears to victory. Hargett executes a variety of short and long sets. Her experience with the Bracken County hitters helps her put balls at their attack points so they can hit to different zones on the court. Hargett continues to better balls each time she touches them. Hargett made a number of nice passes to put Bracken County into a good offensive rhythm.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":1037471,"_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":1037474,"_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-6a9646e705def"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Routt put balls down when Bracken County got into a better offensive rhythm later in the game. Routt takes quality swings from the middle and pins, thus drawing blockers away from her teammates. Routt will continue to improve as the season progresses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Note from 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 Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. If you liked the story, please copy and paste to X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. You may also follow us at @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prepdigkentucky/#">prepdigkentucky</a>, @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prepdigtennessee/#">prepdigtennessee</a>&nbsp;or @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prepdigoh/#">prepdigoh</a>&nbsp;on Instagram in addition to @PrepDigKy, @PrepDigTN or @PrepDigOH on X. If you feel someone in Kentucky, Tennessee or Ohio needs coverage or even have feedback on the Kentucky or Tennessee rankings, please email Mike at michaelgraham@prepdig.com. You may also follow him on X @GMCgrah or Instagram @g.michaelgraham. Subscriptions give you access to exclusive content. For a 30% discount on yearly subscriptions, enter code graham30 at checkout.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->