Division I, Class AAA, Regions 5 and 6 Players Turning Heads

The 10th District in Region 5 is probably the most loaded district in the state. Each of the eight schools have been to the state tournament at some point and six own at least one state championship. The combined total is 38 state championships in that Williamson County District led by 16 from Brentwood. Brentwood and Summit wound up meeting for the AAA crown last year and Summit prevailed.   There are state championships speckled in the other three districts in these two regions. Portland won consecutive AA titles in 2017 and 2018 with Glencliff winning it all the way back in 1986 when there was one state champion.    Cumberland (pictured) is a vocal leader on the court so she inspires around her to get better. Cumberland hustles hard after balls and makes crisp first touches on serve receive and defense. She only lunges when needed. Cumberland executes a variety of sets including back sets with no lean. Cumberland has quick touches on her sets and can get quicks up before blocks form. She tries to involve a number of hitters and sends out of system sets back toward the net.     Estep had a game for the ages with 24 kills in the state championship. She does not hesitate, just simply lets her skills take over. Estep does not hit directly into blocks. Estep uses her keen court vision to hit them over and around blocks. Estep tools blocks and tips to open areas of the court, including shallow threes and deep corners. Estep also hits hard line shots and crosses. Estep takes out of system balls and deposits them into seams and makes quick transitions from blocking to offense. Estep can send over sharp shots from the back row if needed.     Nogodula makes play after play on both defense and serve receive. Nogodula is not afraid to stick one arm up to deflect balls in the air to keep rallies going. She'll also lunge forward to dig up tips. Nogodula has solid range and makes the simple passes. Nogodula has shown she can handle hard line shots and executes both overhead and bump passes. Nogodula makes good adjustments on redirected balls and provides nice net backup. Nogodula also sends free balls over with a purpose. Better ball control is a good next step for Nogodula.     Merryman consistently delivers smooth two to three-point passes on first contacts. She will lunge, but remains under control. Merryman has great range on both serve reception and defense. Merryman consistently helps teams get into a good offensive rhythm. She also brings sound energy on the court. Merryman earned All-District and All-Region honors last fall for the Burros.     Cleveland is a master at tooling blocks for the Hawks. A number of those hits go hard out of bounds in different directions. Cleveland makes quick transitions from defense to offense and attacks seams with precision. Cleveland comes in off fakes and tips balls to the 10-foot line. Cleveland can also go to the sides of blocks with powerful line shots. Cleveland puts over nice line drive serves and makes good adjustments on redirected balls in the back row.    Note from Writer   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> or @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prepdigoh/#">prepdigoh</a> 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.

The 10th District in Region 5 is probably the most loaded district in the state. Each of the eight schools have been to the state tournament at some point and six own at least one state championship. The combined total is 38 state championships in that Williamson County District led by 16 from Brentwood. Brentwood and Summit wound up meeting for the AAA crown last year and Summit prevailed.