Electrifying Players in Bourbon at GRC 40th District Rivalry Game

It looked as though the 40th District might have a good amount of 3-2 nail-biters in the pre-season with as strong as all four teams looked.   However, that has only been the case in one of the four district seed games played so far and none of them have involved the George Rogers Clark Cardinals. GRC (8-3 overall) has taken control of the district with three 3-0 40th District wins after completing the season sweep of Bourbon County, 3-0 (25-10, 25-21, 25-14) in Winchester on Wednesday.   The Cardinals did it with aggressive serving, stout defense and solid hitting that kept the Colonels out of rhythm a good bit of the game. Bourbon County put over more free balls than desired and GRC took advantage. Junior libero [player_tooltip player_id='941895' first='Addison' last='Palmer'] and sophomore defensive specialist Eva Walker among others made a number of quality first touches then dynamic junior setter [player_tooltip player_id='850203' first='Anna' last='Cooper'] found the two talented outsides in junior [player_tooltip player_id='776724' first='Brooke' last='Gough'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='963197' first='Elayna' last='Swart'] to take powerful hits. The likes of senior right side Raleigh Hollis, sophomore middle blocker Libby McCormick and others also did little things in the front row to help the Cardinals to victory.   "For us, it's very much finding our rhythm and keeping it," GRC head coach Kainan Hudson said. "We played a lot when we were in a preseason and we were able to kind of figure out where some of our early season weaknesses were and able to feed off some of that in our hard work in practices. The thing that we've been talking about lately is taking care of one ball at a time, one rally at a time. Don't overthink it. Don't look back. Don't look forward. So the more we have focused on that, it seems like the cleaner we have played as a team and the more consistent we've started to become."   Bourbon County (10-4, 0-2 district) already has two more wins than last season, but has not been able to keep up the pace with GRC in both games. The Colonels did come out stronger in the second set, but hopes to close out blocks better as the season progresses. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='930503' first='Gia' last='Griffin'] made some of them in the loss and senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='757907' first='Izzy' last='Jett'] had another good game defensively. The Colonels did make things happen when freshman setter [player_tooltip player_id='879769' first='Kinley' last='Kearns'] made nice sets to Griffin, [player_tooltip player_id='612107' first='Katie' last='Abner'] and junior outside [player_tooltip player_id='879766' first='Hayli' last='Burberry'].   Bourbon County does not have much time to bounce back with another district game against in-town rival at home Thursday at 7 p.m. GRC does not play again until Tuesday at Trinity Christian. These five players put on dazzling performances.    Palmer (pictured) is so precise on her passes that teams are hitting away from her, particularly on serve reception. Palmer sticks her arms out to her sides to close gaps and does what she can to form walls around balls. Palmer gave the Colonels some problems with her jump sets. She kept the Colonels out of system in that first set. Palmer said the trust is there in the back row, saying she knows the people beside her are going to get good balls up and they know she will do the same.     Gough had an outstanding club season and some great habits have carried over into the high school season. Gough gets on top of balls and sends them screaming to the floor on go routes with a nice mix of line shots and crosses. Gough tools blocks and even takes nice swings from the back row. Gough delivers at all six spots on the court. She makes nice first touches and puts over hard jump serves. Gough works well with teammates to form nice double blocks. Her serving accuracy could use some work, but it will come around. Gough said it's difficult to play both defense and swing, but once one gets into a rhtym, everything just flows a lot better.     Swart is another solid six-rotation pin hitter for the Cardinals. Swart has a great wrist snap and follow-through, especially on her crosses with a nice downward trajectory. Swart tools blocks and takes quality out of system swings. Swart uses her off (left) hand to surprise opponents. Swart makes nice first touches then makes quick transitions to offense. Swart the players have each others' backs and there is not a lot of drama. Swart added the Cardinals are like a family.     Cooper puts great arc on her sets to hit targets consistently. Cooper runs a smooth offense by jumping before balls hit her hands to get better touches on them. Cooper also possesses a strong jump serve and places overpassed balls away from opponents. Cooper makes a number of strong first touches. Cooper said sets are based on timing, noting it will be a better ball on jump sets if one hits it in the air as opposed to being under balls.     Jett knew she needed to put together an outstanding game to help the Colonels pull off the win. She did what she could along those lines. Jett reads hitters well and uses her sound range to stop in her tracks and beat balls to their destinations on the floor. Jett used her quick reflexes to dig up well-struck balls. Jett even does a good job encouraging her teammates on the court.    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. 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It looked as though the 40th District might have a good amount of 3-2 nail-biters in the pre-season with as strong as all four teams looked.