Division I-AA Crown: Valor Prep Completes Three-Peat

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Editor's Notes: Do you want to get in front of Prep Dig Scouts? This is one big way to do it. The annual Kentucky Exposure Tour in Wilder is Nov. 28. Click on this link to register:</em> <a href="https://events.prepdig.com/e/2489/register/prep-dig-exposure-tour-kentucky" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://events.prepdig.com/e/2489/register/prep-dig-exposure-tour-kentucky</a>. <em>For 25 percent off, type</em> ET26Mike25OFF <em>at checkout.</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Head coach Kylie Harvey said coming into the season the Valor Prep Wildcats do not fear anyone in Division I-AA seeking a three-peat.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wildcats completed the conquest of the class with a sound 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-20) over the Dyer County Choctaws in the third straight battle between the two for the state championship. The Wildcats completed a run of four straight appearances in the Division I-AA state championship game that started with a runner-up finish to Signal Mountain when the seniors were freshmen in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Valor Prep (45-5 overall) showed their dominance early and often behind the power of powerful outside hitters [player_tooltip player_id='946607' first='Jentelle' last='McNairl'] and [player_tooltip player_id='946592' first='Anarela' last='Mejias Ayala'] combined with the balance of middles [player_tooltip player_id='785422' first='Kerrington' last='Corbin'] and [player_tooltip player_id='984589' first='Bella' last='Brooks']. McNairl and Mejias Ayala provided sound all-around games with setter [player_tooltip player_id='984591' first='Elsa' last='Love'] provided solid games hitting targets and digging up balls. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='984590' first='Jocelyn' last='Stewart'] also did a good job digging up balls with Neena Valdez, Lily Quick and Sydney Corby coming in and making small contributions to the win. Mejias Ayala also dazzled with her serving.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Valor Prep hit .317 on the day with 56 kills on 123 attempts and just 17 errors to go with 55 assists, six aces, 66 digs and two blocks. Dyer County hit just 143 with 23 kills on 105 attempts and just eight errors to go with 19 assists, one ace, 44 digs and four blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Being with this group since the sixth grade, they have put in a lot of work through the summer two or three-a-days," Valor Prep head coach Kylie Harvey said. "Their workouts are crazy and they keep showing up to work hard. They also keep showing up to work for each other. It's easy to be around each other, but the work is really hard. They're like a family. They've had to work through conflict. They know how to do that and they know how to do hard things together. Because we want to do it together, that's how we get through those times."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dyer County (33-10) saw [player_tooltip player_id='947030' first='Evie' last='Rogers'] give a good effort along with Katie Beth Caldwell on defense. [player_tooltip player_id='1053356' first='Zoey' last='Morris'] gave a nice all-around effort with Blair Acree taking some nice swings. [player_tooltip player_id='947035' first='Kierstyn' last='Ray'] delivered some nice passes with the likes of Adalyn Harrison, Acree, Morris, Caldwell and Kate Davis turning back some balls. The Choctaws could not match up with Valor Prep's strength at the net.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Stat Leaders</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kills</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='946607' first='Jentelle' last='McNairl'], Valor Prep - 26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='946592' first='Anarela' last='Mejias Ayala'], Valor Prep - 12</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1053356' first='Zoey' last='Morris'], Dyer County - 10</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='785422' first='Kerrington' last='Corbin'], Valor Prep - 10</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Katie Beth Caldwell, Dyer County - 8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='984589' first='Bella' last='Brooks'], Valor Prep - 5</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Assists</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='984591' first='Elsa' last='Love'], Valor Prep - 44</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='947035' first='Kierstyn' last='Ray'], Dyer County - 18</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Digs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mejias Ayala - 16</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McNairl - 12</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Love - 12</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1053356' first='Zoey' last='Morris'], Dyer County - 12</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='947030' first='Evie' last='Rogers'], Dyer County - 11</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='984590' first='Jocelyn' last='Stewart'], Valor Prep - 10</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Katie Beth Caldwell, Dyer County - 10</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Aces</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mejias Ayala - 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Blocks</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Brooks - two assisted</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Adalyn Harrison, Dyer County - two assisted</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blair Acree, Dyer County - two assisted</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Morris - two assisted</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Third Place Bracket</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hume-Fogg took third place on Thursday at Blackman with a 3-0 win over Signal Mountain. Hume-Fogg beat Elizabethton, 3-1 earlier in the day and Signal Mountain beat Upperman by the same score to make it to the final game that evening.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Championship Game Playmakers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["946607"],"_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":1055451,"_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"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6adc2dd9dae31"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">McNairl (pictured) makes continuous adjustments to tip balls to shallow zones when defensive specialists are playing back and pounds balls down lines. McNairl takes nice swings from the back row and puts over solid out of system roll shots. McNairl continues to fine-tune her pipe plays. She landed some tips to the donut off them in the championship game. McNairl said the drive for the three-peat is honestly indescribable. She added the players have pushed each other together, especially since losing in the state championship in 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["946592"],"_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":1055457,"_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"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6adc2f7933012"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Opponents know Ayala's hard jump serves are coming, but even when they get in position, it's not guaranteed they will dig them up because of the force and solid trajectory she puts into them. Ayala is an all-around solid playmaker for the Wildcats. Ayala takes solid swings from the front and back row and makes crisp first touches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["984589"],"_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":1055462,"_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"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6adc3085dbca5"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Opponents may focus so much on McNairl, Ayala and even Corbin that Brooks can make plays with the lanes those three create drawing attention. Brooks makes great things happen on ones with a nice wrist snap. Brooks makes quality serves and hustles hard after balls. Brooks even forms sound double blocks with teammates. Brooks said she felt the Wildcats did a good job of spreading things out offensively. Brooks added the team has its fair share of strength training to work on explosive vertical jumps.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["984591"],"_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"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6adc31d07aacb"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Love did an outstanding job running the offense, trying to set away from double blocks. Love puts a lot of balls on target trying to take advantage of the high attack points created by strong vertical jumps from a number of talented teammates. Love executes a variety of long and short sets. Love said she tries to set up the hitters for success as best as she can every time and they're good about giving her feedback so she knows what she can do better for them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1055440"],"_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"},"alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6adc33bd8b7fb"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Benedetto has shown promise for the Choctaws in the back row. Benedetto hustles hard after balls and executes sound bump and overhead passes. Benedetto lines up nicely behind blocks and makes good passes. She also puts over nice, smooth serves trying to keep opponents out of rhythm.</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 and a half 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.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->