Net Protectors in Mercy's Dominant Five win at Saint Henry

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: <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>. For 25 percent off, type ET26Mike25OFF at checkout.   The state's Dominant Five are known for their stout defenses among other things.   So when they play each other, the team that dominates the net better generally wins those games. The Mercy Jaguars (23-7 overall) came out strong there and put together a solid game in a sound 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-15) win over the host Saint Henry Crusaders (20-8). It marked the third meeting between the two as Mercy also won the battles on Aug. 21 in the Showdown at the Sunsphere in Knoxville, 2-1 (25-14, 20-25, 15-12) and Sept. 12 in the Louisville Invitational, 2-0 (25-22, 25-20).   [player_tooltip player_id='771907' first='Riley' last='Phipps'], [player_tooltip player_id='774929' first='Allie' last='Herbert'], [player_tooltip player_id='611834' first='Nalani' last='Derringer'] and [player_tooltip player_id='554148' first='Emma' last='Cronen'] led the charge there for Mercy. [player_tooltip player_id='939013' first='Josie' last='Hans'], [player_tooltip player_id='875914' first='Olivia' last='Jeffries'] and others took solid swings with Herbert and [player_tooltip player_id='544366' first='Addison' last='Randol'] setting them up. [player_tooltip player_id='612086' first='Olivia' last='Welsh'] and [player_tooltip player_id='910539' first='McKenna' last='Boyle'] had some nice digs to keep plays alive.   "It was a solid performance. We've had some really good matches and been very consistent this year," Mercy head coach Connie Hulsmeyer said. "We've really dialed in the last few matches on blocking. We struggled a little bit with that at times. [player_tooltip player_id='771907' first='Riley' last='Phipps'], especially for her size, is probably one of the best blocker's in the state. She's definitely the best blocker for us. We work a lot on vision. What are you looking at? The eyes pay attention to the approach and arm swing. That's helped our blocking tremendously."   St. Henry did see its two main middles in [player_tooltip player_id='709517' first='Violet' last='Main'] and [player_tooltip player_id='950707' first='Hadley' last='Lemmond'] take some hard swings with setter [player_tooltip player_id='612108' first='Madelyn' last='Keipert'] and libero [player_tooltip player_id='610406' first='Kenadi' last='Sieg']. The likes of [player_tooltip player_id='727147' first='Molly' last='Blackburn'] and even Stella Flick made some plays. The Crusaders just could not put together big runs like they've done in previous games.   These five players did a nice job making plays happen at the net or protecting it. That could go a long way in the postseason that starts in a week.    Welsh (pictured) does a great job setting up behind blocks. She sees the balls and moves quickly to take away seams. Welsh stops her feet and makes precise first touches. Welsh dup up some hard one shots toward side lines in the game. Welsh uses a nice platform to square her body up to balls. Welsh said it's really important to stay outside of blocks and read hitters so they can get the best passes to the setters.     Phipps strives to own the net every time she takes the court. Phipps takes big rips on gap shots and tools blocks. Phipps makes nice adjustments on bad sets. Phipps wins jousts with other good middles and is extremely aggressive at the net. She does not winshield wipe. Phipps sticks her hands out trying to bat balls down. Phipps said the aggressive blocking helped shut down St. Henry's blockers and allowed Mercy's defense to execute well.     Cronen continuously finds ways to improve at all six spots on the court. Cronen smacks balls into seams with precision. Cronen puts over hard crosses and line swings. Cronen tools blocks in different ways and takes powerful swings on pipe plays. Cronen has shown she can land powerful line drive aces on solid liberos and makes sound passes. Cronen does a good job sending out of system balls back toward the net so hitters can place down balls across the net. Cronen said hitting from the back row mixes things up offensively for Mercy and keeps opponents on their toes.     Herbert has been making things tough on opponents with her diversity for years. Herbert throws defenses off with her tough hitting angles. She tools blocks and makes sound adjustments on sets that come her way. Herbert tips over blocks to shallow zones and puts overpassed balls away from opponents. Herbert delivers nice touch on her sets. Herbert does not lock her arms. Herbert makes sound first touches and makes a lot of great things happen serving to different zones. She does not hesitate to go after struggling passers and is coachable.     Lemmond used her size to make some strong plays at the net. She takes strong swings on ones and shoves nice balls to the side lines in addition to tooling blocks. Lemmond forms nice double blocks with teammates and makes nice out of system sets. Lemmond is also coachable.    Note from Writer   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.

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: https://events.prepdig.com/e/2489/register/prep-dig-exposure-tour-kentucky. For 25 percent off, type ET26Mike25OFF at checkout.

The state's Dominant Five are known for their stout defenses among other things.

So when they play each other, the team that dominates the net better generally wins those games. The Mercy Jaguars (23-7 overall) came out strong there and put together a solid game in a sound 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-15) win over the host Saint Henry Crusaders (20-8). It marked the third meeting between the two as Mercy also won the battles on Aug. 21 in the Showdown at the Sunsphere in Knoxville, 2-1 (25-14, 20-25, 15-12) and Sept. 12 in the Louisville Invitational, 2-0 (25-22, 25-20).

"It was a solid performance. We've had some really good matches and been very consistent this year," Mercy head coach Connie Hulsmeyer said. "We've really dialed in the last few matches on blocking. We struggled a little bit with that at times. Riley Phipps Riley Phipps 5'11" | MB/OH Mercy | 2028 State KY , especially for her size, is probably one of the best blocker's in the state. She's definitely the best blocker for us. We work a lot on vision. What are you looking at? The eyes pay attention to the approach and arm swing. That's helped our blocking tremendously."

St. Henry did see its two main middles in Violet Main Violet Main 6'1" | MB St. Henry | 2028 State KY and Hadley Lemmond Hadley Lemmond 6'1" | MB St. Henry | 2028 State KY take some hard swings with setter Madelyn Keipert Madelyn Keipert 5'8" | S/RS St. Henry | 2028 State KY and libero Kenadi Sieg Kenadi Sieg 5'6" | DS/L St. Henry | 2028 State KY . The likes of Molly Blackburn Molly Blackburn 5'9" | OH/RS St. Henry | 2028 State KY and even Stella Flick made some plays. The Crusaders just could not put together big runs like they've done in previous games.

These five players did a nice job making plays happen at the net or protecting it. That could go a long way in the postseason that starts in a week.

Olivia Welsh

KY #48

DS/L #12

HEIGHT 5'8"

POS DS/L

CLASS 2028

View Player

Olivia Welsh

State: Kentucky

School: Mercy

Club: UNION Volleyball Club

Welsh (pictured) does a great job setting up behind blocks. She sees the balls and moves quickly to take away seams. Welsh stops her feet and makes precise first touches. Welsh dup up some hard one shots toward side lines in the game. Welsh uses a nice platform to square her body up to balls. Welsh said it's really important to stay outside of blocks and read hitters so they can get the best passes to the setters.

Highlights

Riley Phipps

KY #15

MB/OH #5

HEIGHT 5'11"

POS MB/OH

CLASS 2028

View Player

Riley Phipps

State: Kentucky

School: Mercy

Club: Adidas Kentucky Indiana Volleyball Academy (KIVA)

Phipps strives to own the net every time she takes the court. Phipps takes big rips on gap shots and tools blocks. Phipps makes nice adjustments on bad sets. Phipps wins jousts with other good middles and is extremely aggressive at the net. She does not winshield wipe. Phipps sticks her hands out trying to bat balls down. Phipps said the aggressive blocking helped shut down St. Henry's blockers and allowed Mercy's defense to execute well.

Highlights

Emma Cronen

KY #14

OH/DS/L #5

HEIGHT 5'9"

POS OH/DS/L

CLASS 2028

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Emma Cronen

State: Kentucky

School: Mercy

Club: UNION Volleyball Club

Cronen continuously finds ways to improve at all six spots on the court. Cronen smacks balls into seams with precision. Cronen puts over hard crosses and line swings. Cronen tools blocks in different ways and takes powerful swings on pipe plays. Cronen has shown she can land powerful line drive aces on solid liberos and makes sound passes. Cronen does a good job sending out of system balls back toward the net so hitters can place down balls across the net. Cronen said hitting from the back row mixes things up offensively for Mercy and keeps opponents on their toes.

Highlights

Allie Herbert

KY #52

S/RS #6

HEIGHT 6'0"

POS S/RS

CLASS 2028

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Allie Herbert

State: Kentucky

School: Mercy

Club: UNION Volleyball Club

Herbert has been making things tough on opponents with her diversity for years. Herbert throws defenses off with her tough hitting angles. She tools blocks and makes sound adjustments on sets that come her way. Herbert tips over blocks to shallow zones and puts overpassed balls away from opponents. Herbert delivers nice touch on her sets. Herbert does not lock her arms. Herbert makes sound first touches and makes a lot of great things happen serving to different zones. She does not hesitate to go after struggling passers and is coachable.

Highlights

Hadley Lemmond

HEIGHT 6'1"

POS MB

CLASS 2028

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Hadley Lemmond

State: Kentucky

School: St. Henry

Club: Northern Kentucky Volleyball Club (NKYVC)

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Highlights

Note from Writer

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 @prepdigkentucky, @prepdigtennessee or @prepdigoh 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.