State Quarterfinals, Games 1 and 2 High Risers

<!-- 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>A prediction of the two Dominant Five teams winning these two games as the result of their outstanding histories were still good ones, but they still had to earn the wins more than ever. Assumption head coach Ron Kordes recalled times when players served underhand at previous state tournaments in the pre-season. That has not been the case in recent seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The latest rendition of Assumption (38-3 overall) and Mercy (30-7) takes place at 11 a.m. Saturday back at George Rogers Clark. A number of players rose up trying to help lift the respective teams to the final day of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Game 1: Mercy 3, Paintsville 0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-21)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Jaguars did give the Tigers some issues with their power hitters with [player_tooltip player_id='554148' first='Emma' last='Cronen'] and [player_tooltip player_id='611834' first='Nalani' last='Derringer'] leading the way per usual. The game came down to serve reception as Mercy posted a .967 percentage recording just two errors on 58 attempts compared to eight errors on 63 attempts for an .887 percentage. That led to Mercy recording a .220 hitting percentage recording 47 kills on 109 attempts and 23 errors. Paintsville (35-7) hit .138 with 30 kills on 87 attempts and 18 errors. Mercy used aggressive serving in each set to go on routes to build some distance.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Our serving's been tough all year. We studied quite a bit of game film so I felt like we knew who we could go after a bit," Mercy head coach Connie Huelsmeyer said. "Olivia (Welsh) and Payton (Secor) especially did a good job of doing that."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cronen especially helped there making no errors on 22 serve receive attempts and [player_tooltip player_id='852131' first='Sydney' last='Kapfhammer'] successfully received 15 balls hit at her. [player_tooltip player_id='612086' first='Olivia' last='Welsh'] lead the Jaguars in the back row jumpstarting things consistently. Setters [player_tooltip player_id='774929' first='Allie' last='Herbert'], [player_tooltip player_id='554148' first='Emma' last='Cronen'] and [player_tooltip player_id='544366' first='Addison' last='Randol'] distributed the ball nicely to eight different hitters with five hitting .182 and higher in the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='925231' first='Bentley' last='Smith'] and [player_tooltip player_id='253875' first='Kylie' last='Kinner'] did a good job jumpstarting things defensively for the Tigers and [player_tooltip player_id='890171' first='Addison' last='Helton'] tried to get Kinner and [player_tooltip player_id='603814' first='Chloe' last='Reed'] as many touches as possible with [player_tooltip player_id='816699' first='Mallory' last='May'] trying to give Paintsville balance in the middle. Kinner hit .224 on the game and May landed two kills on four attempts with no errors. The Tigers took leads here and there in all three sets, but could not extend them.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Game 2: Assumption 3, McCracken County (25-9, 25-11, 25-11)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rockets once again overwhelmed the Rockets with their size and athleticism, hitting an astounding .436 for the match with 38 kills on 78 attempts and just four errors. On the other side, McCracken County hit negative-.077 with 17 kills on 65 attempts and 22 errors. The Rockets out-blocked the Mustangs, 7-0 controlling the net.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Assumption also had 11 aces to three for McCracken County. [player_tooltip player_id='611724' first='Brooke' last='Codey'] and [player_tooltip player_id='484323' first='Cheyenne' last='Reyes'] led the efforts on defense with middles [player_tooltip player_id='484326' first='Carle' last='Hooe'] and [player_tooltip player_id='851613' first='Julia' last='Lee'] turning back numerous balls. Setter [player_tooltip player_id='603778' first='Addison' last='Hurley'] then set up nine different hitters for kills. Outsides [player_tooltip player_id='823336' first='Claire' last='Kleinhenz'] and [player_tooltip player_id='611743' first='Taylor' last='McKenzie'] led the way there with five others recording two kills each.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"I think it's just something we talk about. We got to set the bar somewhere - our expectations, and even if we win a match and are not meeting our expectations with effort and things like that," Assumption head coach Ron Kordes said. "In the latter part of the season, they've been doing great with that. Hopefully, that'll continue a couple more times."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='477251' first='Caroline' last='Presswood'], [player_tooltip player_id='747076' first='Mollie' last='Canter'] and [player_tooltip player_id='757579' first='Kambell' last='Dunning'] did what they could trying to keep plays alive. [player_tooltip player_id='747618' first='Neely' last='Nyberg'], [player_tooltip player_id='834881' first='Lilly' last='Hamilton'] and Dunning took sound swings off sets from [player_tooltip player_id='1022305' first='McCoy' last='Gregory']. The Mustangs just could not sustain anything.</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='253875' first='Kylie' last='Kinner'], Paintsville - 19</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='554148' first='Emma' last='Cronen'], Mercy - 17</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='611834' first='Nalani' last='Derringer'], Mercy - 9</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='611743' first='Taylor' last='McKenzie'], Assumption - 8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='823336' first='Claire' last='Kleinhenz'], Assumption - 8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='484326' first='Carle' last='Hooe'], Assumption - 6</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='747618' first='Neely' last='Nyberg'], McCracken County - 6</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Assists</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='603778' first='Addison' last='Hurley'], Assumption - 31</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='890171' first='Addison' last='Helton'], Paintsville - 28</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1022305' first='McCoy' last='Gregory'], McCracken County - 14</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='774929' first='Allie' last='Herbert'], Mercy - 13</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='544366' first='Addison' last='Randol'], Mercy - 12</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='790069' first='Payton' last='Secor'], Mercy - 8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Digs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='612086' first='Olivia' last='Welsh'], Mercy - 14</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='925231' first='Bentley' last='Smith'], Paintsville - 10</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kinner - 8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='477251' first='Caroline' last='Presswood'], McCracken County - 8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cronen - 7</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='757579' first='Kambell' last='Dunning'], McCracken County - 7</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='611724' first='Brooke' last='Codey'], Assumption - 6</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='747076' first='Mollie' last='Canter'], McCracken County - 6</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='484323' first='Cheyenne' last='Reyes'], Assumption - 5</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Aces</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Welsh - 5</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='603778' first='Addison' last='Hurley'], Assumption - 4</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Codey - 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kinner - 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='834881' first='Lilly' last='Hamilton'], McCracken County - 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Reyes - 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Blocks</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='851613' first='Julia' last='Lee'], Assumption - 4</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hooe - 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='816699' first='Mallory' last='May'], Paintsville - 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Derringer - 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='939013' first='Josie' last='Hans'], Mercy - 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Herbert - 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='890171' first='Addison' last='Helton'], Paintsville - 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='742476' first='Annabelle' last='Blankenship'], Paintsville - 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["774929"],"_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":1061238,"_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-6aedfef89c290"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Herbert once again used her versatility to lift the Jaguars to the win. Herbert refined her angles to make her swings even more difficult to dig up. Herbert does a good job tooling blocks and is not afraid to take huge swings. Herbert is an aggressive server and makes quick reactions on defense. Herbert also gives the Jaguars different looks running the offense. Herbert said the setters can each throw out things opponents are not ready, allowing them to terminate balls different ways.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["790069"],"_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":1061262,"_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-6aee0a73282e3"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Secor (pictured) helped keep the Tigers out of system with her aggressive serving. Secor does not hesitate to go after struggling passers. She does a good job trailing plays and making quick digs when balls come her way. Secor stepped in and did a nice job running the offense in the third set. Secor said they try to be each others' biggest supporters so they constantly communicate and figure things out on and off the court and that's helped the Jaguars develop a solid offensive rhythm.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["925231"],"_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":1061260,"_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-6aee030e5b90f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Smith did a great job controlling the back row for the Tigers. Smith reads hitters well, takes minimal steps to balls and squares her arms to balls to make precise two to three-point passes so Paintsville can jump into a nice offensive rhythm. Smith dug up a number of well-struck balls.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["823336"],"_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":1061351,"_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-6aee1e2dc5f29"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Kleinhenz took advantage of great spacing at the pins with the mismatches in the middle. Kleinhenz has a strong attack approach, gets on top of balls and pounds out quality line swings and crosses. Her quick arm swing lets her put tough four-to-four cut shots across the net. Kleinhenz also did a good job forming sound double blocks on the pins.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["747618"],"_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":1061400,"_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-6aee28d7d983a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Nyberg gave a great effort in her final game for the Mustangs. She did not stop swinging hard after getting blocked. She goes up strong and attacks seams with precision, especially on ones. Nyberg does a nice job backing up the net and always encourages her teammates whether they win or lose the point.</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 -->