September Slam Day 1 Impressions

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first day of the annual September Slam saw a return of a number of familiar teams, but also some new ones as Somerset Christian, Madison Central and Logan County ventured to Scott for the tournament for the first time.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Three pools formed in the 11-team event meaning three teams would go 2-0 on the first day, three would go winless and five more would go 1-1 on the evening. Simon Kenton, Madison Central and Oldham County won both games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>However, Simon Kenton gained the most experience in a tight situation having to win both games in the maximum three sets to stay undefeated at 5-0 on the season. The adventure started with a 2-1 win over the tournament's three-time defending champion Holy Cross Indians.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Pioneers then took down defending 4th Region champion Logan County, 2-1 (21-16, 14-21, 15-10) in an epic battle. The Cougars feature the most talented player in the tournament in 6-1 University of Houston outside hitter [player_tooltip player_id='269730' first='Aubrey' last='Sears']. Sears rises up and delivers hard power into balls so they go screaming to the floor.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Pioneers knew they had to try to slow it down at the net to help out the defenders. The likes of [player_tooltip player_id='212349' first='Jenna' last='Kitchens'], [player_tooltip player_id='159349' first='Keira' last='Hans'] and Madeline Johnson stood up to the test. Senior setter Ceanna Scalf and senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='210627' first='Tori' last='Chasteen'] constantly hustled after balls and Scalf had solid placement on her sets. Johnson had a big block and tip kill in the third game against Logan County. Hans finished with eight kills in that game and Kitchens had seven with Scalf recording nine assists and Chasteen eight digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Logan County may be 2-4 facing a tough schedule, but head coach Caleb Sheffield said the goal is to peak during the postseason. It helped the Cougars last year after they won the 13th District then 4th Region title then beat Meade County in the first round of state before losing 3-0 to West Jessamine in the state quarterfinals. The Cougars have some experienced players around Sears such as setter [player_tooltip player_id='477232' first='Kambell' last='Porter'] and defensive specialist [player_tooltip player_id='210639' first='Lydia' last='Owens'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>If Simon Kenton and Oldham County win their first games Saturday, they could square off in a rematch of the 8th Region title game from last year. The Colonels won it 3-1 to claim their second region title in three years. The Pioneers have had the best chance of anyone in recent years to end the 29th District's domination of the region since the current format came about in 2012.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Logan County rallied past Scott, 2-0 (21-19, 21-18) to face Simon Kenton in the second game of Pool 2. The Eagles built a nice lead in the first game of 12-6 before the Cougars came back.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That might not be the only time Scott and Logan County meet. A rematch could take place at 11 a.m. if the two win their first two games Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Newport Central Catholic, Boone County and Holy Cross play games against each other at Woodland Middle School next door then play one additional game later in the day. The third place team out of that Pool C takes on Scott at 2 p.m. to finish the day.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>NewCath and Dixie Heights was the only other game to go three sets. The Thoroughbreds won the first won before the Colonels taking a tight 23-22 decision in game 2. Games are capped at 21 with a maximum of 23 except for the third games that go to 15 and are capped at 17.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Standout Players</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["159349"],"_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"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66d2a98fef78c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hans places balls down hard when she swings through. She brought the house down with an amazing kill in the win over Logan County. She makes great adjustments in the air to angle balls toward lines. Hans added some key service aces in the win as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":617124,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Madeline Johnson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32924","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Simon Kenton","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Club Apex","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66d2a98fef864"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The Pioneers needed Johnson as much as anyone to beat Logan County. Johnson had some key blocks and kills in that third game only helping her confidence going against Sears. She has great timing at the net with her teammates on the blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":617125,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Ceanna Scalf","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'6u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32561","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Simon Kenton","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Club Apex","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66d2a98fef8fb"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Scalf has nicely stepped into the important role of quarterbacking the team. She makes a variety of sets including the cross-court set near the net putting teammates in position to put balls down. She also finished roll shots during the game against Logan County.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["269730"],"_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":617126,"_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"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66d2a98fef94e"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Sears smokes balls to different parts of the court making it vital to get blocks on her to help defenders. Sears does a great job angling balls away from defenders, especially from the strong left side. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["590128"],"_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"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66d2a98fef98d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Wilson played a big role in helping the Colonels rally to beat Newport Central Catholic on Friday. She consistently hustled to balls then squared them up to start the Dixie Heights offensive rhythm. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Saturday Schedule</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool A on Court 2</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Madison Central (4-3) vs. Scott (4-3), 9 a.m. (Game 5) </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dixie Heights (3-3) vs. Logan County (2-4), 10 a.m. (Game 6)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Winners of Game 5 and Game 6, 10 a.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Losers of Game 5 and Game 6, 11 a.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool B on Court 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Simon Kenton (5-0) vs. Somerset Christian (4-2), 9 a.m. (Game 7)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oldham County (7-0) vs. Campbell County (3-4), 10 a.m. (Game 8)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Winners of Game 7 and Game 8, 11 a.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Losers of Game 7 and Game 8, Noon.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pool C at Woodland Middle School</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Newport Central Catholic (5-4) vs. Boone County (3-7), 9 a.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Boone County (3-7) vs. Holy Cross of Covington (3-4), 10 a.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Newport Central Catholic (5-4) vs. Holy Cross (3-4), 11 a.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Championship Game on Court 1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pool A and B winners, 1 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Third Place Game</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pool A and B, Second Place finishers, 1 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Consolation Matches</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pool B Third Place vs. Pool C First Place, 1 p.m. at Woodland Middle</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pool A Third Place vs. Pool C Second Place, 2 p.m. on Court 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pool C Third Place vs. Scott, 1 p.m. on Court 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->