Around the Commonwealth, Week 3: Undefeated teams

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Simon Kenton Pioneers and Ryle Raiders find themselves undefeated after three weeks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Simon Kenton is 16-0 following another big week that concluded with a 6-0 run and a second tournament championship in the Heroes Tournament at Henry County and Eminence on Saturday. The Pioneers started the week with wins over North Oldham then a 32nd District seed win over Williamstown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They will be tested this week, though, with a home game against Oldham County on Monday, then a road game at Notre Dame on Tuesday before concluding the week at home Thursday against Conner.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ryle is also undefeated at 7-0. The Raiders won a 33rd District seed game against Conner before taking down 8th Region power North Oldham and 12th Region power West Jessamine in a tri-match Saturday. The Raiders travel to Cooper on Thursday to continue district play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dominant Five Update</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Notre Dame (9-2) and St. Henry Crusaders (12-2) met Saturday with the Pandas winning a sixth straight in the series. Sacred Heart (17-3) survived a 3-2 (28‑26, 12‑25, 21‑25, 25‑21, 23‑21) rematch at Notre Dame on Thursday as the teams met just five days after playing in Florida.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That match led to some astounding numbers. Sacred Heart setter [player_tooltip player_id='477212' first='Sarah' last='Kempf'] led the Valkyries with 55 assists. Sacred Heart's big three hitters in [player_tooltip player_id='159351' first='Anna' last='Powell'], [player_tooltip player_id='172949' first='Bridget' last='Egan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='159350' first='Elise' last='Hart'] had 23, 22 and 11 kills respectively, but Charlotte Moyer's 21 digs also can not be overlooked. Egan also had 10 digs and five aces.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Assumption (9-0) stayed undefeated with four wins in the Avon (Indiana) Tournament on Saturday. The Rockets held off Ohio power Ursuline (Cincinnati) in a tight 2-0 (28-26, 27-25) win in one of those games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rockets host Mercy in a Dominant Five showdown on Tuesday. The Jaguars (8-3) picked up wins over Bullitt East and Whitefield Academy last week. They are starting to see their depth develop.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>First Region All "A" Champs Crowned</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Community Christian Warriors will be returning to the All "A" State Tournament after beating Mayfield in the region championship game. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='394154' first='Lauren' last='Fugate'] led the 14-0 Warriors with kills entering the tournament with [player_tooltip player_id='477168' first='Katie' last='Truitt'] and [player_tooltip player_id='588541' first='Natalie' last='Truitt'] adding leadership. The Warriors travel to Ballard Memorial on Tuesday before coming to northern Kentucky to play in the Cake Classic at Highlands on Friday and Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Elizabethtown Wins Adair County Tournament</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a 3-3 start, the Panthers have begun rolling with eight straight wins to move to 11-3 on the season. They beat defending 13th Region champion Whitley County then Southwestern in the championship game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior [player_tooltip player_id='588567' first='Alyssa' last='Philpot'] has been a big help at the net teaming up with the 6-6 [player_tooltip player_id='212253' first='Jessica' last='Smallwood'] at the net. Juniors [player_tooltip player_id='761937' first='Lexi' last='Davis'] and [player_tooltip player_id='533346' first='Grace' last='Godfrey'] have been a big storyline stepping up as defensive specialists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Thomas Nelson has won six of last nine</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The General and first-year head coach Cassie Sizemore picked up a huge 3-2 (19‑25, 16‑25, 25‑13, 25‑15, 15‑13) win at Nelson County on Tuesday then beat North Hardin at home Thursday. During those last nine games, they had a tight 3-2 (25‑22, 25‑21, 19‑25, 22‑25, 15‑6) loss to Bardstown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Twin sisters Elle and [player_tooltip player_id='533370' first='Tori' last='Osborne'] have led the way. Senior libero Savannah Settles has started things up on defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Performers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["612108"],"_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-66de6745db5e8"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Keipert (pictured) is quickly adjusting to the speed of the varsity level and making contributions. She sees the floor and puts her teammates in solid positions to put balls down. Keipert will only improve with what she'll learn from her coaches and teammates.</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":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Charlotte Moyer","_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":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32926","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Sacred Heart","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_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-66de6745db6cc"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Moyer has done a fantastic job stepping into the libero role for the Valkyries. She dives after balls, constantly moves her feet then squares up her body to make solid passes. She has no problem tracking down deflected balls. Moyer currently leads the Valkyries with 174 digs on the season.</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":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='761937' first='Lexi' last='Davis']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32926","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Elizabethtown","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_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-66de6745db77d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Davis does a great job keeping her eyes on the balls and making the steps necessary to track them down. Once that happens, Davis squares her arms up to make simple passes. Davis is not afraid to dive after balls. She has also been big serving for the Panthers. Davis leads Elizabethtown with 198 digs and 37 aces on the season.</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":627376,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Savannah Settles","_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":"null","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32926","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Thomas Nelson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_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-66de6745db84b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Settles does what she can to keep balls in play. Settles lines up her arms with well-struck balls. If out of system, Settles sends free balls over with a purpose. Settles can track down balls sent to far corners and make passes with one arm.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["394154"],"_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-66de6745db8b9"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Fugate is not afraid to call for balls and find ways to send them to the floor. She has deceptive tips and smacks then hard to the back row. Fugate's enthusiasm is contagious for the Warriors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->