Across the Commonwealth, Week 6: Central Hardin wins KY Challenge

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Attend the Top 250 Expo 12/1 in Wilder, KY! Use coupon code "GrahamExpo2024" at checkout for $10 off registration fee!</strong> Here's the link to the event page: <a href="https://events.prepdig.com/e/1299/register/kentucky-top-250-expo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://events.prepdig.com/e/1299/register/kentucky-top-250-expo</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Central Hardin Bruins ventured to Lexington and won the Kentucky Challenge going 5-0 including 2-1 wins over 11th Region teams Frederick Douglass and Great Crossing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bruins have been balanced all season starting with senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='159346' first='Samantha' last='Nelson'] and setter [player_tooltip player_id='477116' first='Kati' last='Vest'], who lead the Bruins with 263 digs and 633 assists, respectively. Central Hardin then features four players with triple-digit kills numbers. Sadie Atcher leads the way with 236 and [player_tooltip player_id='212390' first='Klaire' last='Warrell'] (pictured) is next with 213. [player_tooltip player_id='579201' first='Larkin' last='Taylor'] and [player_tooltip player_id='591652' first='Jordan' last='Fortner'] are next with 166 and 102 kills, respectively. [player_tooltip player_id='212389' first='Graci' last='Blair'] and Kate Disselkamp have added to that depth along with Harper Jones.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Central Hardin won the first battle with Elizabethtown on Tuesday, 3-1. Atcher had 21 kills and Vest 37 assists with Nelson digging up 25 balls. Vest also had four aces.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bruins and Panthers meet again Thursday at Central Hardin. Elizabethtown rebounded to beat John Hardin, 3-0 on Thursday after seeing the 13-game winning streak snapped. Junior middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='212253' first='Jessica' last='Smallwood'] had 21 kills against Central Hardin and 12 against John Hardin. Smallwood also had 11 aces against John Hardin. [player_tooltip player_id='533345' first='Addison' last='Janes'] added 22 assists against the Bulldogs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Assumption beats Sacred Heart for Second Time</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Assumption Rockets bested the Sacred Heart Valkyries, 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-17) at home in the second meeting between the two 7th Region Dominant Five rivals. Liberos [player_tooltip player_id='172945' first='Kristen' last='Simon'] and [player_tooltip player_id='212396' first='Emily' last='Keiran'] made a difference again with 22 and 16 digs, respectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Setter [player_tooltip player_id='172952' first='Emilee' last='Fuller'] had another big game for the Rockets with 47 assists and eight different Rockets recorded kills. [player_tooltip player_id='172951' first='Bailey' last='Blair'] and [player_tooltip player_id='172950' first='Emma' last='Barnett'] had 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Fuller and [player_tooltip player_id='603777' first='Iris' last='Williams'] added two aces each. Blair had three assisted and one solo block with [player_tooltip player_id='484327' first='Emily' last='Poteraj'] assisting on three blocks. [player_tooltip player_id='611724' first='Brooke' last='Codey'] dug up nine balls.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Assumption (20-4) also knocked off St. Henry in another Dominant Five battle on Wednesday. The Rockets head to Chicago this weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CAL wins Whitefield Invitational</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Centurions moved to 26-2 on the season with an impressive 6-0 run to win the Whitefield Invitational Tournament not dropping one set. This comes one week after winning the Class 2A in-season state tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Centurions have won 14 in a row. They take on Holy Cross (Louisville) on the road Monday at 7:30 p.m.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bardstown wins Fillies Fall Fling</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers took down host Harrison County in the championship game, 2-1 (25-21, 17-25, 15-12) to win the title. Bardstown needed the wins to stop a five-game losing streak.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='603870' first='Addison' last='Devers'] led the Tigers with 144 kills and setter [player_tooltip player_id='504705' first='Kylee' last='Best'] had 252 assists. [player_tooltip player_id='484296' first='Molly' last='Kisegy'] led Bardstown with 168 digs. Bardstown hits the road against North Hardin on Monday before going to Bethlehem and Washington County for two crucial 19th District games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>9th Region Notes</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Ryle Raiders followed up a 4-1 runner-up showing at the Thoroughbred Smash with a 3-1 week to move to 19-4 on the season. The Raiders beat Scott and Simon Kenton in consecutive days to start the week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>North Oldham bests Oldham County</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Mustangs will find themselves in the familiar top seed in the 29th District after winning at Oldham County, 3-1 on Thursday. North Oldham displayed the usual balance led by sisters [player_tooltip player_id='212386' first='Reagan' last='Baxter'] with 17 kills and seven blocks and Berkley Baxter with 30 assists. Campbell Floyd led the Mustangs with 32 digs and [player_tooltip player_id='477099' first='Lucy' last='Proud'] added 25 assists. Vita Sensenbrenner, Josie Scales and [player_tooltip player_id='484260' first='Lilah' last='Anthony'] followed with 13, 12 and 10 kills respectively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Collins Undefeated in District 30 play</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Collins Titans have beaten both Shelby County and Woodford County twice this season and knocked off Anderson County recently to move to 5-0 in district play. Only Spencer County is left in district play. Senior Jocelyn Early and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='603802' first='Lily' last='Gutermuth'] lead the Titans with their versatility. [player_tooltip player_id='734309' first='Lana' last='Sageser'] leads the Titans in kills with 145 and Emma Gutermuth leads the Titans with 176 digs.</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_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":528118,"_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Sadie Atcher","_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":"32564","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Central Hardin","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"SKEVA","_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-66fa0aed08fed"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Atcher brings a lot of high volleyball IQ plays to the pins for the Bruins. If she's going against a taller player, Atcher can hit balls off blocks or shove them to an open side of the front court. She also rises up high and can time up blocks. Atcher also has a deceptive serve to the back line. Atcher leads the Bruins with 236 kills and is second with 60 aces to go with 132 digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["172950"],"_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-66fa0aed09093"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Barnett is one of many hitters capable of putting up double-digit kills on a regular basis for the Rockets. Barnett goes up from the pin and smacks it hard to the back row and different places. If she sees an opening, she'll tap it there. She puts incredible force into balls from both pins making balls hard to dig up. When overpasses come, Barnett sends them to the floor. Barnett leads the Rockets with 204 kills on the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["484282"],"_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-66fa0aed09119"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Boyd is one of the many reasons the Centurions are having a great season. Boyd dives to the ground to make saves. Her experience with well-struck balls shows as she positions her arms well and balls carom to the setters. She's able to make quick adjustments on pushes and shoves to make precise passes. Boyd hits her serving targets putting great spin on the ball.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["603870"],"_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-66fa1425aed3a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Devers has emerged to fulfill a need on the outside for the Tigers. She makes things happen at both pins adjusting to put whatever touches are necessary to put balls down including off blockers. She has good footwork. Devers can make things happen on go routes both in and out of system.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["603802"],"_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-66fa181e51ce8"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Gutermuth gives the Titans a lot of versatility. She makes quick transitions from defense to offense. She can sneak in behind fakes and pound balls down. Gutermuth does a great job blocking and hitting balls off blocker and out of bounds. She sees defensive positions well and takes whatever steps are necessary to place balls away from defenders. Gutermuth has 120 kills, 190 assists, 128 digs and 30 aces for the Titans this year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->