Louisville Powers to Meet for State championship

<!-- 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>Similar to many years, one of the three Dominant Five members to make it to state does not lose until the state semifinals.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The two Louisville powers Mercy Jaguars and Assumption Rockets found their way back into the state championship game Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Both overpowered the northern Kentucky opponents to earn the spots in the final game back at George Rogers Clark.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Assumption 3, Notre Dame 2 (25-23, 22-25, 25-22, 15-25, 15-9)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Rockets (34-8 overall) wound up winning the biggest one of the three meetings after Notre Dame won both meetings during the regular season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Assumption dug up the powerful Notre Dame spike attempts better than the two regular season meetings and will play for a second state championship in a row as a result. The Rockets took 24 more swings at the ball landing 72 kills on 186 attacks minus 28 errors for a .237 hitting percentage compared to 53 kills on 152 attempts minus 15 errors for a .250 hitting percentage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='172945' first='Kristen' last='Simon'] and [player_tooltip player_id='212396' first='Emily' last='Keiran'] led the defensive effort for the Rockets digging up balls with [player_tooltip player_id='611724' first='Brooke' last='Codey'] and [player_tooltip player_id='172952' first='Emilee' last='Fuller'] also racking up double-digit digs. That set up setter [player_tooltip player_id='172952' first='Emilee' last='Fuller'] nice then seniors [player_tooltip player_id='172951' first='Bailey' last='Blair'], [player_tooltip player_id='172950' first='Emma' last='Barnett'] and [player_tooltip player_id='477120' first='Janie' last='Eichberger'] had double-digit kills. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='484326' first='Carle' last='Hooe'] even came in and did some little things for the Rockets. Hooe said the team came together to pull it out in the end, adding that legendary head coach Ron Kordes says the magic they make, they make it themselves.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='210633' first='Ava' last='Tilden'] and [player_tooltip player_id='210634' first='Julia' last='Grace'] laid everything on the floor hoping to help the Pandas back to the state championship game. [player_tooltip player_id='477121' first='Lacey' last='Hostetler'] along with [player_tooltip player_id='507601' first='Grace' last='Portwood'] and [player_tooltip player_id='379687' first='Lizzy' last='Larkins'] also had double-digit digs as Notre Dame outdid Assumption, 76-71 in digs and 9-6 in blocks. Larkins again set up the Pandas nicely at the net with Tilden and [player_tooltip player_id='312234' first='Audrey' last='Dyas'] recording double-digit kills. Portwood, [player_tooltip player_id='231876' first='Ella' last='Goetz'] and [player_tooltip player_id='484250' first='Teagan' last='Kondik'] added big kills for the Pandas.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first game stayed tight. Tied at 23, Blair landed a kill and with Hooe and Blair combing for a block of Portwood to give Assumption the 25-23 win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Notre Dame came back to take the second game after trailing 14-11. The Pandas scored five straight to go up 16-11 then built three-point leads five times including 24-21. After a Blair kill made it 24-22, Assumption served the ball long to give the Pandas the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Notre Dame built a 3-1 lead in the third game before Assumption came back to go up 7-5. The Rockets led 23-22 before a net serve then a Notre Dame antenna hit gave the Rockets the third game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Pandas took control of the nets in the fourth game forcing it to a fifth game. Tied at 10, the Pandas scored five straight to go up 15-10. They led 20-15 then scored five straight after an Assumption timeout to pull out that win. Hostetler finished it with an ace.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The fifth game stayed tight until Codey landed a kill and Blair a block to put the Rockets up 5-3. After a Goetz tap kill, Assumption scored three straight with [player_tooltip player_id='484327' first='Emily' last='Poteraj'] putting down an overpass to put Assumption up 8-4 forcing a Notre Dame timeout. Notre Dame appeared to cut the lead to 10-8, but a touching call gave the Rockets an 11-7 lead. The Pandas cut the margin to 14-9 before Blair landed a kill to finish the game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Notre Dame graduates seven seniors. They are Grace, Tilden, Goetz, [player_tooltip player_id='253867' first='Hannah' last='Dannenberg'], Hostetler, [player_tooltip player_id='159327' first='Riley' last='McCloskey'] and [player_tooltip player_id='269766' first='Lauren' last='Ott'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Mercy 3, Scott 0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-16)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Jaguars held a big size advantage and it showed landing 49 kills on 109 attempts minus 13 errors for a .330 hitting percentage compared to 22 kills on 91 attempts minus 13 errors for a .099 hitting percentage for Scott. Mercy also had five blocks to none for Scott.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='479273' first='Mady' last='Yaden'] led the Mercy attack with [player_tooltip player_id='611834' first='Nalani' last='Derringer'] and [player_tooltip player_id='554148' first='Emma' last='Cronen'] following the balanced attack. Mercy runs a 6-2 with [player_tooltip player_id='544366' first='Addison' last='Randol'] and Maia Maren setting up the offense. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='172954' first='Madisyn' last='Green'] led the Jaguars in digs with Cronen also hitting double-digit digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Scott saw [player_tooltip player_id='477092' first='Brooklyn' last='Helm'] lead in kills and Ryan Grigsby set up the offense. [player_tooltip player_id='477094' first='Elise' last='Manhardt'] and [player_tooltip player_id='604595' first='Payton' last='Grigsby'] had double-digit digs for the Eagles.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Scott did go up 4-1 in the second game, but could not hold on. Down 24-21, Manhardt landed an ace and a hitting error cut the margin to 24-23, but Marin landed a kill to end it. The Jaguars then jumped up 10-4 in the third game and never looked back.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Scott has five seniors. They are Helm, Manhardt, Lexi Ennis, [player_tooltip player_id='586647' first='Jaeda' last='Menfee'] and Olivia Burgan.</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='172951' first='Bailey' last='Blair'], Assumption - 26</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='172950' first='Emma' last='Barnett'], Assumption - 17</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='210633' first='Ava' last='Tilden'], Notre Dame - 15</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='477120' first='Janie' last='Eichberger'], Assumption - 15</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='479273' first='Mady' last='Yaden'], Mercy - 14</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='312234' first='Audrey' last='Dyas'], Notre Dame - 14</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='477092' first='Brooklyn' last='Helm'], Scott - 9</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='212393' first='Milyn' last='Minor'], Scott - 8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='507601' first='Grace' last='Portwood'], Notre Dame - 8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='231876' first='Ella' last='Goetz'], Notre Dame -8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='611834' first='Nalani' last='Derringer'], Mercy - 8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='554148' first='Emma' last='Cronen'], Mercy - 8</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Assists</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='172952' first='Emilee' last='Fuller'], Assumption - 59</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='379687' first='Lizzy' last='Larkins'], Notre Dame - 44</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='544366' first='Addison' last='Randol'], Mercy - 23</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='500587' first='Ryann' last='Grigsby'], Scott - 18</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='245633' first='Maia' last='Marin'], Mercy - 17</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Aces</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blair - 4</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='477121' first='Lacey' last='Hostetler'], Notre Dame - 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Digs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='172945' first='Kristen' last='Simon'], Assumption - 23</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='210634' first='Julia' last='Grace'], Notre Dame - 19</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='172954' first='Madisyn' last='Green'], Mercy - 19</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tilden - 16</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Portwood - 13</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hostetler - 13</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='554148' first='Emma' last='Cronen'], Mercy - 11</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='212396' first='Emily' last='Keiran'], Assumption - 11</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='477094' first='Elise' last='Manhardt'], Scott - 11</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='604595' first='Payton' last='Grigsby'], Scott - 10</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Larkins - 10</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fuller - 10</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Codey - 10</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Blocks</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dyas - 6</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Yaden - 5</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Goetz - 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Blair - 3</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["172945"],"_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-672fec6327aa0"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">If balls came in her area, she dug them up leading to big kills. Simon does a great job picking up on the hitting tendences of opponents and tracking balls down. Simon also set up hitters out of system. Simon said the team dug in with an all or nothing mentality knowing it could be the last game.</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-672fec6327b04"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Barnett came through with a lot of big kills in the fifth game. She had two in a row to put the Rockets up 14-8. Barnett made the necessary adjustments at the net to help Assumption pull through. She stays positive all the time keeping the team up through the tough moments.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["210633"],"_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":719158,"_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-672fec6327b5c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Tilden could not have done much more than what the coaching staff asked of her trying to lift the Pandas to the win. She played in all six spots digging up ball after ball in the back row then mixing in hard and soft shots at the net. Tilden served as a good example for the Pandas all season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["172954"],"_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":719169,"_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-672fec6327ba7"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Just when you think balls may hit the ground, Green (pictured) tracks them down. She goes full throttle after them not afraid to dive or go far out of bounds to get them. Green also does a good job setting up hitters out of system. Green said the team got the nerves out the first number of points before setting down into their game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["544366"],"_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-672fec6327be5"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">On one play, Randol may take a swing then set up hitters on the next one. She brings that versatility to the 6-2 Mercy attack that changes a good bit. She's also not afraid to go hard after balls keeping plays alive. Randol said the versatility has helped the Jaguars improve throughout the season and be efficient with their play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->