Five 14th Region Small School Wonders

Smaller independent and private schools sometimes get overlooked because they do not make the region tournament over the two county schools in the district. However, that does not mean there is not any talented players at those schools. College gems come from them all the time. These five could fit that bill in the mountains of the eastern part of the state.    Lilly (pictured) influences the net a number of ways. She uses her size to go up and hit over and around blocks. Lilly does a good job mixing in hard and soft shots to give opponents a lot to consider. Lilly places overpassed balls away from opponents. Lilly does a good job aiming balls off blocks for huge points. Lilly has good form on her blocks and can execute both solo and double blocks. Lilly had 185 kills, 24 solo blocks and 13 assisted blocks for the Cavaliers in the fall.     Bailey developed some good habits playing on varsity as an eighth grader and adapting to the game speed. Bailey has sound range. She lunges when needed to keep plays alive. Her ball control improved throughout the season. She reads hitters well then does what she can trying to beat balls to their destinations on the floor. Bailey also showed promise as a hitter and server. Improvements in those two areas will make her a better all-around player. Bailey had 192 digs for Jenkins in the fall.     Marshall does a good job setting her feet then making sound passes for the Crusaders. Marshall squares her body up to balls then uses a good platform to send balls to the desired setter zones. Marshall led June Buchanan with 167 digs last fall.     Allen helped give the Bulldogs some balance on the outside. Allen takes good approaches to the net and slides balls past double blocks into holes. Allen hits balls off blocks for big points and rainbows off shots to the open back row. Allen can shove balls to the shallow six zone when the team is out of system. Allen had 196 kills for Hazard in the fall.     Warren does a good job placing balls to open spots on the court via tips and a variety of off hits. Warren eyes the court and sends good roll shots away from nice defensive specialists. Warren has also shown efficiency at the net rising up and turning back solid hitters. A quicker arm swing is a nice next step to add power hitting and more versatility to her game. Warren had 104 kills and 33 solo blocks for Hazard in the fall.    Note from the Writer   Mike Graham has been writing for Prep Dig for two 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 @prepdigkentucky or @prepdigoh on Instagram in addition to @PrepDigKy or @PrepDigOH on X. If you feel someone in Kentucky or Ohio needs coverage or even have feedback on the Kentucky 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.

Smaller independent and private schools sometimes get overlooked because they do not make the region tournament over the two county schools in the district. However, that does not mean there is not any talented players at those schools. College gems come from them all the time. These five could fit that bill in the mountains of the eastern part of the state.