2016 Region 9 tourney updates

Highlands could make it competitive not sure Dixie can.

Beechwood and St. Henry advance tonight

The Beechwood vs NCC game was highly entertaining, and gave you the impression that it could have gone either way. Conventional wisdom would say that losing Julia Popova prior to the game to a sprained ankle would lessen the Tigers chances of victory, especially when you consider that NCC had beaten Beechwood twice this season, but I guess that's why they play the game. Lots of long rallies and scrappy volleyball play. The series looked to be headed to five games when Beechwood took control and finished set four for the victory. I thought about listing a few Tigers who I thought did well, but felt it would detract from the team win they just had. All the girls who stepped on the floor for Beechwood contributed in a major way. Great Job Ladies! (23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-22).

St. Henry vs Ryle was a slightly different story. Haley Bush for Ryle was amazing (as my daughter put it), but Ryle struggled to find a complementing player when she left the front row. SHDS was led offensively by Paige Nobel and Maria Tobertge. Bridget Bessler was also a force at the net, with Lexi Fohl's and Zoe Epplen playing solid defense. Meagan Bailer, Madison Reed, and several of the afore mentioned players serving helped keep Ryle out of system. Both Libero's in the contest did outstanding, Reece Barber for Ryle and Karli Fugate for SHDS. In the end, St. Henry won the third set walking away.

I think Ryle's struggles this year hurts Bush's chances for Reg 9 POY. It's probably Smith's award at this point. But I think we'll see a St. Henry/NDA final. Like we saw in girls soccer, it's not your record or your in-state ranking, it's who you play. Cooper hasn't played a single team outside of the state all year, and they don't play Assumption, Mercy, or Sacred Heart. I think NDA is better prepared to take the Region 9 title for the 10th straight year.

St. Henry beat NDA in 2010.

St. Henry also won Region 9 in 2004,2005, &2006.

I just looked at the state tournament brackets. Whoever wins the 9th should make it to the finals. No Louisville gauntlet to run through this season.

I think you're looking at the wrong brackets. I'm pretty sure the 9th region winner faces the 6th region winner (more than likely Mercy) in the first round.

I just put the 2010 result because of the erroneous info that if NDA wins it would be 10 in a row.
Also, Region 9 faces Region 6 in the first round. Region 6 is Mercy. They easily beat NDA during the season.

Yes. Should have been 6 in a row. Just like soccer I believe.

You're absolutely correct. I was mistaken about the bracket. Somehow missed them when I was looking at the teams.

Cooper vs Highlands - No surprise in the outcome. First set Cooper dismantled the Blue Birds, but the second set they allowed them to make a game of it. Set three saw the Jaguars turn up the heat once again and close out the victory. After seeing all the teams play thus far, in my opinion Katy Smith should be the Region MVP.

NDA vs Dixie. No shockers here. NDA won set one handily, and only a late rally by the Colonels got them into double digits. Second Set resulted in the same score, but Metzger and Long provided flashes to make things a little interesting. Set 3 started out tight and it was 10-7 NDA before the Panda's took charge. Going on a 15-7 run to close out the night. (25-12, 25-12, 25-14)

The Panda's are a solid team with good volleyball IQ players, who will snatch victory away from Cooper if they come out flat like they did against Highlands in the second set. I know that I'm going against conventional wisdom when I say this, but this game is Coopers to lose. If they play aggressive and put pressure on NDA's defense, it will keep the Panda's out of system, and they can't beat Cooper that way.

NDA sweep. Back and forth G1, 26-24. Then, NDA controlled and Cooper serve receive fell apart. 25-18, 25-16.

And she is per the KVCA.

Some pics:

2�16 VB Region NDA v Cooper | Facebook

Some more pics:

216 VB Region SHDHS v Beechwood | Facebook