And the Region 9 player of the year is....

I have no idea. Is there a front runner? Most years it's pretty clear-cut who will get it, this year seems to be different. I'm going to bet that no one from a public school has ever won this award. Does that change this year?

I'd say Kaity Smith from Cooper would get my vote.

I'd say Kaity Smith from Cooper would get my vote.

Why would she get your vote? What are the criteria for this award?

First, it's just an opinion. I have no vote.

202 kills (.329 hitting percentage) which leads her team by nearly 50 kills. 3.4 kills per set.

49 aces which leads her team by double.

She's also a 6 rotation player that's doing a nice job in serve receive and defense.

NDA doesn't have a kid with overwhelming numbers to make the argument for "the best player on the best team" argument.

Kaity is a very nice player and certainly in the discussion. When I've seen Cooper play, she rotated out in the back row playing only the front and serving.

I would think Smith, Bush or McDonald would be the three top contenders for POY. In addition to statistical performance, I think leadership qualities and attitude would be a strong determining factor.

I think Kaity Smith or Haley Bush would be the top contenders. I think the public schools might actually end up on top this year with this one.

I have compiled season stats for girls

mentioned. Easy to compare. Things vary based on position but I think the only thing this clears up is the fact that there is no front runner and will probably come down to name recognition and/or a popularity contest.

One thing to consider strongly is the juniors from NDA are putting up similar numbers to the other girls and playing much stronger competition. Much harder to get a kill, ace, dig, assist, etc vs the Sacred Hearts of the volleyball world than the teams Ryle and Cooper are playing. That should "weight" their stats a bit. (Just my opinion of course)

I agree that the level of competition makes a difference.

However, stats are so subjective and biased depending on the level of competency of the statistician. It's also extremely difficult to compare stats for different positions. A good middle will always have a higher hitting percentage than an outside hitter. A 6 rotation player makes many more contributions than a strong middle blocker playing only 3 rotations. Setters never get the respect they deserve and their stats are so dependent on hitters finishing. I put little credence when comparing stats.

I don't think the NDA juniors fit in the discussion.

Unfortunately for Bush, Ryle just hasn't been able to support her being the POY. She is an amazing talent and a fierce competitor.

Totally agree that competition matters, especially when looking at raw stats. Apples to oranges based on competition.

And, I favor 6 rotation players for major awards unless you are a monster attacker and blocker.

I have seen them all play, and to me it's between McDonald, Smith and Bush. I don't want that to sound like I am taking anything away from Natalie and Lainey. Rachel McDonald might as well be a Libero that also hits because NCC has her receive no matter where she is on the floor. Plus she hits what seems to be 80% of the attacks. Katy Smith and Haley Bush are very similar to Rachel. We just don't see them as much as NCC. But you get this sense that without these girls on their respective teams, you would see a big drop off in terms of their team's success.

Aces should never be part of the discussion. Go look at stats when Assumption plays Sacred Heart and tell me how many Aces there are. 2? 3? total for the match combined for both teams. High end volleyball isn't about Aces, it's about aggressive serving that puts a team out of system, and there's not a stat for that.

It's real easy to run off double digit Aces when you play weak teams who simply can't serve receive. And there are a lot of teams like that.

According to the stats posted above Kaity Smith had 5 aces against NDA. Is that saying something about NDA passing this year?

Yes...it's not the best after the libero

And my vote is for Bush

According to the Enquirer's reported stats Campbell County has the best player in the Tri-State.

Player Name K K/G ERR EFF PCT

1 Kyndal Curry, Campbell County 345 3.79 133 18.3% 30%

Personally I rely on my eyes. If I had to settle on one player it would be Rachel MacDonald from NCC. She is a more complete 6 rotation player than the rest.