Notre Dame 3 Cooper 0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-12)

[NKYVB]

So clearly the third ranked team in the region wasn't a threat to NDA. Anyone there that could clarify why the game wasn't close? I thought Cooper would do better than Scott, especially on their home court, but that was apparently not so. So what went wrong for Cooper or was NDA just that good with Morgan back?

[vblover]

NDA is a totally different team with Morgan in the mix, physically and emotionally. Cooper passing in serve receive was not good and lead to a lot of easy, quick points for NDA. In my opinion, Copper and Scott are pretty evenly matched based on the small sample size against NDA.

[MyShadow]

I don't think there is ANY team in this region that will be a threat to NDA...with Morgan on the court they are just THAT good.

[paNDA]

If you haven't seen Morgan play it is well worth the price of admission.

[vballfan]

I would agree. It's NDAs region to lose (and it would take a series of unfortunate events for that to happen.

 

Its a shame we can't see a state tournament with NDA, Assumption, Sacred Heart, and Mercy. Either way, 3 out of the 4 will still provide for drama. Hopefully the (terrible) blind draw is better than last year and we can get some good semi matchups.

[vballfan]

And FYI - Morgan is that good (she is always a step ahead) but dont forget she had a teammate on that 12 person USA Volleyball Youth team that is Paige Hammons from Sacred Heart, also a difference maker. 1/6 of the youth national team is from KY, pretty impressive feat for KY Volleyball if I do say so myself.

[dallaslaredo]

ND website says they play 3 of the top 20 teams in the country next week. Region 9 aside, it will tell if ND is for real or not on a state/national level.

 

I also don't remember any team in any sport from NKY ever facing 3 top 20 nationally ranked teams in 1 week.

[vballfan]

what national rankings are we looking at here? PrepVolleyball would be the only one I consider close to accurate. MaxPreps is very biased by inflated records by beating up on sub-par competition. It doesnt help that KY has a 35 match limit when states like TN, TX, or CA can play 50+ in a season.

 

That aside, the next stretch for NDA looks daunting, and they will be tested early. Hopefully they respond well to any adversity they face.

[Guest]

I would agree. It's NDAs region to lose (and it would take a series of unfortunate events for that to happen.

 

Its a shame we can't see a state tournament with NDA, Assumption, Sacred Heart, and Mercy. Either way, 3 out of the 4 will still provide for drama. Hopefully the (terrible) blind draw is better than last year and we can get some good semi matchups.

 

I'm all for having a team from Northern Kentucky win the state tournament but when the final four are primarly made up of private schools year after year, I think it's time to think about separate sports leagues for public and private schools. Speculating whether NDA, Assumption, Mercy or Sacred Heart are going to win state and maintain a record or 3 decades or more of state titles won by private schools in the state of KY, it starts to get old.

[dallaslaredo]

Volleyball is by far the most lopsided sport in the state and in need of the biggest reform.

 

It's dominated by 5 schools, all private, 3 from Louisville and 2 from NKY.

No public school has ever won the Championship, and no school outside of Louisville/NKY has ever won won either. All the best teams and players are stacked into 3 Regions - the 5th place team in Region 9 could beat the Region winner from at least 10 other Regions with ease.

 

The KHSAA thinks every sport can be set up the same way as basketball. Well, it's just not working for volleyball. Redraw the Regions, go to classes based on size, or public/private, or both. Expand the State tourney to 16 Region winners plus 6 at-large bids, so that talented teams from the really deep Regions get their shot at State. Do something.

[Clyde]

Most lopsided sport is boys swimming.

[kyyank]

Speculating whether NDA, Assumption, Mercy or Sacred Heart are going to win state and maintain a record or 3 decades or more of state titles won by private schools in the state of KY, it starts to get old.

 

Terrible take. There are not enough schools playing competitive vb to justify splitting.Competitive volleyball is centralized in 2 parts of the state. Main clubs are in those two areas and tells me the rest of the state either doesn't care about volleyball, have enough kids to play volleyball, or emphasizes basketball. In other states, field hockey may be bigger or girls lacrosse. Numbers dictate competitiveness.

Catholic schools in NKY start in 3rd grade. These girls are choosing to focus on vb by 6th grade as their club coaches won't let them play both vb and hoops. Ryle is catching up and passing these schools. You think they are in favor of splitting? Probably not. I'm sure they'd like the stat tourney to be more inclusive than just region champs. That would make it competitive.

[dallaslaredo]

Most lopsided sport is boys swimming.

 

True. Guess I should have specified most lopsided girl's sport...or most lopsided "team" sport, ie a team playing together, not a team score derived from an aggregate of finishes in individual events.

[Guest]

Ryle is catching up and passing these schools. You think they are in favor of splitting? Probably not. I'm sure they'd like the stat tourney to be more inclusive than just region champs. That would make it competitive.

 

I can't answer for Ryle per se but I'm sure any team would like a shot at the state title. However that is tough to accomplish when some of the best volleyball players are attending the Catholic schools in their high school years and leaving public school just to get the chance to go to state. The fact that the girls start in third grade is only one factor in why they are able to play at a higher level. Their tradition of going to state year after year also helps them entice the best players to attend that school. In the public school, it is more of s lottery from year to year although I do think some families move to Union so their girls can play for Ryle. I'm just saying it makes it tough for any public school to take the top spot away from one of the Catholic schools unless they happen to get lucky with a very talented team.

[kyyank]

Again, it's a thin pool of talent in the rest of the state. A tournament without all the best teams is meaningless.