Lets be honest... the state championship game is about to be played tonight at Valley HS when SHA plays Assumption. Should SHA win, I will say there could be a chance that they mentally fall apart (as they have so many times in the past), ND could have a chance, but nobody will beat Assumption is they advance. Mercy is wayyy down, HC isnt deep enough and no other state challengers.

 

Good luck to all!

ND is not beating Mercy but I do agree with you on the championship being played tonight.

Lets be honest... the state championship game is about to be played tonight at Valley HS when SHA plays Assumption. Should SHA win, I will say there could be a chance that they mentally fall apart (as they have so many times in the past), ND could have a chance, but nobody will beat Assumption is they advance. Mercy is wayyy down, HC isnt deep enough and no other state challengers.

 

Good luck to all!

 

I agree, you will not get a better match-up at State than tonight. and it's on the KHSAA to fix it. Re-draw the Region so they can both get in. Take the Region Champ and runner up to State. or have your 16 Region champs but add 6 at-large bids. Ryle, St. Henry, NDA, and Cooper could all easily defeat the majority of the other Region winners. It's a yearly travesty that the loser of this Region final doesn't go to State. The 3 Louisville schools are proven winners year in and year out - that only 2 of them make it to State is a waste.

The KHSAA is all about equality and needs to be sure that all regions are equal. There would be no non-objective way to choose 6 at large teams. The only way would be to either re-draw regions (which would never happen since it would increase the travel of whomever gets pushed to region 8 (not to mention upset the region 8 folks who enjoy a relatively easy route to state) and in addition, there have also been talks about moving Mercy to region 7 since they moved to their new school location on the southeast part of town a few years back, but it has been fought by all schools). Imagine SHA, Assumption, and Mercy in the same region! The other solution would be to water down the tournament even more and take the top two teams from each region, for a total of 32. First rounds would have to be played early in that week at region champions/campus sites and then the top 16 get to go to Valley for the current format. This again adds cost so it makes it unlikely.

 

Then again the KHSAA will never realign for volleyball. They will only consider realignment or changes when enough cries are heard from the basketball teams who are stuck in the same format. Money talks...

It is a shame that, many years, the best two teams in the state don't get to participate in the state tournament. However, it happens that way in other sports as well.

The winner of tonight's 5th Region championship pitting traditional power Central Hardin against first-time upstart Bardstown gets the "good" fortune of being first in line at state for the 7th survivor.

Throwing around the words "traditional power" a little loosely there aren't you?

SHA beats Assumption 3-1

Throwing around the words "traditional power" a little loosely there aren't you?

 

Easy there Tiger.... I believe he/she was referring to being a traditional power of the 5th Region, in which case he/she's correct.

How good is SHA's Paige Hammons? I don't follow volleyball religiously but it sure seems like she is very highly thought of by those who do.

How good is SHA's Paige Hammons? I don't follow volleyball religiously but it sure seems like she is very highly thought of by those who do.

 

I think you answered your own question.

I have known her for years. She is a very talented player, maybe one of the best to play in the state in a long while along with Hentz (they are the best two by a good margin over the past five or so years IMO, Hentz 1, Hammons 2). Unfortunately, she can be very self centered and not the best person or teammate at times. She has a few bad influences around her that cause some poor decisions occasionally. she might have a rude awakening coming when she gets to Florida and sits on the pine bc of her attitude if it doesn't change. Though Mary Wise is one of the best in the biz so hopefully she can turn her into the high quality student-athlete she has the potential to be.

Throwing around the words "traditional power" a little loosely there aren't you?

 

As someone above said, Central Hardin is THE traditional power in the 5th. Elizabethtown, Green County and Bethlehem fall in line behind.

 

CH has been in the state top 25 each of the last few years, IIRC.

 

Granted the 5th Region isn't on par with even the Louisville publics (who unfortunately will never sniff State yet could run roughshod in the 5th as well as other regions), but Central Hardin isn't a faceless nobody.

I am looking forward to the Henry Clay girls volleyball team competing in the state tournament.

 

Very talented!