VBallBlue

Stanford is getting a fine player and individual as well. To be honest, I never cheered for her and my team usually came out on top in contests with NDA, but I can also say she was the best opponent you could ask for. Gracious in both victory and defeat--something you can't say about all players at her level. Stanford will be happy to have her.

I fully agree with you that there is a difference. A coach shouldn't flat out say it when, to be honest, it doesn't really need to be said. Parents should have a choice, but it is what it is. Everyone will feel that I have a leg up, they have to be involved in his program. Unless you're the best of the best, and in that case they won't turn you down for their HS. As to AAU and JO's and the dead period, they can work around it. Been that way for years and never been an issue. That's why there's an assistant coach, and why most of the coaches stick with the 13s and 14s. Those girls aren't in their program yet, and the dead period rules don't apply.

Club choices are going to be influenced y the coaches affiliation. That's just the way it has been and will be. The girls will follow the coach. I still believe it's unethical for the coach to just come out and say it when they really don't need to. I was waiting to see what was going to happen with the club situation in Louisville with the Mercy coaching change. Girls had been going to Union because both Garveys were there. Would Thomerson stay there? He is staying there and the effects are being seen full bore now. Union has continued to grow, with even more girls headed that way if they want to play at SH or Mercy. Kiva is still Kiva--they've got girls who expect to play at lots of schools. SH and Mercy won't turned down a good Kiva player. MAVA has felt the effects of not being associated with a Catholic HS, and has lost multiple girls from all age levels the last 2 years. I have even heard that they wouldn't even have a 10U team at all this year--they have always had a great 10U program. Unbelievable. People are headed to the other programs because that's where the best high school coaches are. Just a fact of life.

I'd like to thank them also for taking what has been free for the last couple of years---online streaming of games---and making it a pay per view. Probably be charging for the online stats next year. Not only was I not interested in paying to attend an Assumption-OCath final, I'm also not interested in paying to watch a subpar online stream.

Congratulations to Morgan Hentz. Well deserved award. http://affiliates.avca.org/Portals/3/15%20KVCA%20All%20State%20Release.pdf

It would be Karma for Owensboro Carholic to win the upper bracket. The Catholic conspiracy people will be breaking out the tinfoil. I think HC might take a set from NDA. Emotions and adrenaline will be in play, but in a best of five, emotions won't win, talent and teamwork will. NDA has a better shot at taking down Assumption than Mercy. They've beaten them before and taken sets from them in the losses. Mercy has been swept in both matches with Assumption this year. Mercy loses and Assumption takes NDA in 5. Assumption sleepwalks to the title on Sunday. To be honest, they could probably just sleep in and send their freshman team to Valley on Sunday and win it.

It's time to make your pick for this years winner. I had picked Sacred Heart, and they folded at year end unfortunately. I will make two predictions: 1) A public school will defy the odds and become the 2015 Runner-Up. 2) A Catholic school will fight through adversity and take home the big trophy on Sunday. How's that for going out on a limb? I'm feeling bold today.

All District and All Region teams would've been announced at the end of each regional final. Mind you, these are picked by each teams coaches and may, or may not, be the teams' best player(s). All State teams will be announced by the KVCA usually the day after the state final, along with Miss Volleyball. The state tournament team will be announced at the end of the championship game--again coaches picks for this. Sometimes the tournament teams reflect the best players and sometimes the coaches are throwing a bone to certain players. The KVCA has announced the POY and COY for each region already. It's on their site under "Awards". Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association

It would be highly unethical for a coach to do that. The problem is proving it. Who's gonna publicly admit it or complain about it? A good coach is going to pick the best players period, end of story, regardless of where they play club. Some expect they may get some competitive advantage by continuing their coaching during club season or by having the girls play together more. I will say this though, it is said that if you're going to play at Assumption, then you better play at KIVA. However, I don't believe Kordes would turn down Anna Zweibel because she plays for Union. As a coach, I would hope my players played club for their betterment, but I could care less where they played. Now, if they played for a crappy club, and they exist, I would try to steer them to a better option, but wouldn't tell them their high school career depended on their choice. Additionally, good club directors are doing club as a business--it's their livelihood. They aren't going to pick players because for their school affiliation. Using KIVA as an example again, the main setters for the 15, 16, 17 & 18 year old teams last year were not Assumption players. He picked the best regardless.

There is a point with the earlier start in the Catholic elementary programs. You have a large number of girls exposed to the sport at a young level, receiving--usually--better training at the club level, and they're naturally inclined to go to a Catholic high school. On the other hand, girls from public programs who do excel at volleyball, especially in the Louisville area, often end up at Catholic high schools. Some of that is that they want to play in high school with girls they play club with. Some is the natural desire to play with the best program. I believe Miss Volleyball from several years back, Jeni Hauser, went to North Oldham Middle, but ended up at Assumption. Merideth Jewell also left a smaller private school to attend Mercy. There are some exceptions to that--the McLendon sisters went from KCD to Manual. But, like moths to a flame, the brightest lights are going to attract the best players.

Hell I've seen coaches nodding off, texting and eating during games. This was in club mind you and those coaches didn't last long. Parents dollars do sometimes speak.

The answer to that question is somewhat unclear. Can or should they do it? Absolutely not on both counts. However, we live in the real world. Just how are you going to prove that the coach's "subjective" selections for their high school team were driven by the players' club choices? They'll just say the other player was better in their opinion. Now if you can somehow get a player to wear a wire and record it, you might just be able to do something about it. Or, just make a big public stink about it to the local news, school board, or KHSAA--it'll be harder for them to do it. Big ethical issues when the coach has a financial interest in the club program.

This wouldn't be connected to a certain northern KY high school volleyball program would it?

So we now know who will eventually be the 2015 KHSAA State Volleyball Tournament Runner-Up: Letcher County Central, South Warren, Elizabethtown, Owensboro Catholic, Raceland, Henderson County, Southwestern, & South Laurel Allen Central and McCracken have got to be saying, "how did we get screwed by ending up in the bottom bracket!?!? Owensboro Catholic should be down here!!! They're Catholic aren't they!!!"

Mercy takes Butler 25-7, 25-12, 25-8 to win the 6th region.

Assumption maintains their lead and takes set 3 25-22 and the match 3-0. They'll move on to the state finals, and Sacred Heart, my pick to win state, will be staying home this year. This has been a screwy year. Mercy coming up in the nightcap vs Butler but I'll be psychic and predict Mercy will be joining Assumption at Valley HS next week as well.

SH down big in 3rd but fight back to within one point. Assumption runs back out to 18-14 lead.

Assumption leads Sacred Heart 2-0 so far in the 7th region final. First set very tight. Was tied at 17 and Assumption pulled away to win 25-19. Second set was nip and tuck. Assumption with an early 9-4 lead, but SH came back to lead 15-13. Assumption fought back to take a 20-19 lead and then close out the win at 25-21.

I would say that if the coach really said that, and the coach has some personal interest with Crush, then you've got serious ethical issues there. I know in the real world this happens, but the coaches are smart enough to not actually verbalize it. I know in Louisville it's understood that if you go to a certain high school it's also understood that you probably ought to play for a certain club. However, those coaches also are smart enough that if a player is good enough, it matters not where they play club. There have been Mercy and Sacred Heart girls at KIVA and MAVA, while their coaches were at Union. There have been Assumption girls at MAVA in the past. Now if it comes to a choice between two equal players, the coach is going to give the nod to the one at "their" club. That way they can have a hand in year round development.

The 6th and 7th region finals are tonight at Valley HS in Louisville. Assumption vs Sacred Heart at 6PM and Mercy vs Butler at 8PM. Mercy will have their "normal" final scrimmage before the state tourney. No one in the 6th has challenged them and Butler won't change that tonight. The first game, Assumption vs Sacred Heart, will be the one to watch. Assumption has dropped two tight matches to SH and won another tight one. Assumption has great defense and the offense--their weak spot--has improved as the season progressed. Sacred Hearts's fortune will be determined primarily by Hammons and Zweibel. If they have great games, and enough of the role players step up, SH should come out on top. In any event, I'm sure this one will be another barn burner.

Mercy learned that lesson with Henry Clay in 2011......

I picked SHA, but I swear that it seems as if Assumption is peaking at the right time. They've developed some offense at the net which was their extreme weak point.

Yellow card is simply a warning--no award of points to either team. If it's on the coach, he gets to sit from that point forward. A red card will result in the awarding of either a point, or point and serve, depending upon whether the team penalized is serving or receiving. Continued bad behavior, or something flagrant, will get the red and yellow together--other team gets point and the serve if receiving at the time. The offending party is disqualified from supposedly the rest of the match, according to NFHs rules and should leave the building. I've never seen a yellow/red in a KY match, and some say it's only disqualification for the set--they may return for the remainder. I HAVE seen it at an AAU match, and the coach had to leave the premises for the remainder of the match.

Let's muddy the waters even more before tournament time. Mercy, unable to topple SHA in two previous meetings, now sweeps the Valkyries at home 25-21, 25-22, 25-23. With Assumption taking NDA 3-2 tonight, SHA 3-2, and Mercy 3-0 earlier this week, has Kordes found the magic elixir to win state again? Has SHA started to slip at the wrong time of the year? This is the most mixed up I've seen these four teams in recent years. I picked SHA earlier, but unless they buckle down, they may be staying home this year instead of heading to Valley HS.

Trying to distract the server by cheering, chanting, etc. is part of volleyball. There's no rule prohibiting it, and unless the students crossed the line by getting a bit too personal or vulgar with their comments, there shouldn't be a yellow card. Part of being a good player in any sport is learning to tune out the crowd--and their parents as well in certain cases--while on the court or playing field. Personally, all of my daughters loved, and still love, getting catcalls from opposing fans. That let them know they were worried about them.