Deep state

Notre Dame Academy seems to be getting its act together. They played their best game of the year in my opinion last night as they easily defeated a pretty good Henry Clay team. It looks like St. Henry had a very close lose to perennial Ohio powerhouse Mount Notre Dame last night. Both teams will come in with identical 20 and 6 records. Looking at common opponents I would give the edge to St. Henry. Both teams have tremendous players. I believe St. Henry plays two freshman and how they hold up under the pressure of playing in front of 1200 plus fans will be key in a pressure packed event. Sometimes coaching is overlooked. Because of the experience of the St. Henry coaching staff, I will take the Crusaders of St. Henry in another five set thriller. 15-11 final set!

LIVT=Louisville Invitational Volleyball Tournament=Louisville Invitational Tournament NDA=Notre Dame Academy Looking at how many people actually reply to anything related to volleyball, it is obvious that few people actually care about volleyball around the state or even on a more local level. In years past, there was far more posts about volleyball. Disappointing!

The annual "Playing for a purpose game" is this Friday at Thomas Moore College. One of the most entertaining events in local high school sports. The I Have Wings breast cancer foundation has put together this event over the last 10 years or so that pits the NDA and St. Henry High school volleyball programs against each other. The event and the fund raising are the real winners in this annual contest. It should be quite a spectacle. Freshman game is at 5:00, JV at 6:00 and Varsity at 7:30. Any thoughts on the actual game and which team comes out on top?

Assumption is "pretty good."

Big District game for both teams. Dixie Heights is undefeated since opening the season with a five set loss against NDA. St. Henry comes into this game with some momentum and confidence with an impressive showing at LIVT. Should be a great match at SHDHS on Tuesday evening. Anybody care to share your thoughts?

Well, I got 5 out of 8 teams right in regards to advancing to Gold. NDA finished at 13th, St. Henry finished 5th and Ryle came in at 16th. This was a 24 team tournament so congratulations to St. Henry for finishing in the top 5 in a very competitive tournament. Of course, a point one way or the other could have had NDA and Ryle finish higher up the standings.

Here are my predictions for the teams that will advance to Gold on Saturday. POOL 1 Assumption POOL 2 Dublin Coffman POOL 3 St. Henry POOL 4 St. Joseph Academy POOL 5 Sacred Heart POOL 6 Mercy POOL 7 Cardinal Gibbons POOL 8 Notre Dame KY I hope I am wrong about Ryle not advancing to GOLD but I just don't see Ryle pulling off the upset in Pool play.

Looks like Russell is the favorite to win the 16th region. Good luck the rest of the season.

Thanks for the insight. Strong showing from Northern Kentucky teams would be nice to see.

Good luck this weekend.

Do any of the 9th region teams (Ryle, St. Henry, Notre Dame Academy) have a realistic shot at making the gold bracket of play come Saturday morning at KIVA? Looking at the pools, I think that NDA has the best chance of making gold bracket. Eight pools of three teams. Winner of each pool goes to gold. What does everyone else see? Pool 8 NDA The Webb school? Presentation Pool 3 Mother McAuley St. Henry Archbishop Alter Pool 2 Dublin Coffman Ryle Holy Cross (Louisville?)

I like Scoot High school in this one. I agree that it should be a good game.

Assumption wins in three. 25-18, 25-10, 25-12.

Big game tonight in Louisville. What are everyones' thoughts about this one?

It should be fun to watch both teams compete. Both Conner an Ryle have a lot of talented players!

Congratulations on the big win and representing the 10th region at the "All A State Tournament." Best of luck at EKU.

I saw the final for St. Henry and Assumption on KHSAA website. I'm thinking the JV scores were posted and not the varsity scores. How was the second and third set? Was it similar to the first set? I was at the NDA game. Mount Notre Dame was in control throughout and won easily.

Thanks for looking deeper into the week. That is a tough week! We will see what the Crusaders have by this time next week.

Should be a true test for the 9th region's top teams this week. Notre Dame has two tough matches this week against Mount Notre Dame and Sacred Heart Academy. Dixie plays Scott High school. Ryle plays Seton High School. Saint Henry plays Assumption. Should see how things shake out by weeks end!

Ryle is easily the class of this region. Hands down the best. Freshman through senior classes are talented.

Dixie has players that are experienced and well rounded. I would think they should be ranked higher than 25th in the state. Ryle is definitely young but very talented. I would take talent over experience any day. NDA will always be tough and with a new coach the early part of their schedule will be daunting. St. Henry returns a bunch of players from last years team that won the region. Here is my early season poll! NDA 1 St. Henry 2 Dixie 3 Ryle 4 Cooper 5 Highlands 6 NCC 7 Holy Cross 8 Beechwood 9 Conner 10

Any thoughts or insights on how the 9th region stacks up this year?