HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL
Since the 10th Region volleyball tournament formed its current alignment in 2012, a team from the 37th District has claimed the title, seven of the eight years the 37th district champ and runner-up have met in the championship game.
Much like prior years, both Scott and Campbell County are expected to be challenged, but come Thursday night it wouldn’t be of any surprise if the two meet for the title.
Teams that will pose a challenge include Montgomery County, the Lady Camels opening round opponent in the marquee matchup on Tuesday while Harrison County also enters as a tough out. The Fillies would have to beat Bracken County first, while Scott would have to take care of Bourbon County to set up their semifinal matchup, one in which Harrison County has a regular season win over the Lady Eagles.
The winner of Campbell County-Montgomery County then faces the St. Patrick-Pendleton County winner, the Lady Saints entering with its record-setting team looking to grab their first ever regional tournament win when they host the Lady Cats Tuesday.
Each quarterfinal game on Tuesday is at the district champion’s site while the St. Patrick-Pendleton winner will host one semifinal game, Scott-Bourbon County the other on Wednesday.
St. Patrick is currently slotted to be the championship host on Thursday.
Here’s a brief look at each opening round matchup, the tournament beginning on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.:
Pendleton County (12-6) at St. Patrick (19-2)
The 39th District champion St. Patrick faces off against the 38th district runner-up, Pendleton County, who fell in the district championship to Harrison County. The Lady Saints defeated Bracken County to win their first ever district championship and will now have home court advantage when they take on the Lady Cats. The two met once this season at St. Patrick on October 14, where the Lady Saints won 2-1 (14-25, 25-14, 26-24) over the Lady Cats. If that matchup is any indicator, Tuesday’s bout could go the distance.
Campbell County (8-11) at Montgomery County (10-7)
Campbell County looks to win their third straight region championship, but this time as the district runner-up, losing to Scott in the 37th district championship. The Lady Camels open up with Montgomery County, the champions of the 40th district, defeating Bourbon County in the championship. The first meeting between these two came on October 1, at Campbell County, where they Lady Indians fell in a close one to the Lady Camels, 3-2 (25-19, 23-25, 25-13, 21-25, 15-12). Campbell County’s record may be under .500, but a tough schedule should have them ready to make a tourney run. The winner of this one would then be the favorite to reach the title game Thursday.
Bracken County (4-16) at Harrison County (16-4)
The 38th district champ in Harrison County takes on Bracken County, the runner up to St. Patrick in the 39th district championship. The Fillies and Lady Bears have had two prior meetings, Harrison County taking both without dropping a set. Bracken County is coming off a semifinal appearance from last season, but enters this one shorthanded with two starters in quarantine to COVID-19. Harrison County is the lone team outside of the 37th District in the last eight years to reach the title game, when they defeated Bishop Brossart in 2018 before eventually losing to Campbell County. The Fillies almost did it again last season, but fell to the Lady Camels in five sets in the semifinals.
Bourbon County (11-8) at Scott (11-13)
Scott will look to continue their momentum into their first round regional tournament game against Bourbon County, the runner-up of the 40th district. This will be the first meeting of the season between these two, but they did meet in the first round of the tournament last season, Scott taking the win in four sets. Scott’s record is a deceiving one, having played a very competitive schedule throughout the season.
16TH REGION TOURNAMENT AT WEST CARTER
The 16th Region tourney starts on Monday at West Carter with two quarterfinal matches on Monday and two on Tuesday.
Semifinal action takes place on Wednesday with the championship on Thursday.
Rowan County will face Ashland Blazer, East Carter taking on Greenup County on Monday, Tuesday’s action featuring Boyd County and Fleming County with Russell and West Carter the final matchup of the first round. The bottom half of the bracket is loaded, Boyd County (17-2), Russell (16-2) and West Carter (17-4) featuring the best records and have been the most dominant in region play this season.
Rowan County has won the last three regional titles.
