Continuing Coverage – 13th Region volleyball tournament

Read on for the latest developments from this year’s 13th Region volleyball tournament, being held at Whitley County High School…

THURSDAY: After a 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-18) victory over the Corbin Lady Hounds Thursday night, the Whitley County Lady Colonels are your 2016 13th Region champions.

“I’m very excited to be going back to state,” said Whitley senior Laura Richardson after the win. “With it being my senior year, I think it’s going to be a great way to go out with a bang. I’m so happy to be playing with these girls, and we’ve had such a great season. I’m just very proud of everybody.”

Freshman Grace Barton said, “I think we poured our hearts out tonight, and gave it our all. That’s really all we can do.”

Sophomore Kaelie Frazier added, “This is a rush. I think we were all trying our hardest, and I’m just so excited to go to state.”

Frazier’s fellow sophomore, Katie Helton, said, “This is awesome! We just played our hearts out, and getting to go to state just feels amazing.”

Richardson, Barton, Frazier and Helton were all named to the 2016 All-Region team at the conclusion of Thursday night’s championship game. Whitley sophomore Brooklyn Smith was named tournament MVP. All-Region selections from Corbin were freshman Mickayla Coppock, sophomore Payton Jones and junior Natalie Wiseman.

When asked about his team’s 3-0 region championship victory, Lady Colonels Head Coach David Halcomb said, “I was confident going in, but I really didn’t think that we would beat them in three sets. I thought it would be a little bit tighter, to be honest. Our kids were a little tired after their match last night, but they just worked hard to overcome that.”

Halcomb and company will now start preparing to compete in this year’s KHSAA state championship tournament. They will face the winners of Region 16 in round one next Friday afternoon, November 4. For more information on the Lady Colonels’ upcoming trip to state, pick up the 11/2 edition of the News Journal.

WEDNESDAY: The 2016 13th Region volleyball championship game is now set. After wins in the semifinal round Wednesday, the Corbin Lady Hounds and the Whitley County Lady Colonels will square off one more time this season, this time with a spot in the KHSAA state championship tournament on the line.

Corbin faced Harlan Independent in the first game of the evening at Whitley County High School Wednesday. The Lady Dragons did not make it easy, but the Lady Hounds were able to come away with the 3-0 (27-25, 26-24, 25-17) victory, improving to 17-14 on the year.

The late game Wednesday was as exciting as it gets, with the host Lady Colonels facing North Laurel for the other spot in Thursday’s region title game. Whitley took set one 25-21, but North came back and took set two 26-24. Whitley was in control during set three, winning 25-12, but once again, the Lady Jags regrouped and won set four 27-25.

Set five looked like it would go to North Laurel when the Lady Jags jumping out to a 6-0 lead, but the Lady Colonels would not be denied. They fought from behind, eventually coming out on top of a 16-14 final decision to win the game in dramatic fashion. Whitley now stands at 29-9 overall on the season.

After Wednesday’s thrilling finale, Lady Colonels Head Coach David Halcomb said that he was very proud of his team for being able to secure the victory, even though the chips were down late in the contest.

Corbin and Whitley County now advance to Thursday’s region finals, scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m. inside Lawson Gymnasium in Williamsburg.

Come back here tomorrow night for more coverage from the 2016 13th Region volleyball tournament.

TUESDAY: The Whitley County Lady Colonels defeated Harlan County three sets to none Tuesday evening, advancing them to the semifinal round of this year’s 13th Region tournament, being played at Whitley County High School.

As reported in Wednesday’s print edition of the News Journal, the Corbin Lady Hounds have also advanced to the tournament semis after their win over Knox Central Monday.

The Hounds will face Harlan Independent Wednesday evening at 6:30, followed by the Colonels taking on the winners of North Laurel versus Jackson County.

Check back here for more updates Wednesday night and Thursday.