Corbin gets favorable draw in volleyball region tourney

 The Corbin Lady Redhounds couldn’t have gotten a better draw in the 13^th Region Volleyball Tournament. The Lady Redhounds will open with Jackson County Monday night at 7 p.m.

Jackson County, 14-11, lost to Clay County in the 47^th District finals last week. The two teams have not met this year, but do have common opponents in Whitey County, Lynn Camp, Clay County and several other 13^th region teams.

The Lady Generals are led by senior outside hitters Jessica Lanigan and Heather McQueen.

Corbin enters regional play with a 17-16 record, looking for their fourth straight 13^th Region title. Coach Aleica Elwell’s team beat Clay County for the title in 2006 then beat Rockcastle County in 2007. Last year they beat arch-rival Whitley County for the right to advance to the state tournament.

Corbin, who lost to South Laurel Thursday night, has won eight of the last 10 games and has beaten the only other team in their bracket, Middlesboro. Should the second-ranked team in the 13^th region beat Jackson County, they will play the Lady Jackets again. Corbin beat Middlesboro 27-25, 25-20 back on Oct. 1 in Middlesboro.

However, Elwell will not be overlooking any team including Jackson County.

“I feel really good about the draw,” said Elwell. “We started playing much better towards the end of the year. We didn’t have our best match last night against South Laurel but our girls are always so uptight when we play South.”

“After the Lafayette tournament we started playing better,” said Elwell. “We’ve gotten stronger as the year has gone on and having a freshman in a marquee position like our middle hitter (Vanessa Wiseman) needed to get experience. She did that all year and I just feel good about our draw.”

“We have not seen Jackson County so I have no idea what kind of team they are,” added Elwell. “I feel good about how we’ve been playing so hopefully it will carry into the region.”

The 13^th Region will be played at North Laurel High School with the first-round Monday night. The South Laurel Lady Cardinals will play Bell County at 6 p.m., with Corbin taking on Jackson County at 7 p.m.

The semifinals have been set for Tuesday with the Corbin-Jackson County winner meeting Middlesboro at 6 p.m. The South Laurel-Bell County winner will take on Clay County at 7 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m.

The admission is $6.

Region Rankings

1. South Laurel
2. Corbin
3. Clay County
4. Middlesboro
5. Jackson County
6. Bell County