FIRST TRIP TO STATE

 It’s an exciting time at Whitley County High School. Especially after the Lady Colonels defeated the South Laurel Lady Cardinals for a spot in the Kentucky High School State Volleyball Tournament that begins in Louisville Friday morning.

“There is a lot of buzz around the school and people are congratulating the kids. The kids are really looking forward to taking off this week to participate in the state tournament,” Whitley County veteran coach David Halcomb said.

“We feel like it was a few years coming (regional title) and should have been there a few other times, but this group was resilent enough to get there and get the job done,” Halcomb said.

“It’s a real exciting time for our program,” he added.

Whitley County entered the post-season as the team to beat, but had to knock off defending champion, Corbin, in the first-round of the regional at Jackson County in five sets. The Lady Colonels turned back Harlan County in the semifinals with ease, but was in another catfight against South Laurel, who was a surprise team in the championship game.

Whitley County won the first two games, 25-18, 25-20, but lost the third set 19-25. The Lady Colonels settled down in the fourth game to capture their first-ever 13^th Region title.

The Lady Colonels will begin their road to a state championship with the first-region winner, McCracken County. The Lady Mustangs (32-8) are in their first year as a school after consolidating Lone Oak, Heath and Reidland into one school.

The Lady Mustangs played an extremely tough schedule and are currently ranked eighth in the state. McCracken County played in the Kentucky Volleyball Challenge where they went 3-0, played in the BIVT at Lafayette and finished 3-2, and was 3-2 in the Crossroads Classic in Effington, IL.

They also played in the prestigious Mother of Mercy Tournament in Cincinnati where they were 2-2.

The Lady Mustangs have not really been challenged since losing to Ryle and Henry Clay. They walked through the district and region tournaments with their closest contest being against Community Christian in the second set of the First Region championship.

“They have a good program. We played Lone Oak a couple of years ago in the Bluegrass State Games, so we know what kind of program they have,” Halcomb said.

“They have an all-state middle hitter in Jasmine Bennett. She is a very strong middle hitter and run a lot of stuff through her with slides and quick sets,” Halcomb said.

Reflecting on the regional, Halcomb said. “I think Brandi Smith stepped up, especially against Corbin. There was a spurt where I think she took over the game along the net.”
“We had solid passing all the way through with our back row people. Alexa Chaffman, our libero, was solid the whole tournament. Taylor Dingess and Kelsey Osborne did a good job getting it to our hitters.

Becky Miller and Chelsea Bozeman, they all did a great job at some point or the other in the tournament,” Halcomb said.

“In the championship game against South Laurel, I thought Briana Maynes stepped up and took that game over with her serving ability and her ability to spike the ball,” he said.

“This is pretty awesome,” senior Brandi Smith said. “It just doesn’t seem real to me. “We have as good of shot as anybody going in. I know we are the underdog, but I think we can pull off an upset.”

Senior Alexa Chaffman added. “”I’m really nervous going in because this is our first time. I hope we can come together as a team and pull through.”

Caylin Louthan is following in the footsteps of her older sister, Carly. “It has been tough following her because she was a setter and got all kinds of awards and trophies. The setter is the most important person I believe and I am not good at that, so I really couldn’t follow in her footsteps. I’m a right hitter and she was a setter,” Louthan said.

Senior Summer Gray said, “I am the server for Brandi Smith. It is really a mental thing because I don’t get to play a lot. So, if we don’t get a point on my serve, I am right back on the bench. I told myself, this is my job and this is how I help my team. I just go out there and try my best and do it for my team,” she said.

Savannah Cobb, a senior, said. “I’m excited. This is the first time in 17 years that a Whitley County team has gone to  Everybody is excited that we get the day off school. They are bringing a pep bus to Louisville. It should really be exciting.”

Rebecca Flathers, a senior, plays right side defense. She says hitting on the front row is her strongest point on this year’s team. I don’t like playing the back row.”

The Lady Colonels enter the tournament on an eight-game win streak. They lost to Hazard, the 14^th Region champion, back on Oct. 12 in the East-West Throwdown at Letcher Central.

Whitley County will take on McCracken County at 9:30 a.m. at Valley High School.