Henry Clay and Tates Creek sweep to top-10 showdown for 11th Region title

With months of preparation and almost 80 games between them, two of the best volleyball teams in the state, No. 4 Henry Clay and No. 6 Tates Creek, must decide who goes home Thursday night and who gets a chance to be the first public school to try to end the private program dominance of the state championship tournament.

The Lady Blue Devils and the Lady Commodores each swept through the semifinals of the 11th Region tournament Wednesday night at Madison Central. Henry Clay won 25-15, 25-14 and 25-9 over Madison Central while Tates Creek defeated a scrappy Bryan Station team 25-21, 25-9 and 25-18.

Henry Clay Coach Dale Grupe said he was pleased with his team’s performance.

“We knew coming in we were heavily favored,” Grupe said. “Did we play our best? No, … but we still played pretty good. So, I can’t complain too much.”

Madison Central (26-12) hung with the Lady Blue Devils (33-6) for a while in the first set, but Henry Clay’s big hitters, including junior Kaitlyn Hord, a Penn State commitment, began to assert themselves as each set wore on.

The Blue Devils had to knock off No. 9 Paul Laurence Dunbar in the quarterfinals Tuesday night, so Grupe feels he’s had a good setup for a potentially historic run.

“This is definitely the toughest region in the state,” Grupe said. “Three top 10 teams are in our region, so there’s no other region that boasts that. … The last couple of weeks of the season, when we played Assumption, Sacred Hart and Mercy, we played really great. We’re really happy with where we are.”

And the Lady Blue Devil players know that nothing can be taken for granted Thursday night.

“We’re just trying to build on each game,” said senior setter Emma Yarber, who is a Western Michigan commit. “It’s helped playing some of the top teams in the state. It shows us what’s out there and what we’re capable of.”

Tates Creek’s sweep in the second semi came against a Bryan Station team that made huge strides this season under first-year coach Hilary McKenzie.

“They’ve had a great season this year,” Tates Creek Coach Sara Chaffin said. “We knew we were going to have to play hard tonight. They gave us a good game, and that’s what we needed.”

While Station (30-9) doesn’t have the big hitters Tates Creek (31-7) can send to the net, like South Florida commit Doris Carter or Indiana State commit Lindsey Wilkins, the Lady Defenders were able to dig out a lot of what looked to be sure kills and stayed in both the first and final sets to try to keep their dream season alive.

“I think Bryan Station played really hard,” Wilkins, a senior, said after the game. “We knew they were going to be a really good team to play against. … We did what we needed to do to prepare ourselves for tomorrow night.”

Coach Chaffin agreed.

“I’m happy with the team. I’m happy with the attitudes, mentality and intensity. And I’m happy with our skill,” she said. “But Henry Clay, you know, they’re used to being here, too.”

While it might not seem fair that only one top-10 team can advance from the 11th Region, the players and coaches know it’s not supposed to be easy.

“All the teams in the region work hard,” Wilkins said. “I know we put in work from July 15. We go two-a-days, we go hard all summer long. I know Henry Clay goes hard. And it’s a bummer, obviously, that both teams can’t move on. But, I guess, whoever brings it tomorrow night, we’ll see.”　　

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 10:01 PM with the headline "Henry Clay and Tates Creek sweep to top-10 showdown for 11th Region title."