Henry Clay tops Mercy, becomes second public school to reach state volleyball finals

On Saturday night, the Henry Clay volleyball team got revenge. Come Sunday afternoon, it’ll have a chance to make history.

After overwhelming 16th Region champion Raceland in the quarterfinals earlier in the day, the 4th-ranked Blue Devils swept No. 3 Mercy (25-19, 25-19, 25-17) in the semifinals of the state volleyball tournament at Valley High School, becoming just the second public school to earn a trip to the championship game (Greenwood 2011).

“Tonight was just special. These guys really came out to play,” Henry Clay Coach Dale Grupe said. “We knew after the first five points that it was kind of our night.”

On Oct. 10, Henry Clay took a 2-0 lead over Mercy before dropping the final three sets in a frustrating home loss. Senior star and Western Kentucky signee Hallie Shelton said that game loomed large as the Blue Devils prepared for Saturday’s rematch.

“We said in the huddle, ‘we know that they can’t come back and beat us three times in a row, we need this revenge,’” Shelton said.

Henry Clay looked like a team on a mission from the outset against the Jaguars. The Blue Devils never trailed in any set, and every time Mercy made a run they had an answer, usually provided by Shelton.

When Mercy closed to within 21-18 in the second set, Shelton blasted back-to-back spikes for a five-point lead. In the third set, a Shelton kill sparked a 5-0 run that essentially put the Jaguars away. She finished with a match-high 18 kills and added 7 digs.

Fittingly, Shelton hammered home the match-winning point off a pass from Emma Yarber, who had a match-high 29 assists, to send Henry Clay to the finals with a chance to become the first public school to win a state volleyball title.

“We know that we’ve made Henry Clay history but we know it’s not over, it’s time to make Kentucky history,” Shelton said.

The Blue Devils face a tall task in the finals. They’ll take on No. 1 Sacred Heart, which knocked off Apollo and North Oldham on Saturday to reach the finals. Sacred Heart boasts one of the top players in the country in senior Paige Hammons, a Florida signee who’s been a member of the 12-player U.S. Girls’ Youth National Team for two years.

But the Blue Devils were competitive with the Valkyries on the road in October, eventually falling 3-1 despite reaching the 21-point mark before Sacred Heart in all four sets. Shelton said Henry Clay can flip the outcome this time around.

“That game just gave us all a lot of confidence, we know what we’re capable of,” she said. “It’s a little weird to say, but it’s kind of good that we lost to them in the beginning because it gives us more fire.”

WEST JESSAMINE FALLS IN QUARTERFINALS

After falling in the 12th Region Tournament semifinals four years in a row, West Jessamine broke through this season, topping Pulaski County to capture the region crown. But the Colts’ run came to a halt in the quarterfinals as they fell to No. 14 North Oldham 3-0.

West Jessamine Coach William Bird said this year’s Colts team “set the bar for West Jessamine volleyball from now on.”

“I’m just super proud of them. This team has been working for this for the last three years. Just getting to this tournament is a real accomplishment.”

This story was originally published November 5, 2016 at 10:01 PM with the headline "Henry Clay tops Mercy, becomes second public school to reach state volleyball finals."