District volleyball champs roll into regional undeterred by midseason quarantine
Tates Creek volleyball looked to be on track for one of its most successful seasons. Then, in midseason, one of its opponents reported a COVID-19 case and everything got shut down.
Two weeks in isolation. No practices. No games.
But there was no stopping the Commodores.
“We’ve really connected as a team to come together and play as good as we can because we all love each other so much,” senior Brooke Poynter said after Tates Creek defeated Paul Laurence Dunbar in the 43rd District finals on Wednesday. “We went through a rough patch having a quarantine for two weeks and we couldn’t play together. So, the first couple of games were rough, but I’m so glad we came together and finally won.”
Both teams are ranked in the latest Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association poll and advance to the 11th Region Tournament which begins Monday night. The field will include No. 4 Henry Clay in addition to No. 16 Tates Creek and No. 9 Dunbar and the rest of the 41st, 42nd, 43rd and 44th districts’ best.
“I think we have a really good chance,” Poynter said. Wednesday’s finals victory was the first for Tates Creek since Poynter’s eighth-grade year and stopped Dunbar’s district title winning streak at three. Regardless, Tates Creek has made the regional nine straight years. “Obviously, we have really good competitors. … All the other teams are really good. We just have to make sure we play our game instead of other people’s games.”
First-year Tates Creek coach Morgan Contino said the quarantine definitely interrupted the flow of her team and it took a while to regroup. A win over Western Hills in their first game back was followed by a three-game losing streak to Lafayette, Henry Clay and St. Henry, the team’s only losses of the season in a 15-3 campaign. But the unplanned break might have helped.
“We were well rested coming into districts for sure,” Contino said. “Once we got through that stretch of games, we had a lot of really good practices and came out strong.”
Dunbar and Tates Creek played to five sets early in the regular season, but the Commodores got a 3-0 sweep in the district finals.
“We’ve really improved in all areas,” Contino said. “Passing, hitting, serving aggressively, but most of all just focus and the will to win. That group just refuses to lose. … We just always play calm and focused.”
As 43rd District champ, Tates Creek will host its first-round game, as will Great Crossing (41st), Henry Clay (42nd) and Madison Southern (44th). The rest of the tournament will be played at Berea.
Bad timing for Douglass
While Tates Creek’s isolation period happened in the middle of the season, Frederick Douglass’s varsity team was not as fortunate.
Douglass played its 42nd District semifinal with its junior varsity Wednesday after an apparent, but unconfirmed, COVID-19 case on the varsity sidelined a squad that included eight seniors for the postseason.
Officials with the team, school and Fayette County Public Schools’ Central Office declined to comment and provided no information about the quarantine.
The day of the semifinals, the JV players who took the varsity’s place posted a video message of support for them on social media. Douglass lost in straight sets to Bryan Station 25-14, 25-19 and 25-22.
“Great battle tonight by our JV!” a post on Twitter from the Douglass volleyball account said afterward. The account often has quotes directly from Coach Kate Topley. “Every set got closer and better. Our season ends but our future is bright.”
11th Region Tournament
Monday’s quarterfinals
Hosted by each district champion
5:30 p.m.: Western Hills at Henry Clay
6 p.m.: Bryan Station at Tates Creek
6 p.m.: Paul Laurence Dunbar at Madison Southern
7 p.m.: Madison Central at Great Crossing
Wednesday’s semifinals
At Berea
5:30 p.m.: Madison Central-Great Crossing winner vs. Bryan Station-Tates Creek winner
8 p.m.: Western Hills-Henry Clay winner vs. Paul Laurence Dunbar-Madison Southern winner
Thursday’s finals
At Berea
7 p.m.: Championship match
This story was originally published October 23, 2020 at 4:31 PM.
