Challenge accepted. Henry Clay defends region title, looks to state volleyball tourney.
Down 9-4 in the third set after seeing Tates Creek storm back into the 11th Region finals to tie their best-of-five match at one set apiece, Henry Clay Coach Dale Grupe called a timeout.
Maybe the most important words came from senior Lillie Feldhaus.
“‘We need to turn it on, now!’” Grupe recalled of the moment Feldhaus implored her teammates to step up their play. “I think it’s just the leadership we have on this team. We have a very veteran team. … And they did come out and played better after that.”
From the outset, Henry Clay found defending its region title wouldn’t be easy.
Tates Creek narrowly lost the first set 27-25 and actually had a set point to win it before Henry Clay rallied. The Commodores sought to rectify that mistake in the second set, steamrolling Henry Clay 25-16 to even the match.
“It would have been so easy for us to get down after that second set,” senior Emma Shadwick said. “Tates Creek showed some fire, but ultimately, we showed more and that’s what helped us win.”
After Feldhaus’ motivational words and a few adjustments, the Blue Devils regrouped from their early third-set deficit to win it 25-17. They then closed out the match with a 25-22 fourth set and a 3-1 victory against a Tates Creek team Grupe believes is one of the best in the state.
The Blue Devils ranked No. 4 in the latest Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association poll with the Commodores coming in at No. 16, too low in Grupe’s estimation.
“We know that anybody that comes out of our region has earned it,” Grupe said. “We’ve played all of the others, I guarantee you the performance (Tates Creek) did tonight was easily a top-10 team, and we were fortunate enough that we elevated our game at the right time.”
The win gives the Blue Devils their second straight 11th Region title. Grupe has said this is the most complete team he’s had in 26 years of coaching and that includes the 2016 squad which became the first public school team to ever win merely a set in the state finals where private schools rule the sport.
Next, Henry Clay will host 13th Region champion Corbin at 7 p.m. Monday in the first round of the KHSAA State Volleyball Tournament before the event shifts to a new home for this COVID-19 altered season, George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester.
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association announced this week that due to Jefferson County’s status as a “red” COVID-19 area according to the state’s coronavirus data, the tournament would be moved from Valley High School in Louisville to Clark County.
“We’re just blessed that we’re getting to play and definitely blessed that we were able to win this to get there,” Grupe said. “It has a personal meaning for me because my wife, who passed away four years ago, actually went to school at George Rogers Clark, so that might be a little guardian angel there. Fingers crossed that maybe that’s a good sign.”
There, No. 1 Assumption likely awaits in a potential semifinal round with No. 14 Greenwood or No. 10 North Oldham on tap for the quarterfinals.
Henry Clay had three unconverted match points against Assumption on the Rockets’ home floor earlier in the season, the closest the Blue Devils have ever come to beating the 22-time state champion and best of Kentucky high school volleyball’s elite four private schools, which also include No. 2 Mercy and No. 3 Notre Dame, favored to be in Winchester, as well.
Grupe doesn’t mind the draw and the challenge ahead. Neither do his players.
“I feel like if we tighten up this weekend — and I know everyone is on the same page: same focus, same mindset, I think we can make a great run,” Emma Shadwick said.
Shadwick’s twin sister and fellow standout Abby noted that Henry Clay has already played many of the top teams who will be in the state tournament, and played them well.
“We’ve played some great teams, and we’ve taken some great teams to five (sets),” she said. “We know how to play in nail-biters.”
“And big games.” Emma added.
State volleyball tournament
Monday’s first round
All games start at 7 p.m. local time and are listed in bracketed order:
▪ Daviess County at Assumption
▪ Elizabethtown at Mercy
▪ Corbin at Henry Clay
▪ North Oldham at Greenwood
▪ Notre Dame at Wolfe County
▪ McCracken County at Caldwell County
▪ Paintsville at Russell
▪ Scott at West Jessamine
Friday’s quarterfinals at Clark County
12:30 p.m.: Daviess County-Assumption winner vs. Elizabethtown-Mercy winner
4 p.m.: Corbin-Henry Clay winner vs. North Oldham-Greenwood winner
7:30 p.m.: Notre Dame-Wolfe County winner vs. McCracken County-Caldwell County winner
9 a.m.: Paintsville-Russell winner vs. Scott-West Jessamine winner
Saturday at Clark County
9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.: Semifinal matches
7:30 p.m.: State championship match
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 12:23 AM.
