Volleyball district tourney preview: Dunbar, Douglass have been dominant
High school volleyball district tournaments begin this week with Paul Laurence Dunbar and Frederick Douglass looking like the prohibitive favorites to win their respective playoff brackets.
The most recent Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association poll released Oct. 5 places the 43rd District’s Dunbar as the No. 5 team in the state with the 42nd District’s Douglass at No. 9, virtually unchanged from their preseason ranks, but there has unquestionably been growth along the way, not just for them, but for their district rivals.
Both Dunbar (25-10) and Douglass (23-6) went unbeaten within their respective districts and did so by sweeping their generally younger and less-experienced rivals. Among 11th Region foes, only No. 19 Great Crossing (25-7), the defending region champions, and No. 24 Madison Central (24-10) have been ranked this season.
Dunbar took seven of its 10 losses this month as Coach Jenni Morgan challenged her team with a trip to Phoenix for the Nike Tournament of Champions and returned home to immediately take on Kentucky private-school powerhouses Sacred Heart and Assumption. The Bulldogs took a set off each, which is not easy.
Dunbar has recovered since, building a three-game win streak with victories over Madison Central, Tates Creek and No. 14 Elizabethtown over the last few days.
The Bulldogs’ Delaney Gash and Ava Jackson rank as the top two attackers in Lexington, combining for more than 900 kills. Setter Isabela Haggard has more than 1,000 assists, tops among 42nd and 43rd District teams by a substantial margin. Mia Telechbush has more than 566 digs, also tops among those teams.
Douglass has two losses to Dunbar and suffered a 2-1 defeat to No. 10 North Oldham at the regular season-ending Kentucky Showcase event at Dunbar on Saturday, but it has also knocked off its share of top foes, including No. 16 West Jessamine, No. 21 Male and No. 25 South Oldham.
The Broncos have height at the net with 6-4 Torii Starks, 6-2 Ayanna-Sarai Darrington, 6-1 Brooke Turner and 5-11 Addison Jarvis, who have combined for more than 150 blocks and 650-plus kills. Peyton Hollon is among the best defenders in the city with 325 digs, according to the most recently filed stats.
As they are every year, the district semifinals will be hotly contested to earn not only a spot in the finals, but also a trip to next week’s 11th Region Tournament. Lexington Catholic (23-8) under first-year head coach Jeff Kaufmann has earned the second seed in the 43rd District bracket and could be primed for its first region tournament appearance since 2011.
To do so, the Knights will have to defeat Tates Creek on Wednesday night. LexCath won the regular-season battle 3-1. Coincidentally or not, Tates Creek hasn’t missed the region tournament since 2011.
42nd District Tournament
At Sayre
Tuesday’s game
7 p.m. Bryan Station (9-22) vs. Sayre (27-6)
Wednesday’s semifinals
6 p.m. Scott County (23-8) vs. Henry Clay (10-25)
8 p.m. Bryan Station-Sayre winner vs. Frederick Douglass (23-6)
Thursday’s finals
7 p.m. Championship
43rd District Tournament
At Lafayette
Monday’s game
6 p.m. Lexington Christian (16-14) vs. Lafayette (18-16)
Wednesday’s semifinals
6 p.m. Lexington Christian-Lafayette winner vs. Paul Laurence Dunbar (25-10)
7:30 p.m. Lexington Catholic (23-8) vs. Tates Creek (12-19)
Thursday’s finals
6 p.m. Championship game
This story was originally published October 16, 2022 at 12:24 PM.
