‘We’re going to light it up.’ Dunbar tops West Jessamine on way to state volleyball quarterfinals
Paul Laurence Dunbar delivered a convincing sweep of 12th Region champion West Jessamine on Monday as the host of their KHSAA State Volleyball Tournament first-round game.
“I think we played pretty well,” said Dunbar setter Isabela Haggard. “Going to state was our goal, but now that we’re at state, we want to go even farther.”
The 11th Region champions took control of each set in the middle-going by holding serve for long stretches in its 25-15, 25-10, 25-18 win over a Colts team ranked No. 16 in the last Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association poll and No. 26 by the KHSAA’s RPI standings, which have been used the last three years to determine home-court advantage in the first round.
“The prep up to this game has been (like) the entire season — how we set up our schedule and just playing tough games and getting ready for the state tournament,” Dunbar libero Mia Telechbush said. “We really just have to focus on our side — what we can control from the service line, our energy and how much we talk to each other.”
Dunbar (31-10) is ranked No. 5 by the KVCA, the highest among public schools still alive in the postseason, and is the No. 23 team according to RPI. The Bulldogs will play Boyd County (37-4) at 2 p.m. Thursday. The Lions rank as the state’s No. 3 RPI team, but were unranked in the KVCA poll.
Haggard didn’t hesitate when asked how she thinks her team will do this weekend.
“We’re going to light it up,” Haggard said. “We’re going to do what we can, do our jobs and play our game.”
Four region titles in four years
West Jessamine Coach William Bird praised his team’s effort and commended his five seniors for helping the Colts to four consecutive 12th Region titles. The Colts reached the quarterfinals last season and the semis in 2020.
“It was a good season. We just ran into a good team. They put it on us tonight,” Bird said. “I told them they should be proud of the season they had. We’ve played the second-toughest schedule in the state this year and they’ve had a great season.”
Home-court controversy
The KHSAA’s use of its RPI rating system to determine home-court advantage for the first round and home colors for the rest of the tournament came under criticism again on social media on Monday as RPI No. 9 Notre Dame traveled to No. 4 Paintsville and No. 51 Mercy traveled to No. 50 Madisonville for their first-round games. Paintsville is ranked No. 23 by the KVCA. Madisonville is unranked. Both were swept by their visitors.
Critics argue the KHSAA’s RPI formula grossly undervalues some of the state’s top contenders because of how poorly it factors in their strength of schedule. The same problem exists for soccer, but it’s magnified in volleyball because top-flight teams play many more out-of-state opponents, which are given a generic value as one of their RPI factors.
The only for-instance needed to illustrate the RPI disparity is KVCA No. 1 Assumption (33-7), the 22-time state champions, who laughably rank as the RPI’s No. 16 team. KVCA No. 2 Mercy (28-12) might be more laughable at RPI No. 51.
None of this mattered before the COVID-19 pandemic because the entire 16-team tournament had been played for years at one site until 2020, much like the boys’ and girls’ basketball tournaments.
Favorable draw for Dunbar
Some good news for the Bulldogs is that thanks to the blind draw, all the remaining powerhouse private schools — Assumption, Mercy and Notre Dame (31-5) — will be on the other side of the bracket when tournament play resumes in Clark County on Thursday. Assumption and Mercy are quarterfinals opponents in a 7 p.m. game. The winner of that game could have to face Notre Dame in the semifinals.
But the path to the finals isn’t all roses for Dunbar. If the Bulldogs survive Boyd County, they will have to face the winner of KVCA No. 7 Bowling Green (38-2) and No. 13 McCracken County (35-6). Both have resumes that indicate they could be a stumbling block.
“We just need to lean on each other,” Haggard said. “As long as we have each other, and we’re playing together one ball at a time, we’ll be fine.”
State Volleyball Tournament
At George Rogers Clark High School, Winchester
Thursday’s games
Noon: McCracken County vs. Bowling Green
2 p.m.: Paul Laurence Dunbar vs. Boyd County
5 p.m.: Whitley County vs. Notre Dame
7 p.m.: Mercy vs. Assumption
Friday’s games
Noon: McCracken County-Bowling Green winner vs. Paul Laurence Dunbar-Boyd County winner
2 p.m.: Whitley County-Notre Dame winner vs. Mercy-Assumption winner
7 p.m.: Championship
This story was originally published November 1, 2022 at 8:20 AM.
