Sayre makes volleyball history with five-set thriller over Bryan Station
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sayre beat Bryan Station in five sets to secure its first No. 1 district seed.
- Spartans improved to 24-6 and clinched top seed via district tiebreaker rules.
- Team depth and role flexibility produced upset wins and regional poll recognition.
Sayre’s recent girls volleyball success hadn’t done much to change the small private school’s reputation as an afterthought around the 11th Region and the rest of the state.
But the Spartans served notice Tuesday night that they’re no longer a pushover in the 42nd District with a five-set victory over Bryan Station that sealed their first No. 1 postseason seed in program history.
“I had a parent tell me once ‘I don’t know why you don’t fight to get out of this district. You’re never going to win a match. But we’re doing it!’” Sayre coach Leigh Nahra said, gleefully, after her Spartans rallied to a 3-2 win (22-25, 25-17, 17-25, 25-19, 15-13) on the Northside that improved their record to 24-6 and 3-0 in district play with Scott County on Thursday to go.
Regardless of the outcome of the Scott County game, Sayre will be the top seed in the 42nd District Tournament in two weeks thanks to tiebreaker rules. A varsity soccer participant since 2015, Sayre had never won three regular season district games.
“We’ve got a lot of young pieces, and everybody stepped up at the same time,” Nahra said. “That was the first time that’s happened.”
Match marked by huge swings of momentum
The stakes Tuesday were high. Bryan Station (14-15, 2-1) could have laid claim to the district’s top seed, too, with a win.
The Defenders, who feature junior Cameron Owens, one the best outside hitters in the state, didn’t look troubled in their first set win, but they soon lost momentum.
“She’s a great hitter, but everybody on the team adjusted to that,” freshman libero Jace Spencer said. “We all worked together to get (her kill attempts) up.”
The next three sets swung wildly as each team took turns establishing huge leads. Sayre took control early in both its second- and fourth-set wins. Bryan Station dominated the third set from the outset.
Trailing 11-9 in the fifth set’s race to 15, Sayre got a kill from junior Brooke Barntsen and an unforced error from Bryan Station’s Owens to even things up, 11-11. The two teams traded the next two points. A service error gave Sayre match point at 14-13. Senior hitter Eli Powell’s kill put the game away.
“It’s a back-and-forth game,” said Barnsten, one of three Sayre players who rotates in at setter in addition to hitting duties. “You just have to get back for each point because everyone’s going to make mistakes.”
Sayre starting to gain respect
Sayre’s history in 42nd District girls volleyball had been forgettable up until a few years ago.
Over its early years, the fledgling program found ways to achieve winning records against similar, small-school foes, especially after Nahra took over as coach in 2016. But when it came district tournament time, the Spartans would get exposed and swept out early.
Sayre didn’t win a set in the district tournament until 2019. It didn’t beat a 42nd District rival until 2021, when it stunned multiple region-crown winner Henry Clay on opening day. Sayre then beat the Blue Devils again that postseason for its first district-tournament win.
In 2023, with Reese Collins, a 6-foot-3 future NCAA Division I player, leading the team in kills and blocks, the Spartans earned their first appearances in the district finals and the 11th Region Tournament.
After an early exit from the district tournament again last season, Sayre didn’t draw any notice in this year’s Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll. Meanwhile, three district rivals were ranked — No. 19 Bryan Station, No. 22 Frederick Douglass and No. 24 Henry Clay.
But all three are unranked now thanks in part to their losses to Sayre. And while still not in the KVCA’s most recent statewide top 25, the Spartans have cracked the coaches poll’s top five 11th Region teams at No. 4.
The top district tournament seed matters more.
“It means a lot to our team because of how much work we’ve put in,” Spencer said. “We’ve worked hard for this, and everybody in the district knows that now.”
This story was originally published October 8, 2025 at 10:24 AM.
