Tates Creek captures first boys region volleyball crown. No. 2 Trinity up next
Tough draw? Tates Creek doesn’t want to hear it.
The Commodores, fresh off their first 7th Region boys volleyball championship on Friday, get little time to rest before hosting 5th Region runner-up Trinity in the first round of the state tournament. They’ll face the coaches poll No. 2 Shamrocks at 7 p.m. Monday.
“Being able to host is an honor and the Creek community is excited,” Commodores coach Morgan Contino wrote in a text message to the Herald-Leader.
Trinity (20-8) would be a tough out for just about anybody in the state outside of, perhaps, rival No. 1 St. Xavier, against whom the Shamrocks fell in the 5th Region championship game on May 6. St. X is the only in-state school that’s beaten Trinity this season.
The Shamrocks only played two Lexington schools, Henry Clay and Lafayette, during the regular season. Those teams advanced to the state tournament last season but both were eliminated in the 7th Region semifinals.
“Trinity will be a good matchup for us,” Contino wrote. “We’re not scared of anyone and are excited for the opportunity to compete in the state tournament!”
Unranked Tates Creek (18-5) fell to No. 5 Henry Clay in straight sets in their own district final last week, but came out on top in this week’s region tournament, taking down No. 10 Paul Laurence Dunbar on Friday at Franklin County High School.
The Commodores gutted out a five-set victory: they reeled off wins in game two (25-20) and three (25-21) after dropping the first set, as they did in their semifinal win over Lafayette (19-25). Then Dunbar, as it did in its semifinal victory against Henry Clay, forced a fifth game with a convincing game four win (16-25). The Commodores eked out the final set 15-13; junior Tom Haubenreich was named tournament MVP.
Contino, who was recently named 7th Region boys coach of the year by the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association, founded the boys volleyball program at Tates Creek five years ago, when it was still a club sport but on the precipice of KHSAA sanctioning. This is the sport’s second season under KHSAA governance.
“We don’t have any players who play club volleyball, and I am so proud of the work they put in to not use that as an excuse,” Contino said. “We take advantage of the high school season. We have a team of players who are ultra competitive. They hold each other accountable and have fun while doing so. We also only had one court available all season to practice due to a gym renovation, so we prioritized team development and chemistry, rather than individual skills, and that paid off.”
Region champions and runners-up both advance to the state tournament in boys volleyball, which begins its postseason with the region tournament. Dunbar (13-10) will travel to St. Xavier (26-0) for a match set to begin at 7 p.m. Monday.
KHSAA Boys State Volleyball Tournament
First round games at home of each region champion. The rest of the tournament is at George Rogers Clark High School, Winchester. Games listed in bracket order.
Monday’s games
Paul Laurence Dunbar at St. Xavier, 7 p.m.
Powell County at Ryle, 7 p.m.
Trinity (Louisville) at Tates Creek, 7 p.m.
Oldham County at Pikeville, 7 p.m.
Fern Creek at West Jessamine, 7 p.m.
Iroquois at South Warren, 6 p.m.
Greenwood at DeSales, 7 p.m.
Casey County at North Bullitt, 7 p.m.
Friday’s games
Paul Laurence Dunbar-St. Xavier winner vs. Powell County-Ryle winner, 11 a.m.
Trinity (Louisville)-Tates Creek winner vs. Oldham County-Pikeville winner, 1:30 p.m.
Fern Creek-West Jessamine winner vs. Iroquois South-Warren winner, 5 p.m.
Greenwood-DeSales winner vs. Casey County-North Bullitt winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s games
Semifinals at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Championship, 7:30 p.m.