Highlands volleyball beats 2011 state runner-up, goes 3-2 in September Slam

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM
Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter
TAYLOR MILL - The Highlands Ladybirds volleyball team has earned some nice wins lately.
The Ladybirds hope to keep them coming after going 3-2 to finish fourth out of 10 teams in the September Slam at Scott on Saturday. They moved to 7-7 overall moving one win shy of last year's total.

"We're still working out what we are good at and what we need to get better at," said Whitney Mulroney, fourth-year head coach. "Our talking and communication has gotten a lot better to where we're actually able to run our offense as well as our defense."
The tournament consisted of eight teams from Boone, Kenton and Campbell Counties with two Region champions from last year. Last year's All "Ä" State Champion and 9th Region Semifinalist Covington Holy Cross ended up winning the tournament.
The Ladybirds have five seniors, three juniors and two sophomores on the varsity roster. Mulroney said the team chemistry has been better this year.

The two sophomores play prominent roles for Highlands. Second-year starting setter Kaitlin Hall often leads the team in assists out of a 5-1 attack and outside hitter/middle blocker Jessica Ginter often leads the team in kills. Senior Katie Van Curen often leads the team in digs.
"We're really good friends off the court, which helps the team," Ginter said. "We're a very good team when we want to play. I think we can step up to (that level) with more practice. We treat each other equally. (The juniors and seniors) don't treat us like sophomores."
Highlands opened the tournament with a 25-16, 25-16 loss to eventual Pool A champion and tournament runner-up Simon Kenton for the second time this season. But the Ladybirds came back to beat host Scott, 25-21, 25-23; Greenwood, 25-17, 25-23; and Holmes, 25-7, 25-9.
The team leaders against Simon Kenton were Ginter with three kills, Hall with nine assists and nine digs, and Mallory Seidel with seven blocks. The leaders against Scott were Ginter with seven kills, Hall with eight assists, and Van Curen with 11 digs. The leaders against Greenwood were Ginter with three kills, Hall with 12 assists, and Van Curen with eight digs. The leaders against Holmes were Mallory Seidel with four kills, Hall with 12 assists, and Van Curen with 11 digs.
The Greenwood win marked the biggest of the three. Greenwood won the 4th Region last year and finished state runner-up to Louisville Assumption.The Lady Gators are 9-10 this year after graduating several key players from that team, including 6-foot-0-inch outside hitter Courtney Smith, now at Morehead State. Smith set career school records with 2,126 kills, 1,312 digs and 379 aces.
"Throughout the day, they played really well," Mulroney said. "They were able to beat teams that they couldn't before and were able to do things they weren't able to do so. They just got a little tired at the end of the day."
Highlands took on Southwestern (outside Somerset, Ky.) in the third-place game. The Lady Warriors own four straight 12th Region titles. They lost to Notre Dame in the state tournament last year. The Lady Warriors won 25-15, 25-19. The Highlands leaders in that game were Ginter with five kills, Hall with nine assists, and Van Curen with eight digs.
"Coach (Mulroney) asked us, 'Do you want to settle for fourth or fight for third," Van Curen said. "We all agreed we wanted to fight for third. We wanted to prove ourselves so we started to fight, but it was too late."
Highlands fell behind 21-10 in the first game and Mulroney burned two timouts to challenge the Ladybirds. The Ladybirds competed better after that point.
"I feel like that is mainly hesitation," Mulroney said. "They know what they need to do. They see that other person (near the net) and don't know what to do. We just need to go."
Highlands travels to Holmes on Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
Highlands fourth-year head coach Whitney Mulroney instructs the team during Saturday's game against Southwestern at Scott. The Ladybirds went 3-2 in the September Slam, including a win over Greenwood, last year's state runner-up to improve to 7-7 on the year.