Volleyball teams kick off rivalry week and a half

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

The electricity really seems to ride high more often than not when district rivals Highlands and Newport Central Catholic take the field together.

That could again be the case when the volleyball and soccer teams take the field over the next nine days. Albeit, one matchup is more even than in years past and the other two do not have as much riding on the line. But those games could still set a tone for the postseason tournaments in October. This is the first part in a series of three.

Volleyball on Tuesday at Newport Central Catholic at 7:30 p.m.

The Kentucky High School Athletic Association split volleyball into Regions starting in 2003.

Between 2003 and 2011, the Highlands Ladybirds and Newport Central Catholic Lady Breds found themselves in the 10th Region and NewCath won it seven of those nine years, including the previous six. The only years the Lady Breds did not win it were 2004 and 2005.

The Ladybirds won it in 2004 and lost to state power Louisville Assumption in the second round of the state tournament. NewCath drove to the state semifinals in 2008 and 2009.

During those years, Highlands and NewCath met for the Region 10 crowns in 2003, 2004 and 2010. In recent years, the Lady Breds dominated the rivalry winning the last 14 dating back to a Highlands 2-1 victory (25-23, 21-25, 25-21) on Sept. 20, 2005. Current head coaches Whitney Mulroney of Highlands and Vicki Fleissner of Newport Central Catholic took over as head coaches in 2009.

Both teams find themselves below .500 this year struggling with consistency. NewCath is 7-13 with a young team and Highlands is 8-11 and lost its fourth in a row at Cincinnati Anderson on Monday, 3-0 in a five-set match. Both teams also find themselves in Region 9 because of the realignment this year with the likes of state powers Notre Dame, St. Henry and Ryle.

Highlands has five seniors, but sophomore setter Kaitlin Hall is the lone returning starter from last year’s team that won just eight games. Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Ginter has emerged as a big threat in Highlands’ 5-1 attack and senior defensive specialist Katie Van Curen often leads the team in digs.

“My girls are very smart and very school-oriented, which has its definite positives and also has its negatives,” Mulroney said. “They overanalyze everything and want to know exactly what they did wrong and how to fix it when in reality, they need to just play. Don’t think about what happened, move on to the next point and work on doing everything possible to win that next point. If we keep working hard and staying positive, things are bound to go our way.”

The Ladybirds do have some big wins this year. They beat 2011 state runner-up Greenwood en route to a fourth-place finish out of 10 teams in the September Slam Tournament.

“I think we can really improve on communicating more as a team,” Hall said. “We’re so individuals on the court sometimes. I think at the end of the day, we really need to come together.”

The Lady Breds are not used to this record. But they have played a tough schedule and have just one senior this year in defensive specialist and lone returning starter Maria Froendhoff. They graduated a number of key players from the previous couple years such as Jamie Kohls and Taylor Snyder, now at Northern Kentucky University. NewCath finished 24-7 last year and won its seventh straight district title.

“I think they are finally starting to come together,” Fleissner said. “They’ve shown a lot of good things. We’re still working on getting rid of some bad habits.”

Froendhoff has taken it upon herself to lead. The Lady Breds did see junior Nikki Kiernan return after a one-year absence. She often leads the team in kills and setter Alyssa Maier often leads the team in assists.

“I’m definitely always talking to my teammates letting them know what is going on and what needs to happen,” Froendhoff said. “I’m keeping positive definitely because you can’t go very far with a negative attitude.”

Both head coaches know that teams need to play with emotion, but not get emotional in games like this. The teams know each other really well.

“I think with this group of girls, I have to make sure that EVERY game they are playing with emotion and not getting emotional,” Mulroney said. “With the lack of varsity experience, emotions always run high because the girls try so hard to be perfect and win. This rivalry week is big for us because this is the first year in a long time that we have a true chance at beating our biggest rival. The girls are excited and ready to play hard for a victory. It should be a really good game.”

Fleissner has a personal incentive to win. Fleissner is a Highlands graduate and is 7-0 against her alma mater.

“They know what is at stake,” Fleissner said. “They see these kids through town. But you do have to contain that when you’re on the floor. That’s a hard thing to manage because they do get so passionate about playing them. It can get away from that.”

The District 36 Tournament is at Newport High this year. Both teams come into Tuesday’s game 2-0 in loop play. The tournament winner could avoid Ryle, St. Henry and Notre Dame in the first round of the tournament.

The mens soccer teams face off Saturday at 3 p.m. and the womens’ teams square off on Sept. 26 at 7:30 p.m. Those previews will come at later dates.