Tuesday Highlands Results

Highlands Volleyball, Boys Soccer Beat Bishop Brossart

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands eighth grader Hayden Gessner gets in position in the win over Bishop Brossart on Tuesday.

Head Coach Katelyn Sallee had been wanting the Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team to finish matches sooner than going to fifth games.

The Bluebirds (3-1 overall) finished off the Bishop Brossart Lady 'Stangs (1-2) in the fewest games possible at 3-0 (25-7, 25-19, 25-10). Highlands has won three straight since opening the season with a home loss to Conner.

Highlands had to go five games in its first two wins over Campbell County and Beechwood. The loss to Conner ended in four games.

"Getting a taste of that (3-0) win is always good," Sallee said. "Then holding yourself to a standard is important. Once you've seen it in action, knowing what we need to do gets a little bit easier."

The Bluebirds had a good rhythm in the first and third games. But things did not go smooth in the second game.

"It's hard, especially in volleyball since it's such an emotionally attacking game," said Avery Cavacini, Highlands senior. "If you get down in any part or any aspect of the game, it's hard to come back. I think overall we did a pretty good job of lifting each other up throughout the points even when we made mistakes. It was great to see everyone have a good time."

Highlands had nine aces, 29 kills, 42 digs and two solo blocks. Senior CC Shick led Highlands with 13 kills. Senior Lauren Buemi had eight aces and Madison Clore recorded 14 digs.

All 16 players saw action in the game for the Bluebirds. That includes sophomore Annie Ellison and eighth grader Hayden Gessner.

"I like to have a great challenge," Gessner said of playing on varsity. "It pushes me mentally. It's a really great experience and it can help me grow throughout my high school years. I'm really excited for this season just to see what happens. (The upperclassmen) say to take your time and make it simple. You don't have to go crazy. Just focus on your specific area."

Highlands plays host to Scott (1-3) on Thursday. Game time is 7 p.m.

Soccer, Boys:

Highlands 4, Bishop Brossart 0:

The Bluebirds (3-1-1) started off strong and recorded a sound victory over the Mustangs (2-4).

Highlands had 23 shots with 10 on goal. Sophomore Chad Gesenhues led the way scoring his first two goals of the season as the Bluebirds led 3-0 at halftime. Senior Joel Kendall and junior Colin Pieper had the other two goals. Pieper has a team-high three goals on the season and Kendall has two.

"We played real strong overall," said Chad Niedert, Highlands Head Coach. "When we played (Louisville) Collegiate, we had a lot of good takeaways from that game. Our big thing against Bishop Brossart was to bring that same energy and intensity so we tried to keep the game simple early. We scored early on one of the corners. It lightens the load a bit and we just kind of opened everything up a little."

Junior Caden Schroeder had one assist. Brothers Sam Jones and Evan Jones had one each. That marked the first assists on the year for all three of them.

Highlands junior goalkeeper Connor Mathis made two saves and sophomore goalkeeper Jack Wilson made five. Wilson stopped a Bishop Brossart penalty kick.

"We were really good once we came out. We've been having some trouble in past games just trying to get that first half focus," said Sawyer Tate, Highlands senior defender. "We were able to dial in (Tuesday). It was pretty good."

Highlands plays host to Conner on Thursday. Game time is 8 p.m.