Highlands Volleyball Soundly Advances in 36th District Tournament

Highlands Faces Newport Central Catholic for District Championship

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior Sophia Sarakatsannis (10) prepares to bump the ball in a recent game.

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The Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team (27-7 overall) mainly had to hit the serving targets to soundly advance to a 10th consecutive district championship game.

Host Highlands landed 23 aces in a sound 3-0 (25-6, 25-12, 25-11) win over the Bellevue Tigers on Tuesday in the 36th District semifinals. The Bluebirds earned a dominant top seed in the tournament and were the only team not to play on the first of three days Monday.

"I was proud of them," said Katelyn Sallee, Highlands Head Coach. "We were excited to get out there. Bellevue had a great game (Monday) in a hard-fought victory against Dayton. I'm just really glad we came out and took care of business against them."

Highlands will face Newport Central Catholic (13-22) for the district championship for the 10th straight season on Wednesday at 7 p.m. back at Russell Bridges Gym. The Bluebirds are seeking their fifth straight district crown and sixth in the last 10 years.

Seniors Madison Clore and Sophia Sarakatsannis led Highlands with seven aces each. Sarakatsannis added five kills. Senior Honor Valentine had four. Senior Josie Steppe and junior Kenzie Vennefron had two each.

The Bluebirds also had 31 kills and assists, one solo block by senior CC Shick and 22 digs. Clore had seven digs and Steppe had five. Senior Lauren Buemi had seven kills and Shick had six. Seniors Avery Cavacini and Nicole Ossege had five and four kills respectively.

Vennefron had 16 assists. Senior setter Madison Opitz added 13.

Some of the younger players saw action in the game. That included sophomore Rachel Ossege, who is cousins with Nicole Ossege.

"(The seniors) talk a lot to each other. They get along really well," Rachel Ossege said. "They all work really well as a team. They have fun while they're doing it."

The last time Highlands did not advance to the district title game came in 2011 in the program's last year in the old 37th District and 10th Region. The Bluebirds lost to Newport Central Catholic in the old blind draw days in the 37th semifinals. Highlands won the 36th District crown in 2012 in the first year in the current format.

Monday Highlands Round-Up: Girls Soccer Advances Soundly in Region Quarterfinals

Highlands Volleyball Downs Bellevue

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands junior forward Anna Melson makes a move in a recent game. Melson scored twice in the 6-0 9th Region Quarterfinal win over Ryle.

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The Highlands Bluebirds girls soccer team (13-4-1 overall) saw its second postseason post a similar result to the first in another 6-0 victory.

Highlands beat the Ryle Lady Raiders (9-5-5) at Tower Park to open the 9th Region Tournament. The two did not meet during the regular season.

The wins sets up a semifinal game against Dixie Heights (15-6-2) in the semifinals at Boone County on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. All four district champions won their quarterfinal games. Highlands beat Dixie Heights, 4-3 in Crestview Hills on Sept. 22.

Highlands recorded 19 shots to six for Ryle. Highlands senior goalkeepers Meg Gessner and Hailey Parks had four and two saves respectively.

"We were all over them," said Chris Norris, Highlands Head Coach. "We're playing great soccer now. It was great to see."

The Bluebirds scored three goals in each half. Sophomore forward Laney Smith led the way with two goals and two assists for six points. She has 20 goals and 13 assists on the season for 49 points. All are team-highs.

Junior forward Anna Melson scored the last goal of the first half and the second one of the first half. Melson has four goals on the season.

"Getting the third goal is definitely a confidence booster for the whole team because it puts you up a lot," Melson said. "I just think that we come out ready. When we have to do our job, we get it done."

Senior forward Chloe Bramble added one goal and two assists. Bramble has eight goals and 11 assists this year for 27 points.

Freshman defender Kate Fausz scored her second goal of the season. Freshman Claire Cavacini recorded her fifth assist of the season and senior midfielder Faith Broering tallied her sixth assist.

Highlands has advanced to the region semifinals nine years in a row. The last time the Bluebirds lost in the region quarterfinals came in 2012.

Volleyball:

Highlands 3, Bellevue 0:

The Bluebirds (26-6) handled the host Tigers (8-16) by 25-7, 25-6 and 25-10 scores to finish off a perfect record in the four 36th District seeding games.

All 16 players saw action in the victory. Highlands had 41 kills and assists, 18 digs, one solo block and 19 aces. Senior Lauren Buemi led the Bluebirds with two aces, eight kills, one solo block, one assist and three digs. Senior CC Shick had four aces, 10 kills, eight assists and four digs. Senior Josie Steppe had three aces and junior Emma Daly had eight kills.

"They took really good care of that opportunity," said Katelyn Sallee, Highlands Head Coach. "They didn't let a lot of runs happen. They did a good job of taking care of business. It was a really good night."

Senior setter Madison Optiz had 19 assists with junior Kenzi Vennefron recording 11 to go with three aces. Senior Sophia Sarakatsannis had four digs.

"We can see how we can improve our energy, especially since we have nine seniors leaving after this year," said Bailey Houston, Highlands junior. "We're like a family. We always say we love each other after every point no matter what. I think that's what makes us in sync and be able to play well. It's okay to make mistakes. But we're always here for you."

Highlands concludes the regular season against Cooper (19-10) on Tuesday. Game time is 7 p.m.

Highlands Volleyball Earns 25th Victory

Bluebirds Defeat Boone County for Second Time This Season

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior Honor Valentine prepares to serve in a recent game.

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With a convincing 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-13) win over the Boone County Lady Rebels (11-15 overall), the Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team improved to 25-6 on the season earning a fourth season of 25 or more wins in the last five seasons.

Highlands Eighth Grader Hayden Gessner watched her older sister Olivia Gessner lift the Bluebirds to consecutive 25-11 seasons in 2017 and 2018 before the 2019 team finished 29-8 overall. A Coronavirus 2019-shortened season last year left the Bluebirds at 13-8.

"We really just want to keep on with the legacy and keep bringing the energy," Hayden Gessner said. "It's just really exciting for everyone to see what we can possibly do and keep up with. It's really interesting to see what can happen during a game and how everyone is coming together as a team and making sure everyone has each others' backs."

The Bluebirds connected for 45 kills on 108 attempts with 17 errors for a .259 hitting percentage. Seniors Lauren Buemi had 16 kills with senior Avery Cavacini connecting for 10 and CC Shick adding nine.

Highlands also had 12 aces, two solo blocks, 60 digs and 45 assists. Seniors Madison Clore, Madison Opitz and Honor Valentine had three aces each and Shick had two. Cavacini and Buemi had one solo block each. Senior Sophia Sarakatsanis had 12 digs with Clore contributing nine. Opitz and senior Nicole Ossege had eight each. Opitz also had 44 assists.

"Honestly, the first two sets were both a little flat in just kind of finding our rhythm," said Katelyn Sallee, Highlands Head Coach. "We actually did a good job though of getting a lot of people involved offensively. It's probably the most balanced we've been all season. I feel like as we progress into the postseason, we have to be sure to move the ball around so that we can beat some bigger opponents. We did that (Thursday)."

Tuesday Highlands Results

Volleyball Squeaks Out Exciting Win Over South Oldham

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior Madison Opitz (left) and Madison Clore (right) get in position in a recent game.

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The Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team (24-6 overall) had to outlast the South Oldham Lady Dragons (16-12), 3-2 in a home battle at Russell Bridges Gym on Tuesday.

Highlands won the first game 25-20 before losing the next two 25-21, 25-19. The Bluebirds trailed in the fourth game before rallying for a 25-23 victory then taking the fifth game 15-6. They've beaten South Oldham twice this year. The other win came in the Cake Classic Tournament.

"Our team and community showed some incredible fight. The whole entire gym was a part of that win," said Katelyn Sallee, Highlands Head Coach. "South Oldham is a really aggressive and incredibly talented group of athletes. I'm so very proud of the fight in our team."

Highlands has not used two setters since Sallee took over as head coach in 2014. But they have this year with senior Madison Opitz and junior Kenzi Vennefron. Opitz had 33 assists and Vennefron 12. Opitz had four aces and Vennefron had two.

"I think it took us a while to get in a groove," Vennefron said. "But in the fifth set, I think it really just clicked. We came out strong and did our best."

Highlands had 12 aces, 46 kills and assists, four solo blocks and 88 digs. Senior Sophia Sarakatsannis had 17 digs, seven kills and two aces. Senior Madison Clore added 27 digs. Senior CC Shick had 18 kills, one solo block and 10 digs. Senior Nicole Ossege had five kills, two solo blocks and 11 digs.

Senior Lauren Buemi had two aces, six kills and two digs. Senior Avery Cavacini had six kills, one solo block and one dig. Senior Honor Valentine had nine digs and one ace.

Highlands takes on Boone County on Thursday. Game time is 7 p.m.

Girls Golf State Tournament:

Highlands senior KJ Toole qualified for the second day of the state golf tournament at the Bowling Green Country Club shooting an 84 and finishing tied for 28th out of the individuals not on region champions that qualified for state. 

The top 42 qualified for the second day. Claira Beth Ramsey of Madison Central and Macie Brown of Bullitt East shot an even par 72 to lead the way after the first day that was called off early because of darkness.

Toole shot 12-over on the par-72 course to tie for 45th overall. She tees off at 10:27 a.m. Wednesday.

Highlands Volleyball Bests Simon Kenton in Thriller

Bluebirds Earn 22nd Win of Season

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior Lauren Buemi (middle) waits for a signal in a recent game.

The Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team (22-6 overall) bested the Simon Kenton Lady Pioneers (14-8), 3-2 (25-19, 18-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-9) in a non-region match Tuesday at Russell Bridges Gym.

Highlands had 53 kills, 54 assists, 86 digs, six solo blocks, three assisted blocks and nine aces. Senior Lauren Buemi had 11 kills, one solo block, one assisted block, two digs and three aces. Senior CC Shick had 19 kills, one solo, one assisted block, 11 digs and one ace.

"Unfortunately, we dug ourselves some holes here and there. I think we dropped the ball on some controllable (things) at different points throughout the match," said Katelyn Sallee, Highlands Head Coach. "But to come back definitively and close the door with a lot of authority in the fifth was really good to see. I don't think this team would ever fold because they're pretty tough and they give me every thing every night. But there wasn't even that mental lapse. They stayed pretty focused and stayed together. That was pretty cool to watch. It was a long night. But they did a good job."

Senior Sophia Sarakatsannis had 12 kills, one solo block, one assisted block, 18 digs, two aces and one assist for Highlands. Senior Avery Cavacini had three kills and three solo blocks. Senior Nicole Ossege had eight kills and four digs.

"I think we were all feeling super prideful and confident," Ossege said. "We were all trusting each other. After we beat (Covington) Holy Cross to win the Cake Classic, Coach (Sallee) said we reached the next level. I think that helped because Simon Kenton is up or down. I feel like (the Lady Pioneers) were up (Tuesday). I think all that carried into the fact we were able to win this game."

Senior setter Madison Opitz had 44 assists and eight digs for the Bluebirds. Junior setter Kenzi Vennefron had five assists and two digs.

Senior Madison Clore led the Bluebirds with 30 digs, three assists and two aces. Senior Honor Valentine had nine digs and one ace.

Thursday Highlands Results

Bluebirds Shut Out Camels

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands junior forward/midfielder Ashton Foley (22) pursues the ball in the 5-0 win over Campbell County on Thursday.

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The Highlands Bluebirds boys soccer team once again made sure the visiting Campbell County Camels did not sneak up and sneak out with a victory.

The Bluebirds (11-3-1 overall) shut out the county rival Camels (5-7-1), 5-0 at Tower Park for their sixth shutout of the season. Highlands and Campbell County did not play each other last year. But the Bluebirds have outscored the Camels, 15-0 in those three meetings since Campbell County beat Highlands, 1-0 on Aug. 29, 2017 at Tower Park in Chad Niedert's first season as head coach of the Bluebirds.

"We've always got a little bit of an axe to grind with them," Niedert said. "We always like to get out and get after them. We thought we played pretty well. We had 23 different guys play. So to dominate the game with possession offensively and defensively and still get a shutout out of it speaks to the type of guys we have here playing and contributing right now, but also the potential we have moving forward."

Junior forward Colin Pieper led the way with a hat trick of three goals and an assist for seven points. Pieper has a team-high 13 goals and five assists on the season for 31 points.

Pieper had an assist on the first goal playing a through ball to senior forward/midfielder Jordan Frisk for Frisk's ninth goal of the season. The Bluebirds never looked back leading 2-0 at halftime after Pieper scored on a free kick from senior defender/midfielder Joel Kendall. That marked Kendall's sixth assist of the season.

"We set goals at the beginning of every game," said Thomas Gray-Torsell, Highlands senior defender. "We want to dominate the first few minutes. If you dominate the first few minutes, it's usually a roll from there to victory. We try not to dwell on the team record or anything. We try to start every game like it's the best team we'll play."

Junior midfielder Caden Schroeder assisted Pieper's second goal for his third assist on the season. Frisk added his team-high seventh assist on the season on Pieper's third goal.

Sophomore forward/midfielder Chad Gesenhues assisted junior midfielder Peyton Helminiak's first goal of the season to make the final score. That is Gesenhues' third assist of the year.

"It was a struggle at first. But we're getting better play up top with Colin and others connecting every (pass)," said Wyatt Thompson, Highlands senior forward. "We're getting better every game with trying to get everyone to score a goal."

Highlands had 29 shots with 16 on goal with seven shots on goal for Campbell County. Junior goalkeeper Connor Mathis had three saves and sophomore goalkeeper Jack Wilson had four.

The Bluebirds had three offsides calls, 11 fouls and six corner kicks. But Highlands did not have any yellow or red cards.

Highlands plays host to the Lexington Lafayette General (8-2-2) on Saturday. Game time is 7 p.m.

Volleyball:

St. Henry 3, Highlands 0:

The home crowd tried to push the Bluebirds (17-4 overall) to a potential monumental victory. But the Crusaders (17-5) proved too much to handle as St. Henry left with a 25-13, 25-13, 25-15 victory.

Highlands put in a tall line-up in the front row trying to counter the talented St. Henry front line including seniors CC Shick, Sophia Sarakatsannis and junior Carly Cramer. The Bluebirds recorded 29 assists and kills with Shick leading the way with 11 and Sarakatsannis had six.

The Bluebirds landed one solo block from senior Lauren Buemi. Buemi had eight kills. Highlands saw senior setter Madison Opitz record 14 assists and junior setter Kenzi Vennefron had 12.

Highlands dug up 41 balls. Senior Honor Valentine led the way with 12 and senior Madison Clore had nine. The Bluebirds landed no aces.

The Bluebirds take on Ryle on Tuesday. Game time is 7 p.m.

Highlands Volleyball Earns 15th Win of Season

Bluebirds Take on Newport Central Catholic on Thursday

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior Lauren Buemi prepares to serve in a recent game.

The Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team (15-3 overall) experimented with a different line-up in the 9th Region match-up against the Covington Holmes Lady Bulldogs (4-12) in a 3-0 (25-14, 25-10, 25-8) win.

Holmes has lost 10 in a row. The Lady Bulldogs have won just one set during the losing streak.

"We did a good job. (The new line-up) in and of itself takes a minute to get into a groove then in general trying to find your own controlling the tempo kind of thing," said Katelyn Sallee, Highlands Head Coach. "Once we got through the first few points, we kicked into a rhythm. I was proud of the team for doing the job. I was encouraged to see everyone contribute and to remember the depth we have."

Highlands landed an astounding 23 aces in the win. Junior setter Kenzie Vennefron led the way with seven to go with 14 assists and five digs. Senior Josie Steppe had five with senior Lauren Buemi landing four to go with 10 kills, one assist and one dig. Eighth grader Hayden Gessner had three to go with one assist and five digs.

The Bluebirds also had 29 assists and kills to go with three solo blocks and 38 digs. Senior Honor Valentine had 10 digs and one ace. Senior Madison Clore had six digs, two aces and an assist. Senior Madison Opitz had 11 assists.

Seniors Avery Cavacini, CC Shick and Nicole Ossege had four kills each. Shick and Cavacini had two digs each. Junior Emma Daly and sophomore Rachel Ossege had three kills each.

"I think (the coaches) gave everyone an equal opportunity and when it's my turn, I really like to prove what I can do," said Carly Cramer, Highlands junior. "We like to come out and play the same game against every opponent."

Highlands Volleyball Takes Care of Walton-Verona

Bluebirds Face Dixie Heights on Thursday

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior Lauren Buemi gets in position during a recent match.

The Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team may have a huge upcoming 9th Region game.

But the next game on the schedule listed a visit from the Walton-Verona Bearcats from the 8th Region. Highlands (9-2 overall) still took care of the Bearcats by a minimum 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-19) win.

"I think a lot of high school teams have a tendency to overlook opponents. That's not a good thing to get into," said Katelyn Sallee, Highlands Head Coach. "We do have to keep our eyes on what is in front of us. I think we were able to reset and do that. The Walton program as a whole has really grown. They have some really tough athletes. There were a couple sections where we were like, 'Okay. Get your hands back on the wheel. Let's steer this thing home.' You can't really mess around with many teams in our area."

Sallee liked how all 16 players on the bench received action. This includes sophomore defensive specialist Annie Ellison and junior middle blocker Carly Cramer.

"I say in my head, 'Don't get nervous. You can do it and I usually end up doing fine," Ellison said. "For club, I've played at that (higher-speed varsity) level so I'm used to it. For varsity, you have to be more prepared and step it up instead of just taking it slow on (junior varsity)."

Highlands had 37 kills and assists, 12 aces, three solo blocks and 53 digs. Senior middle blocker/right side hitter CC Shick again led the Bluebirds with 15 kills, one solo block and seven digs. Senior outside/right side hitter Sophia Sarakatsannis had three aces, four kills, one assist and a team-high 12 digs. Senior middle blocker Avery Cavacini had seven kills, one solo block and one dig. Senior middle blocker/right side hitter Lauren Buemi had seven kills, one solo block and one dig.

Senior setter Madison Opitz had most of the saves with 31 to go with four digs, one kill and one ace. Senior Honor Valentine had 11 digs and five aces with senior defensive specialist Madison Clore recording eight digs, two assists and two aces.

Dixie Heights (2-1) comes to Fort Thomas for a 7:30 p.m. game. Highlands is 1-2 against 9th Region opponents with both losses coming against teams from the 33rd District.

Highlands Volleyball Wins Second Straight

Bluebirds Pull off Region Win

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior Madison Clore sets up to serve in a recent game.

The Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team came away 2-1 playing three straight days to open the season.

Similar to the win at Campbell County on Wednesday, Highlands bested the Beechwood Tigers (1-1) by a 3-2 score (18-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-17, 15-9). The Bluebirds are 1-1 in 9th Region action.

"They really just endured and kept the intensity up to the end, which is what you have to do against a really good team," said Katelyn Sallee, Highlands Head Coach. "I'm proud of them. We had a lot of offensive production at all areas of the court. It was pretty fun to watch even though it took too long."

The Bluebirds had 51 kills, 51 assists, eight solo blocks, 100 digs and eight aces. Senior Sophia Sarakatsannis had another good all-around game with 12 kills, 23 digs and two aces. Senior CC Shick led Highlands with 19 kills and three solo blocks to go with 10 digs and one assist.

Highlands senior Lauren Buemi followed with seven kills, three blocks, three digs and three aces. Seniors Avery Cavacini and Nicole Ossege had six kills each.

"I think that having the motivation there helps us work harder obviously," Buemi said. "We all love each other and we play as a team so whatever happens, happens. It's definitely a roller coaster I'd say. But for us to get into a rhythm, we just have to keep our energy high and not get down. Our thing this year is to have a mind of a goldfish. You can think about it for one second then you forget about it. That helps us."

Senior Madison Clore led Highlands with 24 digs to go with two assists. Senior Honor Valentine had 15 digs and three aces.

Junior setter Kenzi Vennefron led Highlands with 35 assists to go with 14 digs. Senior setter Madison Opitz had 13 assists.

"We still had to make some changes on some things," Sallee said. "I don't think anything is permanent this year. It may be one of those years where we have a lot of people who can do a lot of things. I'm doing (carrying a huge roster) because we're losing a lot and need people ready for next year. The beauty in that is we have a lot of people who can step in if we're struggling. That happened (Thursday). Kenzi Vennefron stepped in for us and did a nice job. All of our middles did an incredible job as well. Really, even our outsides did, too. It was a complete team effort. Serve receive and defense was better."

Highlands lists 16 as dressing on varsity an eighth grader in Hayden Gessner. Gessner, the younger sister of 2019 Highlands alum and former volleyball player Olivia Gessner and cousin of Highlands girls soccer senior goalkeeper Meg Gessner, saw action in one game against Campbell County and in two against Beechwood recording two digs. Hayden Gessner is the first eighth grader in Sallee's eight seasons to see varsity action.

Highlands Volleyball Bests County Rival

Highlands Earns First Win of Young Season

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior Sophia Sarakatsannis (10) waits on the serve in a recent match.

The Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team (1-1 overall) ventured to Alexandria and knocked off the county rival Campbell County Camels (0-2) by a 3-2 score (23-25, 25-13, 25-21, 22-25, 15-12) on Wednesday.

"Honestly, it lacked a bit of that intensity, which is something we worked on throughout the match," said Katelyn Sallee, Highlands Head Coach. "We work a lot on creating energy not just waiting for it to show up. I think that helped us pull out of some ruts. We still have some stuff to work on. I didn't like that we pulled it five. We need to seal the deal a bit sooner."

Highlands had 45 digs, 45 assists, five solo blocks, 76 digs and 16 aces. Seniors CC Shick and Nicole Ossege led the Bluebirds with 13 kills each. Shick also had two solo blocks, two assists, five digs and an ace. Ossege also had one solo block and five digs. Senior Avery Cavacini had eight kills and four digs with senior Lauren Buemi recording three kills, three aces, two solo blocks and two digs.

Senior Sophia Sarakatsannis led Highlands with 20 digs to go with four aces, one assist and six kills. Seniors Madison Clore and Honor Valentine followed with 16 and 14 digs respectively. Clore also had three assists and two aces with Valentine recording one dig and one ace.

Senior Madison Opitz did most of the setting with junior Kenzi Vennefron also seeing action there. Opitz had 34 assists, six digs and four aces with Vennefron recording four assists, four digs and one ace.

"We definitely jelled more together as a team," Opitz said. "We talked amongst ourselves (Tuesday) telling ourselves to stay out of our heads. We have to just communicate through every singe play so we can talk about it, reflect and then move on straight to the next play."

Highlands Volleyball Season Ends in Region Quarterfinals

Bluebirds Put Up Fight Against Lady Jaguars

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands juniors, from left, Lauren Buemi, CC Shick and Nicole Ossege line up in the region quarterfinal game against Cooper on Tuesday.

The Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team (13-8 overall) has not beaten three teams that consistently make the 9th Region Tournament since the current 9th Region alignment started in 2012.

Those three teams are Notre Dame, St. Henry and Cooper. Highlands drew the 33rd District runner-up Cooper Lady Jaguars (13-4) to open the 9th Region Tournament at Covington Holmes on Tuesday after winning a fourth straight 36th District Tournament on Thursday.

Highlands battled Cooper in a 3-1 loss. The Bluebirds took the first game, 25-22 and fought hard in the second in a 25-23 defeat. But Highlands could not keep up the face in the next two games losing 25-14 and 25-16.

"We've played them this season and that was super helpful for us because we had film," said Katelyn Sallee, Highlands Head Coach. "We didn't always get to scout and prepare as well as we did so we came into this match really prepared, really focused, as ready as you can be for weapons like that and I feel like we handled that really well in the first two sets. We also knew that we had to be at our very best. We didn't have a lot of room for errors and a lot of runs. Then you get a little later in the match, maybe some fatigue sets in. I think there was a little bit of a release that caught up with us."

Highlands Volleyball Captures Fourth Straight District Crown

Bluebirds Best 'Breds in Five

The Final point in Game Five.

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior setter Maria Little (3) goes up for a set while Laura Winkler (14) and CC Shick (23) get in position.

When Highlands Bluebirds junior middle blocker/right side hitter CC Shick and Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds senior middle blocker Madison McCloskey wound up and followed through, the balls slammed to the ground more often that not.

It turned into a matter of which team made fewer mistakes, found them, the other hitters and made their supporters roar better in determining the 36th District champion at Dayton High on Thursday. Trailing 2-1 entering the fourth set, Highlands (13-7 overall) responded pulling out the fourth set (25-19) then the deciding fifth set (15-4) to beat the improved Thoroughbreds (15-10), 3-2 for a fourth straight district championship.

"I think this season (shortened because of Coronavirus 2019) has been a tough one for a lot of teams including us," said Katelyn Sallee, Highlands Head Coach. "We had to fight to just kind of figure out who we were as a team after losing (five seniors to graduation from last year) and clawing back against I think the best NC team we've seen in a few years. It was a hard fight. We were ready for it and we came out strong."

Highlands Volleyball Advances in District Tournament

Bluebirds Face NewCath for District Crown

Highlands sophomore outside hitter Emma Daly (9) goes up for the ball in a recent game.

The Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team (12-7 overall) had won eight straight district semifinal games entering Wednesday and did not let the hosts end that streak.

The Bluebirds added to the streak with 3-0 (25-11, 25-12, 25-10) win over the host Dayton Lady Devils (14-7). Highlands takes on Newport Central Catholic (15-9) at 6 p.m. in the 36th District championship Thursday back at Dayton.

Highlands Thursday Results

Bluebirds Complete Regular Season with Dominating Win

Twitter Photo. Five Highlands volleyball seniors and one manager celebrated Senior Night on Thursday. They are, from left, Ava Hockney, Rylee Kirschenbaum, manager Navaeh Votel, Audrey graves, Casey Dunn and Brooke Biltz.

The five Highlands seniors had one last show at the home gym in the final regular season game of the year.

The Bluebirds (26-7 overall) took care of business like usual with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-21, 25-19) win over the Conner Lady Cougars. Highlands has won all three meetings against Conner this year and moved to 13-5 against 9th Region opponents.

"(We just) wanted to get more into a rhythm," said Katelyn Sallee, Highlands Head Coach. "Coming out of our Louisville weekend, we just felt out of sync. At Cake (Classic), we got kind of back in rhythm. Then this week, even more so. We just wanted to build some confidence off the things we've done well the majority of the season making sure we're keying on those things."

Highlands Volleyball Records 25th Victory

One Game Left in Regular Season for Bluebirds

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands sophomore CC Shick goes through a drill earlier in the season.

The Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team (25-7 overall) had a chance to equal the win totals from the previous two years and took care of business quickly Tuesday just down the road.

Highlands defeated Bellevue, 3-0 (25-3, 25-12, 25-11) to finish 4-0 in 36th District seed play. The Bluebirds finished 25-11 the previous two years winning two district titles.

Highlands Thursday Results

Bluebirds Go for 21st Win of Season Friday

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. The Highlands volleyball team lost at home to Cooper on Thursday.

The Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team (20-6 overall) dropped a 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-18) 9th Region decision at home to the Cooper Lady Jaguars (19-8).

Highlands fell to 10-4 in region play. The Bluebirds dropped both region games this week.

Tuesday Highlands Results

Bluebirds Lose in Three to Pandas

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. The Highlands volleyball team lost at Notre Dame on Tuesday.

The gap between the Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team (20-5 overall) and the two teams that form what Head Coach Katelyn Sallee calls 'the wall' in the 9th Region has closed in recent years.

Thursday Highlands Results

Highlands Boys Soccer Earns Much-Needed Win 

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. The Highlands Bluebirds boys soccer team knocked off Cincinnati (Ohio) Madeira on Thursday, 3-0.

The Highlands Bluebirds boys soccer team (11-5-4 overall) came together for a 3-0 non-region win in the final home game of the regular season over the Madeira (Ohio) Mustangs.

Highlands Head Coach Chad Niedert said the Bluebirds built off the second half of the 3-2 loss at Loveland (Ohio) on Tuesday. Highlands won the half, 1-0 despite being two players down because of two red cards.

Highlands Volleyball Victorious in District Play

Bluebirds Take Care of Business at Dayton

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. The Highlands volleyball team knocked off Dayton on Wednesday to move to 3-0 in 36th District play,

The Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team is playing three straight days and won the most important of the three Wednesday in 36th District play.

Highlands (17-2 overall) ventured to Dayton and defeated the Lady Devils, 2-0 (25-6. 25-20) in a best-of-three match. The Bluebirds have won seven in a row. They are 3-0 in district play and 8-1 against 9th Region opponents.

Thursday Highlands Results

Bluebirds Down Holy Cross

PHOTO: G. Michael Graham, Fort Thomas Matters. Highlands senior setter Audrey Graves had 45 assists in the win at Covington Holy Cross on Thursday.

Entering the 9th Region match-up at the Covington Holy Cross Lady Indians, the Highlands Bluebirds volleyball team had lost just eight sets all season.

During the 14-2 start, Highlands won the swept through the best-of-three or best-of-two matches in the September Slam in 13 of their 14 wins. The only game the Bluebirds won where they lost a set came on Sept. 3 in a 3-2 (25-18, 18-25, 25-18, 23-25, 15-7) win at Walton-Verona.

The All "A" State champion Lady Indians (19-4) pulled off the first set, 31-29. But the Bluebirds regrouped and won the next three by 25-18, 25-23, 25-11 scores to win the match. They have won five straight and are 8-1 against region opponents. Highlands is 2-0 against Holy Cross this year.