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.
