Sacred Heart’s Katie Arnold taps the ball toward Mercy’s Maddie Lentz during Wednesday’s match at Mercy. David R. Lutman/Special to The Courier-Journal
If there were any questions about the mental fortitude of the Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team following Sunday’s loss to rival Assumption, the Valkyries answered them the past two nights.
Following an emotional four-set victory over Henry Clay on Tuesday, Sacred Heart closed its regular-season schedule Wednesday with an emphatic 25-23, 25-12, 25-13 victory at Mercy.
Ranked No. 1 in the state by the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association, Sacred Heart (31-4) completed a tough four-day stretch against No. 2 Assumption, No. 4 Henry Clay and No. 3 Mercy.
“We could have let our exhaustion and our emotions after senior night (Tuesday) and after big matches play a factor, and we didn’t,” Valkyries coach Brett Versen said. “We brought it all together and took care of business tonight. Now it’s time to start looking at our second season.”
PHOTO GALLERY | Sacred Heart at Mercy
Florida commit Paige Hammons had 14 kills and two blocks and fellow senior Lauryn Bennett added 12 kills for Sacred Heart, which will open postseason play at 5 p.m. Monday by hosting Waggener in a 27th District Tournament semifinal.
The Valkyries will enter the postseason with victories in 14 of their past 15 matches, a stretch that also included a championship run in the prestigious Nike Tournament of Champions in Phoenix, Arizona.
“We’re really confident,” Bennett said. “We still have to work on the little things in practice to make sure we’re perfect for districts and regions. If we just work on the smaller things and communication, we’ll be good.”
Sophomores Lauren Myrick and Jayme Scott both had seven kills and sophomore Emma Schurfranz added six for Mercy (25-10), which also was playing its regular-season finale. The Jaguars will face either Whitefield Academy or Fern Creek in a 24th District Tournament semifinal at Jeffersontown at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
The Jaguars played Wednesday without junior middle blocker Neci Harris, who is out with a quadriceps injury. Coach Matt Thomerson expects Harris to be 100 percent in a week or two.
“That’s a big loss, just because we have so many more options with her in the lineup,” Thomerson said. “It changes the whole dynamic with her out.”
Mercy hung tough without Harris in Wednesday’s first set, taking a 20-18 lead on Isabel Salameh’s block of Hammons following a long rally.
Back-to-back kills by Abigail Westenhofer and Kristen Clemons tied the score at 20, and the Valkyries took the lead for good, 23-22, after a Mercy error. Hammons’ kill – her seventh of the set – on an overpass closed the set.
“Momentum is huge in this sport, and it was definitely good to pull that one out and settle in a little bit,” Versen said.
Scott’s ace gave Mercy a 7-3 lead in the second set, but Sacred Heart dominated the rest of the way. Bennett had five kills during an 18-2 run that gave the Valkyries a 21-9 lead.
“We just worked really hard on making our serve aggressive so that we would get back easier balls to set up and be in transition,” Bennett said of the Valkyries’ second-set adjustment. “It was nice, for sure. It definitely gets me excited, and I want to get my team excited, too.”
Sacred Heart jumped to a 13-3 lead in the third set and never looked back on its way to improving to 4-0 against Mercy this season.
Thomerson expects a more focused team for the postseason, as the Jaguars are heavy favorites to win another Sixth Region title.
“We went from playing as a team to playing like a team full of individuals, unfortunately,” he said. “You play like individuals and try to do too much, you get sloppy. It’s nothing (Sacred Heart) did different in the second and third sets. We changed. …
“We’ll be fine. It’s just a matter of getting everybody healthy and finding a way to get it done.”
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.