Mercy’s Neci Harris (22) gets a spike past Holy Cross’ Beth Newton (9) during the 6th Region volleyball tournament championship at Valley High School. Mercy won 3-0.
Oct. 27, 2016
Another Sixth Region Tournament title was nice, but perhaps the bigger news for Mercy Academy volleyball fans on Thursday was the triumphant return of junior Neci Harris.
Out three weeks with a quadriceps injury, Harris came back with a flash and recorded a match-high 13 kills as the Jaguars beat Holy Cross 25-17, 25-13, 25-8 in the Sixth Region final at Valley.
A 6-foot junior, Harris has been rehabbing since her injury and had her first practice with the Jaguars on Wednesday. She said she’s pleased with her progress, estimating she’s about “75 or 80 percent.”
“You don’t realize how much you miss it until you don’t have it,” Harris said. “Getting back there was really awesome. I’m a little weak right now, but I’m so ready for the state tournament.”
Mercy (30-10) – ranked No. 3 in the state – won a regional title for the 18th straight year and will face Ninth Region champion and No. 5-ranked Notre Dame in the first round of the state tournament at 6:30 p.m. next Friday at Valley.
Along with Harris, Jayme Scott (12 kills) and Emma Schurfranz (10 kills) had big nights for the Jaguars. But it was the return of Harris that had coach Matt Thomerson most excited.
“It’s just a bigger presence,” he said. “She holds a block. They don’t want to try and leave her one-on-one or she’s going to get a kill. She covers the court because she’s so long. She’s just huge for us.”
Freshman Leilana Grimes had five kills to lead No. 18 Holy Cross (19-19), which lost to Mercy in the regional final for the sixth time in the past eight years.
Cougars coach Danielle Wiegandt said she was proud of her team’s effort but admitted it would be a struggle to pull the upset.
“We compete for a while, and then all of a sudden we think, ‘Oh, my gosh. These girls are all going to play Division I volleyball,’” Wiegandt said. “I think at some critical moments they realize the magnitude of the teams they’re playing and it catches up to them.”
Holy Cross had reason for hope early, getting two kills and an ace from senior Beth Newton to take a 12-6 lead in the first set.
But three straight Holy Cross errors opened the door for the Jaguars, who went on a 12-1 run for an 18-13 lead. Schurfranz had three kills and a block during the run, and Harris added two kills and a block.
“Halfway through the game (Mercy) kind of woke up,” Wiegandt said. “Our serving was good, and (Mercy’s) passing was not and they weren’t able to run their offense. That was the only way we were going to be able to play with this team, and eventually they got it sorted out.”
Sam Lincoln’s ace closed the first set for the Jaguars, and they never trailed in a second set that saw Scott tally six kills and Harris add five. Mercy took a 14-4 lead in the third set and never looked back.
All-tournament team: Neci Harris, Emma Schurfranz, Lauren Tharp, Jayme Scott (Mercy); Beth Newton, Adyson Medley, Brittany Rickert (Holy Cross); Kailey Campbell, Gabby Griffin (Butler); Ariel Findley, Kyler Hack (Pleasure Ridge Park); Emily Harp (Bullitt Central); Makayla O’Brien (Bullitt East); Megan Eskridge (North Bullitt); Makayla Young (Doss).