Bowling Green enters the 4th Region Volleyball Tournament atop the state’s RPI rankings and ready to make another deep, postseason run
By Perry Swack
In 2020, the Lady Purple volleyball team reached the 4th Region Tournament championship game in search of its first region title. However, Bowling Green was turned away by perennial favorite Greenwood, 3-0, and sent back to the drawing board. In 2021, the program flipped the script, running off a perfect 17-0 record in region play, including a perfect 4-0 over their crosstown rivals. The region title was the culmination of everything Bowling Green Volleyball had worked toward since its inception. How could they top such a feat?
So far, the encore has been even better. The 2022 team is also undefeated in both district and region play with an overall record of 34-2. The Lady Purples have been so dominant that they are currently ranked first in the state RPI rankings and third in the MaxPreps rankings. Their 94 sets are the most won by any team in the state, while 17 sets lost is ranked fourth statewide.
Freshman Amirra Bailey leads the Lady Purples with 315 kills, 37 solo blocks, and 88 total blocks. Senior Lily-Kate Carver has tallied 314 kills as well, including 240 digs and 21 total blocks. Senior setter Kaia Barnett leads the team with 574 assists, while junior Makenna Kerrick has logged 384 assists on the season. Kenzie Austin (367) and Elizabeth Maglinger (299) have combined for nearly 700 digs as well.
Bowling Green kicks off its title defense with a matchup against 13th District runner-up Todd County Central (24-11). The Lady Rebels lost 3-0 to BG in a mid-September meeting; however, Todd managed to score between 16 and 23 points in all three sets. The winner of this matchup will play the winner of Russell County (30-7) and Allen County-Scottsville (16-19).
Other Contenders
Logan County (30-8), Warren East (25-8), and Russell County (30-7) will look to challenge for the region title after breezing through perfect seasons in each of their respective districts. Logan County and Warren East each won their opening match last night to reach the region semifinals. The Lady Cougars knocked out Greenwood in the region quarters 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-20), while the Lady Raiders swept Clinton County 3-0 (25-4, 25-19, 25-18).
Logan County junior Sloan Coursey is second in the state in assists with 1150. Sophomore Aubrey Sears leads the team with 367 kills, while senior Haleigh Wood has 488 digs on the year. The Lady Cougars will face off with the 15th District champion Warren East Lady Raiders on Wednesday at 6:00 for a spot in the title game. The two programs played a five-set thriller in early September with every game being decided by five points or less.
East features junior outside hitter Baleigh Young (317 kills and 101 solo blocks), along with senior Cayden Vandiver (586 digs). Junior Jada Knight will look to set up her teammates as she adds to her total of 924 assists on the year.
The 16th District champions face off with Allen County-Scottsville tonight with a berth in the semifinals on the line. Russell County is led by junior Briley Murray and her 290 kills and 214 digs. Kenzie Kelsey has tallied 36 solo blocks and Avery Hart has racked up 764 assists on the year. Should the Lady Lakers defeat AC-S, they will likely face off with Bowling Green in the semifinals on Wednesday night at 7:30.
The championship match is scheduled for Thursday at 6:30pm. The entire tournament will be held at South Warren High School.
