By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The annual “Playing for a Purpose” volleyball triple-header between Notre Dame and St. Henry will be Friday at Thomas More University with freshman and junior varsity matches preceding the varsity showdown at 7:30 p.m.
Grace Ward is a senior veteran on the Notre Dame volleyball team. (File photo by Bob Jackson)
This is the 11th year for the charity event that raises money for I Have Wings, a local foundation that provides financial and emotional support to breast cancer patients. Both teams sell t-shirts for the game with all proceeds going to the foundation.
St. Henry and Notre Dame are the top volleyball programs in Northern Kentucky. The two teams have played each other in the 9th Region championship final 11 times in the last 15 years.
Last season, Notre Dame won the “Playing for a Purpose” match and lost to St. Henry in the regional final. Both teams were highly ranked in the latest statewide volleyball coaches with Notre Dame (14-4) at No. 4 and St. Henry (9-8) at No. 8.
St. Henry coach Maureen Kaiser started the “Playing For A Purpose” fundraiser with Notre Dame in 2008 when one of her friends was dealing with breast cancer.
The first charity match at St. Henry was a sell-out. They moved it to Thomas More to accommodate more fans in the university’s 1,200-seat gym and it has continued drawing large crowds.
St. Henry sending two teams to All “A” state soccer tournament
The St. Henry boys and girls soccer teams will both play in the Kentucky All “A” Classic for the first time in the six-year history of the small-school state tournament.
After winning 9th Region titles, both St. Henry teams won sectional playoff games against Brossart to earn berths in the eight-team boys and girls state tournaments to be played Saturday and Sunday at Capital View Park in Frankfort.
St. Henry will be making its debut in the girls state tournament that began in 2013. The Crusaders’ boys team was state runner-up in 2017.
Walton-Verona also advanced to the girls state tournament for the third straight year. The Bearcats won the 8th Region title and defeated Louisville Collegiate in a sectional playoff match.
Brackets for the All “A” Classic state tournaments are on the allaclassic.org website.
Three high school coaches reach milestones in career victories
Sandi Kitchen picked up her 400th career win as Villa Madonna’s head volleyball coach last week and needs five more win to reach 500 in her career.
Kitchen took charge of the Villa Madonna program in 1994 after being head coach at Newport, Newport Central Catholic and McNicholas (Ohio) earlier in her career. She took Villa teams to the 9th Region tournament four consecutive years from 2009 to 2012.
Two girls high school soccer coaches also reached milestones in career victories in recent weeks with Rob Zoeller of Simon Kenton getting his 200th and David Gronotte of Notre Dame getting his 100th.
Conner football coach Dave Trosper is closing in on his 100th career victory. He has a 93-90 record in 17 seasons at two schools. This is his 13th year at Conner, where he has an 80-63 record.
Scott volleyball team retires jersey number of record-setting player
Scott High School retired the jersey number that all-state volleyball player Lauren O’Conner wore during her five-year varsity career with the Eagles.
When she graduated in 2011, O’Conner was the first Scott player to record more than 1,000 career kills. The 6-foot-4 outside hitter also set team records in aces, digs and blocks.
O’Conner was recruited by the University of Kentucky. She was named to the All-Southeastern Conference Team after her senior season in 2014 when she started every match and led the Wildcats in kills with 379.
