For the second straight year, the Henderson County High School volleyball team claimed the 6th District championship, beating Webster County 3-0 on Monday night. Overall, it was their fifth title in the last six years.
Evangeline Loffland, Myla Peck, Ruby Reynolds and Emmy Sword earned All-District honors.
“We did well. We controlled the ball mostly. We had one little lull in the second set, but we were able to get back on track, being able to run our offense and putting the ball down. I was pretty pleased with that,” head coach Kelli Harris said. “It’s always nice to win another district, but our eyes are always on winning the bigger prize in the regional.”
Harris and her Lady Colonels will begin their quest to defend last season’s regional championship on Tuesday, Oct. 27 against Heritage Christian, whom they defeated in the title match last year. The match will start at 7:30 p.m. with the tournament held at Trigg County High School.
HCHS has beaten Heritage Christian twice this season, including a 3-1 victory less than two weeks ago and a 3-0 win at the beginning of September. HCA is second in the region with 30.2 kills per match, just ahead of Henderson at 29.9 kills per match.
Should they advance, the Lady Cols will face the winner of the matchup between Caldwell County and Lyon County, both of whom are below Henderson in the region standings. The Lady Cols have not faced either of those teams yet this season, however. To prepare, they have focused on their strengths and what they need to do to enjoy the success they are hoping for in the tournament.
“We’ve been working on definitely making sure that once we attack that we are getting into our base defense quicker, staying focused on the ball. Heritage Christian is a very unpredictable team. They don’t have a lot of trends,” Harris said. “You just have to be ready to be scrappy because you don’t know where they’re going to always place the ball.”
Leading the way for HCHS is senior Evangeline Loffland, who brings both tangible and intangible leadership skills. She leads the 2nd Region with 339 kills, while her teammate Emmy Sword is fifth with 261. Also among the best players in the region is Ruby Reynolds, who is fifth with 444 assists. Henderson’s other steady senior is Addi Kirtley, who has 404 assists, and is fifth in the region with 77 service aces.
Another essential piece to the Lady Cols’ success is their family mentality. They have dedicated their season to supporting those who have been impacted by breast cancer. Most importantly, they are playing for the mothers within their own volleyball family who are currently battling breast cancer.
A few weeks ago, the team hosted a PINK OUT night to honor all those who have inspired them both on and off the court.
The team has also enjoyed bonding moments including team meals and karaoke. Harris knows that the “family-like culture” they have built will go a long way to ensuring her team plays together.
“I think if we can remember that feeling and take that into when we’re playing… that we’re not playing against the other girls on our side; we are playing with them and for them. That’s going to carry us really far,” Harris said.
The Lady Cols are confident but know they must pay attention to the little details if they wish to win the region tournament and return to the state tournament for the second consecutive year. “They’re confident. We’ve talked a lot about making sure we clean up the small things,” Harris said. “They’ve also learned to not overlook people. It’s a level of confidence, but it’s not a level of cocky.”
