A rematch of last year’s regional volleyball finalists will be played tonight in the Fourth Region semifinals at Warren Central High School.
Defending regional champion Logan County and 2012 runner-up South Warren will play in the lower bracket of the Final Four at 7 p.m., following the upper bracket showdown between Russell County and Greenwood.
All four teams won their matches easily 3-0. For Logan, South and Russell, that is no surprise. They were heavily favored over Allen County-Scottsville, Clinton County and Franklin-Simpson, respectively, but Greenwood’s win over Monroe County figured to be closer than it was. Monroe came into the tournament with a 22-5 record, including 18-1 in the region, but the Lady Falcons didn’t play as tough a schedule as do the Logan and the Warren County teams. And Monroe coach Treg Turner’s team’s only regional loss had been to Greenwood.
Coach Justin Griffin’s South Warren team is having a banner year at 28-7 overall and 15-0 in the region, including a pair of victories over the Lady Cougars.
Yet Coach Steven Lyne’s Logan squad has much more tournament experience. The Lady Cougars have played in the regional finals 9 of the last 11 seasons, including four games at state, and they have been on the tournament trail most of this fall. This is only South Warren’s fifth year as a school.
Logan beat AC-S 25-9, 25-14, 25-20 Tuesday. Statistical leaders were as follows:
Kills: Brianna Wooden 7, Amber Carroll 6, Chanler Steenbergen 5, Kerra Cornist & Jaclyn Batchelor 3 each
Attacks: Carroll 14, Steenbergen 13, Kapreshia Powell 11, Wooden and Batchelor 10 each
Aces: Steenbergen 7, Carroll 4, LeeAnn Coots 2
Blocks: Cornist 5, Wooden and Batchelor 1 each
Digs: Carroll 10, Powell 9, Catherine Miller and Steenbergen 8 each, Coots 7
Assists: Steenbergen 11, Karrah Cron 4, Molly Latham 3, Powell and Cornist 1 each
Service Returns: Miller 12, Carroll 8, Powell 5, Kaliee Moore 3, Coots 1
The Lady Cougars are very young. Powell is the only senior. Wooden, Steenbergen, Sierra Morrow and Latham are juniors. Miller, Coots, Carroll, Batchelor, Maranda Wright and Moore are sophomores. Cornist is the only freshman who plays, and Cron is the lone eighth grader, but both of them played in all three sets at region.