40th District Volleyball Tournament opens tonight at Bourbon County

Road to the 10th Region Tournament begins tonight as four district rivals converge on Russ Day Gym with championship dreams and regional berths on the line

 

IVAN K. RICE I doctorofsports@aol.com

 

PARIS, KY – The 2026 40th District Girls Volleyball Tournament gets underway tonight inside Russ Day Gym, with top-seeded George Rogers Clark squaring off against fourth-seeded host Bourbon County at 6:30 p.m. The nightcap will feature second-seeded Montgomery County taking on third-seeded Paris.

George Rogers Clark (18-7), ranked No. 2 in the 10th Region, swept both regular-season meetings against Bourbon County. The Lady Cardinals won the first matchup in Paris by scores of 25-19, 25-20 and 25-15. In the rematch at Winchester, GRC again earned a 3-0 victory, winning by scores of 25-10, 25-21 and 25-14.

 

Lady Colonels and GRC will hit the court first 

Coach Lauren Eads’ Lady Colonels will lean heavily on the talented quartet of junior Katie Abner, sophomore Gia Griffin, senior Izzy Jett, and junior Hayli Burberry as they look to knock off GRC and advance.

For Coach Lauren Eads’ Lady Colonels (16-13), junior Katie Abner leads the offense with 305 kills, ranking 54th in the state. She is followed by sophomore Gia Griffin with 216 kills and junior Hayli Burberry with 173. The team’s assist leader is freshman Kinley Kearns with 705 assists, which ranks 31st in Kentucky. Senior Izzy Jett is second on the team with 59 assists. Jett also leads Bourbon County in service aces with 52, followed by Kearns with 42, Griffin with 21 and Abner with 21.

Defensively, Jett paces the Lady Colonels with 354 digs. Kearns has recorded 213 digs, junior Claire Davis 124, while sophomore Isabella Macias and sophomore Jaymeson Jones have contributed 114 digs each. At the net, Griffin leads Bourbon County with 48 total blocks. Abner has added 28 blocks, while junior Maggie Justice has recorded 16.

Coach Kainan Hudson’s Lady Cardinals are led offensively by sophomore Elayna Swart with 265 kills, junior Brooke Gough with 210 and sophomore Amy McCormick with 126. The GRC attack is directed by junior Anna Cooper, who has handed out 602 assists, ranking 47th in the state. Junior Addison Palmer follows with 52 assists. Palmer also leads the Lady Cardinals in service aces with 50. Gough has recorded 41 aces, Swart 33, while Cooper and junior Chloe Williams have tallied 24 aces apiece.

On the defensive side, Palmer tops the team with 214 digs. Swart has collected 182 digs, Gough 151, Cooper 136 and sophomore Eva Walker 113. At the net, McCormick leads George Rogers Clark with 34 total blocks.

The winner of tonight’s opening match will advance to tomorrow night’s district championship match and earn a berth in next week’s 10th Region Tournament.

 

Paris will face Montgomery County in the nightcap 

First-year Paris coach Kelly Goodwin’s Ladyhounds seek the program’s first 40th District Tournament victory when they face Montgomery County. The Lady Indians swept the regular-season series, but the two meetings told very different stories.

The first matchup in Paris was a thriller that went the full five sets. Montgomery County rallied after falling behind 2-1 to earn a 3-2 victory by scores of 25-19, 13-25, 18-25, 26-24 and 15-10. When the teams met again in Mt. Sterling, Montgomery County claimed a 3-1 victory over a shorthanded Paris squad that lost one of its top players, sophomore Emmalyn Ogden, to injury. The Lady Indians won the opening set 25-20 before Paris responded with a 25-23 victory in the second set. Montgomery County then closed out the match by winning the final two sets by identical 25-14 scores. Paris was also missing Mia Mason and Rose Hayden.

Paris is led offensively by sophomore Gabby Gardner, who has recorded 211 kills this season. She is followed by sophomore Mia Mason with 127 kills, freshman Rose Hayden with 121, senior Molly Mason with 114 and Ogden with 85 before her injury. The Ladyhounds’ assist leaders are sisters Mia and Molly Mason with 294 and 242 assists, respectively. Mia Mason also leads the team with 35 service aces. Senior Angie Roque-Romero has added 27 aces, sophomore Aniya Hayden 26, Molly Mason 23 and sophomore Emma Morris 20. Ogden recorded 21 aces before being sidelined.

Defensively, Roque-Romero leads Paris with 281 digs, while Molly Mason has accumulated 239. Also among the team’s leaders are Aniya Hayden with 179 digs, Morris with 155 and Mia Mason with 150. At the net, the Hayden sisters have paced the Ladyhounds in total blocks. Aniya Hayden leads the team with 58 blocks, while Rose Hayden has 44. Gardner has contributed 20 blocks and Mia Mason has added 14.

Coach Bradley Craycraft’s Lady Indians are led offensively by junior Erin Fawns with 210 kills. Fellow junior Ava Hudson has recorded 151 kills, junior Kinley Auxier 134 and junior Anna Allison 115. Montgomery County’s primary setter is junior Meredith Miles, who has compiled 613 assists, ranking 43rd in the state. Senior Sophie Fouch follows with 68 assists. Hudson leads the Lady Indians with 39 service aces. Fawns and Miles have registered 37 aces each, Fouch has 34, senior Hagan Stilz 23 and freshman Kylee Shultz 18.

Defensively, Fouch tops Montgomery County with 401 digs. Hudson has recorded 201 digs, senior Abby May 183, Stilz 157 and Miles 142. At the net, senior Baylee Warner leads the Lady Indians with 58 total blocks, while Auxier has added 44. Allison has assisted on 30 blocks this season.

The winner will advance to tomorrow night’s championship match and secure a berth in next week’s Region Tournament.

****

While George Rogers Clark enters the tournament as the favorite and Montgomery County carries the edge from the regular season, postseason volleyball has a way of creating new stories. Bourbon County will look to defend its home court and pull off an upset against the Lady Cardinals, while Paris hopes to break through for the program’s first 40th District Tournament victory. By the end of the night, two teams will still be chasing a district championship and a spot in the 10th Region Tournament, while two others will see their seasons come to a close.