Make it five straight 8th District volleyball championships for University Heights Academy. The Lady Blazers survived a tough second set test and went on to complete a sweep of the Christian County Lady Colonels to pick up the title.
The win gives the Lady Blazers an 8-0 record against 8th District competition this season.
UHA got off to a quick start in the opening set of the match. Behind the play of Julia Thomas, the Lady Blazers jumped out to a 10-4 lead. The Lady Colonels, led by Skylar Kirby and Hailey Sparks, battled back to within two points at 17-15. However, UHA answered with a four point run to get control of the set back and would go on to take the set 25-17 to go up one set to none.
Thomas had four kills in the set to pace UHA. Claire Chewning added three of her own. The Lady Blazer also got some big plays from Sarah Peebles, Suzie Comperry, and Olivia Oakley. Skylar Kirby and Hailey Sparks had three kills each for Christian County.
The second set would feature what felt like the defining moment in the match. The early part of the set saw the score tied at 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, and 9. Thanks to the play of Peyton Owens, Hailey Sparks, and Aaliyah Bacon, Christian County used an 8-2 run to grab a 17-11 lead and it felt like the Lady Colonels had things going just the way they wanted.
But then the momentum took one final swing that would end up deciding the match. Kicked off by a kill from Julia Thomas, the Lady Blazers ripped off a 12-1 run that flipped the six point deficit to a 23-18 lead. UHA would close out the set on a kill from Suzie Comperry to win the set 25-20 and go up two sets to none in the match.
UHA got another strong set from Julia Thomas with three kills. Suzie Comperry and Claire Chewning had big plays during the run the Lady Blazers made to get back in front. Hailey Sparks and Peyton Owens were big factors in Christian County getting to the six point lead in the set.
The momentum of the comeback in the second set carried over for UHA as the third set got underway. The Lady Blazers used a 9-0 run early on in the set to take a 12-2 lead. UHA was then able to hold the Lady Colonels at bay for the rest of the way, as they closed out the match with a 25-15 win.
Julia Thomas added three more kills, two of them to help ignite the run early in the set. Olivia Oakley and Sarah Peebles also had big plays for the Lady Blazers coming down the stretch. Skylar Kirby had another solid set for Christian County and Rylee Owens finished out a nice night with a solid third set.
UHA improves to 25-12 with the win. Christian County drops to 11-23.
Both teams advance to next week’s 2nd Region tournament, which will be played at Henderson County High School.
