Much has been made of Heritage Christian Academy’s run to the Second Region volleyball title – the first in any sport for the Hopkinsville private school that became a full member of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association two years ago.
A final reflection was held on Monday as the school, family, and friends gathered on Eldridge Rogers Court in Warrior Gym for its postseason awards banquet. It was a time for the players to be honored and coach Grace Stewart to put her final stamp on the season.
The Lady Warriors put together a 24-6 record, winning both a district and region championship.
However, neither came as a complete surprise although the timetable did. When HCA officials were investigating a move from the Kentucky Christian Athletic Association to the KHSAA, there were some in the room who said the volleyball program would make the easiest transition given their KCAA success.
That success was also a result of a foundation laid by Rogers. In two stints as head coach, he led the Lady Warriors to a KCAA state title in 2011 and consecutive runner-up finishes in 2012 and 2013.
He retired from coaching in 2019 after a 21-15 season and the school’s 16th consecutive region title. He passed away in May 2021 at the age of 81.
Heritage Christian Academy’s volleyball season began and ended on the court named for Rogers.
Eldridge’s daughter, Laura Winslow, told those at the banquet about her father wanting to make sure the program was in the right hands when it came time to step away.
“When Daddy was about to retire, I remember he went to Grace and asked her if she would coach his volleyball team because he believed in her. He always believed in her and when they say the rest is history, it really was history made for this year.”
Stewart was a former KCAA All-State player and Miss Volleyball for Rogers and was the middle school coach under Rogers which made her familiar with this year’s crop of varsity players.
“When Coach Rogers first asked me to coach, I said, ‘I don’t know. I don’t know if I can do that.’ And he said, ‘Yes, you can. I know you can. And I know you’ll be good at it.’ Because he had faith in me, I had faith in myself that I could do it. So here we are,” Stewart said.
Here is where the Lady Warriors won the school’s first KHSAA district title in any sport followed by a region championship.
And honestly, it may have come a bit ahead of schedule.
“Last year you were three to four years younger than most people and you were playing against Christian County. I remember a County parent coming up to me and saying, ‘These girls are good. I would be scared to play them in 2-3 years,” Stewart remembered. “But that year was this year. I always kept faith in you guys, but the growth from last season to this season has astounded even me.”
Stewart has won 113 games in five seasons as HCA head coach and loses just one senior to graduation. Mya Goodwin led the Lady Warriors in most categories and was one of the top hitters in the region.
“She always has laser focus, and she left it all on the floor. Every time she went out there, she encouraged her team. She sees the court and knows volleyball better than, I would say, a lot of coaches and players, and she has a very high volleyball IQ,” Stewart said of Goodwin.
But the Lady Warrior cupboard isn’t bare. A full junior varsity team was recognized at Monday’s banquet as was a team of nearly 20 middle schoolers. This is from a school with around 70 girls in the upper four grades.
“We’re going to take what we learned this year and just play harder each game next year,” said freshman Hadlee Hayes. “We just need to keep our energy up when we’re down and stay talking. And have faith in each other and just trust each other throughout each game.”
One of this year’s juniors – Katie Cansler — will look to move into Goodwin’s leadership role next year.
“Katie is special. She leads the team in how she plays. The girls look to her. She sets the tone for the game in all that she does, and I think she’s a friend to everybody on the court,” Stewart said.
Winning one region title is hard. But as the past five region champions have discovered, winning a second straight title is even harder.
“I don’t think it was linear growth this year. I hope they gain a little bit of confidence from their success and also see there are definitely things we need to work on in the post-season if we want to be able to consistently compete at a higher level and get to that next step because we’re always trying to push past the next step,” Stewart said.
Sophomore Makenzie McCarty knows the bullseye will be planted firmly on their backs next year.
“It makes us want to win it again. That was our goal this season, it’s going to be our goal next season.”
Stewart knows her team will need to see some different competition in future years if they are to take the next step of being a perennial regional power.
“We want to be more prepared. We want to know that we can start competing with those bigger schools and those better teams. There are several things that we have improved on over the season that we address and there are some things that we never quite got there that we’re going to have to maximize on in the off-season, she said.
Another change may come with the 2025 schedule. According to the KHSAA Ratings Percentage Index, HCA’s strength of schedule was 13th out of 14 teams in the region and 16th from the bottom statewide.
“I’ll be talking to (HCA Athletic Director) Matt (McGowan) about that, trying to get in some bigger teams. I love going to the Bluegrass State Games (in the preseason). That’s always a big thing and we got to play some of those bigger schools there, but I think it will be good for us to start playing them more in the regular season as well,” she said.
However, Stewart had one final message for 2024’s history-making team.
“I’m very proud of you. It took all of you guys working through injuries and the drama. Just sacrificing your own wants for the team. It takes every single person buying into the team, into the program, having one goal, and working towards it the whole time for it to be successful.”
Varsity Awards
Grace Conley – Up and Coming Award
Bralee Fowler – Most Improved Award
Makenzie McCarty – Most Assists
Hadlee Hayes – Hustle Award
Lexi Lyon – Christian Character Award
Allie Craft – Defensive Impact Player Award
Katie Cansler – Offensive Impact Player Award
Mya Goodwin – Best All-Around Award and Warrior Award
Junior Varsity Awards
Gracyn Askew and Hannah Phelps – Up and Coming Award
Sophie Arvin – Hustle Award
Avery Lake – Impact Player Award
Charlotte Payne – Christian Character Award
Lexi Lyon – Coach’s Choice Award
Anna Camacho – Most Improved Award
Taylor Barbee – Best All-Around Award
One Response
Excellent year.