After finishing as district runner-up for five straight seasons, the Christian County Lady Colonels will be looking to grab their first title in 10 years when the 8th District Tournament begins Monday at Lyle Dunbar Gymnasium.
Monday’s 5:30 quarterfinal features fourth-seeded University Heights Academy (11-21) and fifth-seeded Hopkinsville (6-20).
UHA swept the season series from Hoptown and has won 25 straight matches over the Lady Tigers dating back to 2017. The Lady Blazers lead the all-time series 41-7.
UHA has gotten strong play at the net down the stretch from sophomore Niyona Brown, who is third on the team with 85 kills and leads with 52 blocks.
Megan Long has a team-high 141 kills, and Grethen Durham has 425 assists, 237 digs, and a team-high 95 aces. Durham is closing in on 1,000 career assists.
Hopkinsville features junior Madysen Taggart and her 217 kills. Eighth grader Samyriah Walker has 38 kills and a team-high 26 blocks. Kyleigh Weber leads the team with 240 digs and is tied with Taggart with 44 aces.
The winner moves into Tuesday’s 5:30 semifinal against top seed Christian County (17-16).
The Lady Colonels were unbeaten (7-0) against district opposition and 11-3 against region foes.
Christian County features high flyers Kaidence Atwell (246 kills and 42 blocks) and Kate Cansler, who topped 200 kills for the third straight season.
Ashlea Russell’s 566 assists give her over 1,500 for her career, and Shiloh Baker has 374 digs.
Christian County has won four straight matches against University Heights Academy and 11 straight over Hopkinsville, which is playing for its first district title since 2017.
Tuesday’s 7:30 semifinal is a match between defending region champion Heritage Christian Academy (14-17) and Fort Campbell (12-3).
HCA beat the Lady Falcons in four sets on Aug. 26 and dropped a five-set match on Sept. 23.
Hadlee Hayes has 225 kills and 341 digs, and Bralee Fowler has 190 kills.
Makenzie McCarty leads the Lady Warriors in assists (490), and Allie Craft is tops with 439 digs. Craft and Hayes topped 1,000 career digs this season, while McCarty has over 1,200 assists.
The Lady Falcons have won seven of eight matches entering the district tournament, and are assured their first winning season since 2010.
Makayla Galvez leads the Lady Falcons with 382 assists, with five players with 30 or more aces and four players with 100 or more digs.
Fort Campbell has won three district titles in its program history, the last in 2007.
The championship will be on Thursday at 6:00.
The last two region winners have come from the 8th District — University Heights Academy in 2023 and Heritage Christian Academy in 2024.
