St. Henry knocked Ryle out of the 9th Region volleyball tournament Tuesday, Oct. 27, winning 3-1 (25-11, 25-17, 22-25, 25-10) in the final quarterfinal at Dayton High School.
The fifth-ranked Crusaders controlled the match from the opening serve, according to LINK nky. St. Henry never trailed in the first set and took the second 25-17. Ryle fought back in the third, grabbing leads at 10-9 and 15-14 before pulling away for a 25-22 win to force a fourth set.
There would be no fifth set.
St. Henry opened the fourth on a 6-0 run and reached 10 points before Ryle had scored twice. The Crusaders closed it out 25-10. St. Henry out-killed Ryle 53-32 for the match and recorded eight aces to Ryle's four.
Ryle head coach Tasha Tanner-Lovins said the Raiders spent too much energy winning the third set and couldn't recover. She noted St. Henry's experience in high-pressure postseason situations gave the Crusaders an edge Ryle lacked.
The loss ends Ryle's season. The Raiders lose four seniors but return their top two kill leaders, sophomore Layna Wilkinson and junior Ashley Towner, along with team leaders in assists, aces and blocks.
Conner faces Beechwood Oct. 28
Beechwood beat Conner 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19), and Notre Dame beat St. Henry 3-0 (27-25, 25-14, 25-17). Beechwood and Notre Dame now meet in tonight’s championship.
