James Collier
The Ashland Beacon
64th District Volleyball Tournament
Boyd County did what Boyd County has been frequently doing when they rolled into the 64th District Tournament last week at Holy Family. Win. The Lady Lions motored through the field unscathed with straight-set wins over Ashland in the championship and Rose Hill in the semifinals. Boyd County knocked off Ashland 25-19, 25-8, and 25-19 to capture their fifth district title. Carly Mullins’ play at the net proved too much for the Volleycats to handle while Taylor Bartrum and Emma Sparks took free swings at the net. Boyd County defeated Rose Hill in the first semifinal, 25-9, 25-2, 25- 9. Taylor Bartrum led the way with 13 kills. Sparks put down 11.
Carleigh Conley added four aces in the win. Ashland defeated Fair view in the second semi-final, 3-1 (25-14, 25-11, 31-33, 25-19) to move their record over Fairview in the district tournament to 13-0 while Fairview closed its season at 26-9, tying the school record for wins. Graycin Price led the Eagles with 18 kills. Kiera Loving added seven. Abigail Justus led Rose Hill with 12 kills and six aces in their straight-set win over Holy Family in the play-in game. Reagan Evans added eight kills. Rose Hill closes its season at 12-15. Boyd County and Ashland advance to the 16th Region Tournament at Ashland this week. Ashland plays 61st District Champion Rowan County Monday night at 6 p.m. Boyd County meets Lewis County Tuesday night at 6 p.m.
63rd District Volleyball Tournament
It had been since 2016 since Raceland had secured a district title. After a sweep of Lewis County in Vanceburg, Raceland can call itself district champs after avenging a late-season 3-2 loss to the Lady Lions on Senior Night. Raceland took the opening set, 25-23, and followed with a 25-14 win in set two. In the final stanza, the Lady Rams closed things out 25-21 to head into the 16th Region Tournament as a district champion. Elizabeth Rigsby led the Raceland with seven kills, three aces, and four blocks in the title game. Raceland dispatched Greenup County, 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-14) in the opening round. Shaelee Holbrook paced the Lady Rams with nine kills. Faith Spurlock added six. Raceland combined for 10 aces in the match. Greenup County closed its season 9-23. Lewis County defeated Russell 3-1 (25-11, 18-25, 25-14, 25-15) in the semifinals. Carmin Corey, Brenna Benge, and Torie Hester each had three kills. Corey added four blocks. Russell closes its season at 14-15 while missing the regional tournament for the first time since 2016 when it also lost to Lewis County in the semifinals. Raceland meets West Carter Monday night at 8 p.m.