For the fourth consecutive year, the Williamsburg Lady Jackets volleyball team will be representing the 13th Region in the All “A” Classic State Championship Tournament.
The Lady Jackets, who came into this week with an overall record of 13 wins and three losses, defeated Jackson County, Pineville and Barbourville earlier this month to secure their latest regional All “A” crown.
In the upcoming 2024 All “A” state tourney, Williamsburg will face a trio of capable opponents in pool play before hopefully making a run at a state title if they are able to make it into the championship bracket.
Joining the Jackets in Pool C will be Region 4 champions Monroe County (10-2), Region 7 champions Kentucky Country Day (7-2) and Region 14 champions Knott County Central (13-4).
Other teams who will be appearing in this year’s statewide All “A” Classic include: Community Christian, Owensboro Catholic, Green County and Walton-Verona in Pool A; Louisville Holy Cross, St. Henry, Bishop Brossart and Somerset Christian in Pool B; and Crittenden County, Sayre, Shelby Valley and Raceland in Pool D.
Pool play is scheduled to get underway this Friday, Sept. 20, at the Bluegrass Sportsplex in Elizabethtown. It will continue into Saturday, and once the final pool play contests are complete all teams will be split up into two brackets – Bronze Division and Championship.
Tournament play is tentatively scheduled to wrap up between 2-3 p.m. Saturday afternoon, with this year’s state champions being crowned shortly thereafter.
Williamsburg had a disappointing trip to state last year, going 0-4 at the event with losses against Raceland, St. Henry, Bishop Brossart and Mayfield. This year, Head Coach Dirk Berta’s team will look to be more competitive as they hope to put themselves in a position to make a run in whichever bracket they ultimately find themselves competing in.
This year’s Jacket team features a good mix of youthful energy and veteran leadership, with Lorelei Coleman, Hannah Creekmore and Heidi Wiles leading the way as the senior players on the roster.
Juniors Karina Nantz and Kylee Nantz have both served as keys to success so far this season, as well as sophomores Lacy Bray, Braeleigh McCullah, Grace Meddles and Presley Spicer.
Other important wins for Williamsburg this season include a 3-1 (25-22, 25-15, 22-25, 25-18) over 50th District opponent South Laurel back on Aug. 27 and a hard fought 2-0 victory over Hazard that allowed them to come out on top of their own invitational tournament at WHS.
