By Rick Cassano VANDALIA - A season of historic success has come to an end for Harrison High School's girls volleyball team. The Wildcats fell two wins short of the Division II state tournament and finished with a 22-3 record after dropping a 25-19, 25-19, 25-15 decision to Kings on Thursday night in a regional semifinal at Butler's Student Activity Center. HHS coach Philip Deak said it was a memorable season simply because of the players. "They're a special group of girls," Deak said. "Anytime anything happens for the team, it's because they have good attitudes, they work hard and they like being around each other. "Team chemistry is always a big part of success. I've never coached a team that doesn't like to be around each other and then wins a lot. Practice is always fun. They like to compete and joke around and talk trash to each other, so being in the gym never seemed like it was work. It seemed like it was an opportunity to be together. That was their fun." Harrison advanced to regionals for the first time since losing to Mason in a Division I semifinal in 2009 and will return most of its offensive firepower next year. Kenna Farris, Lucy Longworth, Stella Whitis and Maddie Ward are the Wildcats' four seniors. "We're all pretty upset with the outcome, but we're very happy with how our season went because the couple years prior were not the best," said Farris, a setter who established a single-season school record in assists this year with 875. "We made a lot of really good friendships and a lot of good memories that we're going to look back on and miss. We're all happy that we got to experience it together." "We can be sad for ourselves that we lost, but we're super proud of what we've accomplished," added teammate Regan Oaks, a junior outside hitter. "In the past we've had the opportunity to win, but we weren't really able to execute. We knew we were going to be able to execute this year. Coming in with that mind-set helped us have a really great season." Kings (21-3), the Eastern Cincinnati Conference champion, has reeled off 18 consecutive victories since losing to Mount Notre Dame on Aug. 29. The Knights and Wildcats are teams with a lot of young talent, so they could be headed for multiple postseason matchups in the coming years. "They're really good," Deak said. "We just couldn't get any momentum. We couldn't keep our serve. They serve-received really well at a high rate, and we didn't serve tough enough and they served tough. "We didn't handle the serve-receive as well as we should've. When we got the ball and we passed it well enough, we scored, so I was comfortable with that. We just couldn't do it consistently enough, and they sided us out a lot. "I don't know that they're that much better than us. I would like to think not, but obviously today they were." Kings used a 4-2 alignment with two setters, senior Anabelle Seni and freshman Dri Naranjo, and Harrison struggled in dealing with it. "We've never really seen their setter situation where they would flip it and they were setting out of the outside and right side," Farris said. "We practiced it in practice, but it was still very unpredictable. Adjusting to that midgame was kind of difficult. We also were getting a lot of block touches, but we didn't really execute when we did get the touches." Veteran Knights coach Amanda Meadows said she's willing to try different things every season. She said the dynamics of her team make the 4-2 a smart thing to do. "Honestly, I've never run a 4-2 in my life on a varsity team, but I'm not a cookie-cutter coach," Meadows said. "You've seen from a few years ago that we will option block and throw our setters to the left side if we need a bigger blocker over on our right side. "People look at you like, 'What are you doing?' All I can say is I watch a lot of college volleyball and I copy what they do. Whatever it takes to use those strengths." Meadows called Seni "literally the best blocking setter I've ever coached in my life," and she contributed three blocks against Harrison. Freshman outside hitter Sammi Wehrman piled up 23 kills in the victory. The rest of the team combined for 22. "Teams will run a 6-2, but they ran a 4-2," Deak said. "One of their setters was always up front so they could be aggressive and do some different things. We practiced it yesterday, but it's hard to duplicate it until you see it in a gym." The Wildcats have a formidable net crew with sophomore Aubrey Templin and Oaks on the outside, and sophomores Madison Meibers and Madison Waite on the inside. Harrison simply couldn't find the rhythm that it's had most of the season. Templin totaled 10 kills and Oaks had seven for HHS. Longworth had 13 digs, while Farris chipped in 19 assists. Oaks said Kings was strong, but the Wildcats didn't have their best day "and there were times we could've gone into a little funk." Meadows was expecting a major challenge from Harrison. She liked the way her players responded. "I love playing against good competition," Meadows said. "We scouted them and knew their strengths and weaknesses. I thought we did a really good job of balancing things out. There were definitely times where we didn't get our block closed and they shoved the ball down our throats. That's going to happen when you play a good team. "Overall, I think the team just reacted well to when we weren't in the right spot. We did a really good job of filling in the hole when we needed to or just making adjustments. Later in the game we did a better job of even throwing a triple block in the middle once in a while when we had Anabelle in the front row." Senior libero Kennady Horsley had 17 digs and three aces Thursday. Meadows said her pass average is very high and "that's the kind of anchor you need." The Knights will be making their second regional-final appearance at 2 p.m. on Saturday when they face Whitehouse Anthony Wayne at Butler. Kings was the D-I state champion in 2023. Meadows said the Knights are able to succeed at a high level because they have a complete team. "I think when you look at a lot of teams, you've got one or two kids that are really hyped, really into it, volleyball means the world to us," Meadows said. "We've got a whole team, including our bench. That's just their mentality. We're not a one-man show." Harrison will move forward into next season with a strong foundation, though Deak said replacing captains Farris and Longworth won't be easy. Deak said the Wildcats will need to work hard in the offseason and not taking anything for granted. "The future is obviously bright with what we've got coming back, but sometimes it's hard to duplicate these seasons," Deak said. "We've added a couple tougher teams for next season already on our schedule because we need to get tested more to be ready for this stuff." Farris said she was excited to get to play all season after missing several weeks of her junior campaign because of an illness. "I'm proud of myself for pushing through," Farris said. "I also got the support of my teammates to pick me up along the way." Farris said she's deciding whether to attend Ohio University or Miami and might play club volleyball in college.   [Read More]

By Rick Cassano HAMILTON - The three-peat is only part of Harrison High School's girls soccer plan. The Wildcats are hoping for a history-making postseason run and continued on that path Thursday night, celebrating their third straight Division II district championship by throttling Ursuline 7-0 at Hamilton's Virgil Schwarm Stadium. Now top-seeded Harrison (15-2-2) will try to do something it has never done - win a regional game. "I feel like we have enough momentum to get past that," said Wildcats sophomore Grace Rogers, a defensive center midfielder. "We've had a high standard all year. We've been playing well to keep going and persevere through everything. Our captains are strong. I think we can go far." Harrison coach Kelli Bill said grabbing another district title was worth celebrating for a short time before the Wildcats turn their focus to the next round. "It is a big deal for these girls," Bill said. "We haven't made it past the next game, so hopefully they're up for it. That's been a goal of ours all season. It's all falling into place for us, but we know Tuesday's going to be tough." The regional semifinal against St. Ursula (11-5-3) is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Xenia's Doug Adams Stadium. The Bulldogs and host Harrison played to a 1-1 tie on Sept. 12. St. Ursula ousted the Wildcats in last year's regional semifinals. In 2024, Harrison took out the Bulldogs in a district final. "Even though they're young, I feel like our girls are confident," Bill said. "Even last year we had a lot of freshmen and sophomores playing, so this is not new to them. They've been through it, so I think they're ready." The Wildcats have outscored their opponents 79-14 this season and went 7-0 in October. Their only losses came against Summit Country Day (2-1 on Sept. 1) and Seton (3-2 on Sept. 23). Harrison closed the regular season with a 4-0 blanking of Ursuline on Oct. 13 and dominated the 10th-seeded Lions (5-14) in Thursday's rematch as HHS goalkeepers Mallory Oliver and Addy Thacker combined for zero saves. "Honestly, this is not a shock. I thought we were going to be pretty good this year," said Wildcats sophomore Lucy Schwieterman, a forward/midfielder. "I'm really happy with the team. I think we can keep going and winning more." "We knew they were out to get us because we're the No. 1 seed, but I think we played really good soccer and showed who we are," Rogers added. "It was cool winning the district last year because it was my first year. Now it's two times, so hopefully can keep it going. We want to go farther." Schwieterman tallied three goals, while Payton Ross, Olivia Neal, Olivia Fleckenstein and Rogers added one apiece. Assists were contributed by Evie Freel, Autumn Hoch and Rogers. Harrison was the heavy favorite, but it took the Wildcats half of the opening period to get on the board. Rogers marked her second goal of the season with 20:27 left in the half to break the ice and relieve some of the tension on the Harrison sideline. Bill said that goal was a huge sigh of relief "for all of us." "They seemed a little nervous at first," the HHS coach said. "Once they calmed down a little bit and were a little more composed, we got it together." Rogers delivered a shot past Ursuline goalie Sophie Weiss after taking a pass from Hoch. "Autumn got it to me and I was underneath her, and I've been hearing a lot about getting underneath and supporting players," Rogers said. "I feel like sometimes I'm not confident enough, but when I am, I can do well." It was the fifth multi-goal effort of the season for Schwieterman, who leads the Wildcats with 14 goals. She scored twice in the first seven minutes of the second half to pull away from the 2-0 halftime advantage and kick open the floodgates. "I don't think I've scored three in a game before," said Schwieterman, who sat out the last 24 minutes of the game because of a calf cramp. "I was really nervous coming into this. People were just passing to the open spaces. I would just take it and shoot it." Schwieterman scored just one goal last season while dealing with a fractured growth plate and sprained ankle. She's come back strong this year with a more aggressive mentality. "I got told by my old coach last year to not shoot the ball and just pass to my teammates," Schwieterman said. "This year, I just kind of take it and shoot for myself." Schwieterman may not look intimidating, but Bill said as long as she believes in herself, she's a difficult weapon to stop. "She's really turned it up a notch," Bill said. "She's got a rifle. When she lets loose, even if it's right at the keeper, it's hard for them to catch it." Harrison's defense didn't have to do a tremendous amount of work Thursday because the Wildcats in the middle and up top controlled the flow of the game. "I feel like most of the time we had possession on their side of the field," Bill said. "It was nice, but that also makes you nervous for the next game because they haven't had a whole lot of pressure these last two games. They're going to have to get ready for that." Rogers said Harrison didn't play a great game in the September matchup with St. Ursula. She's expecting the Wildcats to perform better in Round 2. "I feel like we had opportunities in the first game, but we were kind of moving slow," Rogers said. "Sometimes we have games where it's just kind of off. You have to play all game to win against those good teams." Ursuline completed a difficult season with three wins in its last five games. Second-year Lions coach Erin Loftus said it may not have looked like it against Harrison, but her squad made a lot of progress this year. "Harrison's a good team. They're fast. They win the ball out of the air," Loftus said. "I don't think we played as well as we could have. "We talk all season long about taking care of the details, winning balls out of the air, hunting the second touch, winning the 50-50 balls, and I don't think we did exceptionally well in those areas tonight. They hunted the second touch better than we did, and I think that was the differentiating factor for us. We talk about playing the game in five-minute increments. It just wasn't us tonight." Loftus, a 1997 Seton graduate who went on to have a four-year career at Ohio University, said this was her first full year at the Ursuline helm. She got hired to be an assistant coach last season, then was moved into the head position two weeks before tryouts. "That was a last-minute role change, so the preparation wasn't there," Loftus said. "We had a talented group last year, but we really didn't have an identity. Our expectations and standards are different this year. We're doing a lot of different things we haven't done in the past, and our players have responded well. "We've never been a second-half team the last couple years and we haven't been a very physical team, and we've changed that. We went hard at our offseason strength and conditioning program this year, so we're starting to become more gritty. We're starting to become stronger on the ball. We're not quite where we want to be, but we're making progress." The Lions play a brutal schedule in the Girls Greater Catholic League and haven't had a winning season since going 10-7-1 in 2017. This year's squad had six seniors - Adera Orr, Ellie Rossman-Roach, Libby Killion, Emerson Tarr, Addie Tent and Kate Rossman-Roach - but Ursuline will return most of its starting lineup. "I'm excited for us going forward," Loftus said. "I think we're going to have a good, nice program. We're concentrating on things in the offseason that are going to make us better."   [Read More]

By Rick Cassano HARRISON - Carson Koehl called it an emotional night for Harrison High School's seniors. The host Wildcats ran into a hot Loveland squad Tuesday in their Division II district boys soccer opener and exited with a 2-0 defeat as the Tigers' Blake Rohlfs tallied both goals at Bill Kuntz Field. It was the end of the prep soccer trail for Koehl and fellow seniors Hayden Carter, Brady Ruther, Aidan Bolser, Michael Wiesemann Jr., Ben Gill and Lucas Ballard. "We expected a hard-fought game. We knew it was going to be like this through and through," said Koehl, a midfielder. "Some things didn't go our way with referees' decisions and the bounce of the ball, but that's the way the game is played. I'm so proud of the boys. We gave everything we had. We left everything on the field." Harrison finished 9-6-3 and hasn't had a losing season since 2021. Over the last five years, the Wildcats are 62-20-11. "This program was everything to me through my four years here," Koehl said. "I think we put out how we want to play as Harrison soccer. I hope the seniors passed on the love of the game that we have here to our next generation so they can keep it rolling. These guys are my A1s. I've been with them all throughout high school and even before that. I'll forever remember this team." Fifth-seeded Loveland, which got knocked out of the tournament by Harrison in a shootout last year, has found a late-season groove in 2026. The Tigers (9-7-2) placed eighth in the 10-team Eastern Cincinnati Conference, but they're 6-1-2 over their last nine games. Rohlfs, a junior midfielder, tallied his seventh and eighth goals of the season to oust No. 4 seed Harrison and push Loveland into a noon district final against second-seeded Troy (12-2-4) on Saturday at Hamilton. "They're really buzzing right now," Wildcats coach Connor McCurley said. "They've hit their stride at a perfect time and that's a lot of what the postseason is about, getting your guys to play at the pace and the speed and the physicality that you want going into the tournament. "I didn't think we were in a bad spot in regard to that, but we knew it was going to be a tall task. Looking back on our game from last year in the same round with them, we got exactly what we expected. They were able to execute their opportunities and we didn't, so that's how it goes." Junior Brady Smith earned the shutout in goal for Loveland. Tigers coach Mike Dunlap loved the defensive work provided by his all-senior back line of Nick Paumier, Collin Rennock, Brody Watts and Jonah Schmidt. "I felt like we executed our game plan today," Dunlap said. "The last month of the season we've been playing good soccer. We've got good guys coming off the bench, our starting 11 is playing very well, and defensively we just keep getting clean sheet after clean sheet. We haven't had a goal scored on us in the run of play for a month. "If we continue to play the soccer that we're playing and stay united like we are right now, I think we can make some noise in the tournament." Junior Luke Davis (11 goals, one assist), Ballard (10 goals, two assists), junior Eli Gaffney (four goals, eight assists) and sophomore Rylan Murphy (three goals, four assists) have been Harrison's point leaders this season. The Wildcats weren't bad against Loveland. They simply couldn't connect enough offensive dots to dent the scoreboard. "They have some really good players over there," Dunlap said. "We had to make sure that we planned for that. I felt like our defense did a really good job of containing their threats. "We do play a difficult schedule and this is the reason why. We took some lumps early in the season no doubt. We had injuries and things that we had to go through, but we pulled through that and that's a testament to these guys out here." Rohlfs scored with 13:05 left in the first half and then again with 4:32 remaining in the half. The Tigers thought they had gone up 1-0 a couple minutes before Rohlfs officially broke the ice, but the officials made a no-goal call when one of his shots bounced on the goal line. Rohlfs had another a high-quality chance to score with 9:27 left in the contest, but Carter blocked his penalty-kick shot. "I think that sent a little surge into us for a minute, then they were able to kind of stomp down the fire that it lit for us," McCurley said. Carter finished with 11 saves, and McCurley said Carter and Ballard might end up playing collegiately somewhere. Koehl said he's thinking about playing club soccer at the next level. Koehl and Carter were the Wildcats' senior captains, and Harper Wagner and Davis were the junior captains. McCurley said he beefed up Harrison's schedule this season to challenge his squad. "I thought there were moments where we were really, really good and then there were moments where we were really, really bad," McCurley said. "Inconsistency is what we struggled with this year. "When these guys are motivated, when they played with the effort they played with tonight, a lot of times that was good enough for us to execute and get the job done against some good teams. We had some good wins against Fairfield, Little Miami, Kings, and we also had some bad losses. "One thing I hope the underclassmen take away from this season is that it's not optional to show up and pick and choose the times we play with the standard that we have. It's required every night." McCurley believes the program has a solid foundation. "I think we've really established who we are and what our identity is and what our core values are," he said. "We did a lot of reflection after some bad losses this year. We spent some time in the classroom and not even coming out to the field. I think those learning moments will help carry us forward into next year and beyond." This was McCurley's second year as head coach. He was an assistant under Chris Johnson for two seasons before that. "This senior class is special to me because this is my first time seeing a class all the way through," McCurley said. "We've got some really special individuals that I know are going to go on and do some great things in life. I'm hoping soccer can just be part of their story, not the end of it."   [Read More]

By Rick Cassano WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP - Perseverance has been just as important as running ability for Mason Barnes. The Harrison High School senior has dealt with a series of physical ailments since last spring, but he's battled through the adversity to play a starring role for the Wildcats' boys cross country team this fall. "I feel like I'm pretty much back at full strength," Barnes said after leading Harrison to a seventh-place finish in the Division II district meet Saturday morning at Voice of America Park. "My faith in Jesus really helps me push through all the injuries and run fast." Barnes placed 13th individually on a day when all seven Wildcat runners posted personal-best times in the 5,000-meter race. The top nine teams qualified for the regional meet next Saturday in Troy, so Harrison will run at that level for the second straight year. The Wildcats took 13th place at the regional last season. Barnes checked in with a time of 16:22.8 on Saturday. Teammates that followed were senior Hayden Rogers (17th, 16:27.6), sophomore Luke Cruz (41st, 17:44.7), junior Owen Lanham (48th, 18:40.6), seniors Bennett Ahr (52nd, 18:56.8) and Antonio Lorta (59th, 19:21.2), and freshman Ryan Shank (64th, 19:37.9). "We were expecting to have a good day," Harrison coach Steve Barnes said. "We've had some ups and downs this season, so we weren't sure what was going to happen, but everybody went out and just killed it. Everybody ran a PR ... you don't have that too often. "Everybody competed really hard, so it was a great day. The kids really got after it and decided they were going to go to regionals today." It was a cool, clear morning for running at the district event, which included a reconfigured course at VOA. "It was a really good course and perfect weather," Rogers said. "I knew going into it that the course was going be a fast course, probably a PR course, and it was." "It was really nice," Mason Barnes said. "The course was pretty flat and super fast, probably the best course we've run on all year." Barnes said it was pretty enjoyable running normally without the injury bug hounding him. He missed track season last spring because of a stress fracture in his femur, then fell down the stairs carrying his Xbox at the end of May and suffered a foot injury that was eventually diagnosed as bone bruises. "We thought he had turf toe, but eight weeks later he still could barely walk on it, then we took him for an MRI," Steve Barnes said of his son. "He really didn't train all of June and July, and we found out it could take three to six months to heal. So it started to make sense why it hadn't healed, but we were kind of running out of time. "The next few weeks it got a little better and he started jogging on it. He just really got a late start. He's really been able to do the full training for about the last three weeks." Mason Barnes said he worked so hard trying to come back and get in shape that his back and hips started bothering him. But he kept fighting his way through it and has now started to find his groove. Barnes said he started and finished strong Saturday. "The last mile I had to grind it out a little bit, but I passed two people at the finish," said Barnes, noting that he set a personal record by around 30 seconds. Rogers said his time was 22 seconds better than his previous best effort. "I was definitely happy with what I was able to do," Rogers said. "It was great that the team qualified for regionals. That's exactly what my goal was at the beginning of the season." Coach Barnes said Harrison is a long shot to get to state as a team, but his son and Rogers have the ability to compete for state berths as individuals. "It looks like there's too many good teams ahead of us to make it as a team, but we can go up and compete and finish the season strong," Steve Barnes said. "Mason and Hayden are going to have to run really well, but they're possibly going to have a shot to make it out. "We've had some different injuries and things, but they really compete on meet day and that makes a difference. I feel like they'll continue to compete at regionals, so we'll see what happens." Added Rogers, "We can only just do our best and see where that takes us." Barnes placed 46th (17:17.5) and Rogers was 120th (19:07.5) in last season's regional meet. The Wildcat girls will also be running next weekend at Troy. They're in Division I this year, so they didn't have district competition and are automatically in the regional.   [Read More]

By Rick Cassano BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Faith Young is making an impact on the national volleyball scene. It's an exciting time for the 2024 Harrison High School graduate, who's now a junior middle hitter in the Western Kentucky University women's program. "Faith's been an absolute joy to coach," said WKU coach Travis Hudson, who's in his 32nd year at the helm and has taken his Hilltoppers to the NCAA Division I tournament 18 times. "I've been fortunate to coach a lot of really good ones here throughout my coaching career. I've coached kids with more athleticism, but I'm not sure I've ever coached a better volleyball player. "She has a very unique understanding of this game. I often say it looks like she's playing chess and everybody else is playing checkers. Now that we're in Year 3, she can almost finish my sentences." The 6-foot-1 Young ranks first in Conference USA and 11th nationally in hitting percentage (.430) this season. This comes after she was named to the CUSA All-Freshman squad as a collegiate rookie and first-team all-conference last year. Young said the sport of volleyball has been gripping her since she started playing in the second grade. "Honestly, I think I'm a volleyball junkie," Young said. "When I have time away, I take it, but my life surrounds volleyball. If I'm not playing, I'm watching other schools playing on TV." She sets a high bar for herself and Western Kentucky does the same as a program. The Hilltoppers are 14-6 this year and sit atop the CUSA standings with an 8-0 mark heading into home matches with Kennesaw State on Friday and Saturday. A lifelong Harrison resident, Young feels like she's found another home at WKU, which is located just off Interstate 65 between Louisville and Nashville. "I've just felt drawn to this place since I came on my first visit," said Young, speaking in the media room inside E.A. Diddle Arena after last Saturday's sweep of Middle Tennessee State. "I kind of had my mind made up about coming here after that visit. I'm close enough that I can get home if I need to. My parents come to every home game, which is amazing." Young has accumulated 194 kills for the Hilltoppers. The only teammate who has more is sophomore Kaira Knox (227). A team-leading 48 blocks (seven solos, 41 assists), 40 digs, 17 aces and 11 assists are also part of Young's statistical resume in 2026. "This season has been what I expected, but I also dealt with a lower ab injury early in the year, so that kind of limited me a little bit," Young said. "I'm definitely a lot healthier now. Our trainer Imani (Conner) is awesome. I wear a wrap for precaution, but I don't feel any pain." She's been playing in the middle since halfway through her freshman season after being recruited as an outside hitter. Young was an outside at Harrison, though she played a lot of middle at the club level. "We originally looked at her as an outside because we were concerned about her athleticism, her size," Hudson said. "Most middle hitters at this level are touching 10-4, 10-5, and are awfully, awfully physical. Faith's not quite touching 10 feet. But once I got her here and started spending time with her, I think she was just born to be a middle hitter. Her game translates there and defies whatever shortcoming there might be from an athletic standpoint. "We have a history here of a lot of really high-level middles. I was a middle hitter as a player, and I've coached a lot of All-American middles here. We run a very unique system here in terms of what we do offensively with middles. I knew she would be a perfect fit for what we did from an offensive standpoint. You just didn't know if it translated athletically or not. "After working with her for a full year, I just had a moment where I thought to myself, 'She can be a good outside hitter at this level or she can be a great middle hitter,' and that has certainly proven to be true." Young said the really positive thing about being a middle is that she's always being set up for success. "I feel like you get opportunities in perfect situations," Young said. "I feel like outsides and right sides get more out of system, so they're just trying to keep it in play a lot. With middles, it's just finish this play." Harrison coach Philip Deak said Young was "stupid athletic" during her days as a Wildcat. "There's not many girls that size who can move that way that have come through our programs around this area," Deak said. "I joke that she always made me look like I knew what I was doing as a head coach." Deak got a chance to see Young play this season when the Hilltoppers were in the Beavercreek Invitational at Wright State. He said it was actually a little emotional for him. "I won't lie -- I definitely got a little teary-eyed seeing her warm up and playing D-I volleyball," Deak said. "The whole Young family, they were definitely culture setters for us." Faith's sister Grace is a 2020 Harrison graduate who went on to have a successful volleyball career at Mount St. Joseph University. The siblings are just far enough part in age that they didn't get to play together as Wildcats, but Faith said her sister was the family member who stoked her love for volleyball at an early age. "I would go to her practices and just play around," Faith said. "She was really like my idol. I really wanted to be her." Their father Shawn was a high school soccer goalkeeper back in the day. Their mother Jill played soccer and basketball at Trine University. But volleyball found its way into Faith's heart. "I thought it was amazing how people were in the flow of the game," she said. "It could be long rallies, short rallies or serving. It's individualized, but it's also the team aspect. Everything really drew me into it." Young said she recalled talking to Xavier and Morehead State before committing to WKU. She said one thing that high school players need to understand is just the speed of the college game. Her decision to come to Western Kentucky was greatly influenced by Hudson. "One thing I remember is Travis saying that he was going to take care of me and treat me as his own," Young said. "That kind of made me fall in love with the place. Sometimes coaches see you as just players, but I really think Travis and the whole staff saw me as a person and then as a player. "I knew I wanted to continue playing after high school, even if it wasn't Division I. But as I grew my game and started getting reached out to, I was like wow, I really can do this." Young and Hudson both agree that the next step in her development as a player is improving her blocking. Her medium height as a middle makes execution even more vital. "There's no program we can put her in here that's going to have her touching 10-5, but every inch higher that she plays is going to help her close that gap," Hudson said. "She can start making up for some of that stuff with just her experience and understanding of how the game's flowing and putting herself in position to block more balls that way. "I literally would not trade Faith Young offensively for anybody in the country. Offensively, she is an All-American middle hitter right now. Blocking is where her game has to continue to grow if she's ever going to be recognized on a national level as an All-American because the blocking numbers are a big piece of how middle hitters are judged." Young said she's determined to sharpen her game with film study and on-court training. She's proud of being among the national leaders in hitting percentage. "I really think about not making dumb errors," she said. "I know to just take care of the ball if it's not there. If it is there, I just try to rip it. I've progressed a lot. For me, it's about being as physical as I can every time I'm up in the air." Young, who will turn 21 in February, believe she's become more of a vocal leader as her collegiate experience has increased. She said that really started last season. "I kind of realized we had a really young team ... if no one else could step up, I felt like it had to be me," Young said. "I took a different approach mentally by saying this team really needs someone they can count on. I just flipped that switch. If you would've asked anybody freshman year, I would've been quiet as a mouse. But as I've progressed, I've gotten a lot more talkative." Young has two more years of eligibility available and plans to use them. She's an excellent student who's major in sports psychology. She plans to get a master's degree and wants to be a pediatric occupational therapist someday. Sundays are generally off days during the season. Young said those days usually include church, homework "and just laying in bed." WKU has been in the NCAA tournament the last seven years and is primed to qualify again this season. "We always try to compete on a national scale to where even if we were to get upset in the conference tournament, we would still be an at-large," Hudson said. "We are probably in the best shape we've ever been in as a program. Our RPI this week is 21 in the country. "We are in an outstanding position to make a return to the NCAA tournament, then it's about advancing. We have a talented bunch around Faith and a really deep roster in terms of our offensive talent, so we feel if we continue to grow a little bit, we can do some things when we get there." The Hilltoppers have lost in the first round (to Marquette and Minnesota) the last two years, and WKU is 9-18 in NCAA tournament play since making its first appearance in 2002. The program hasn't had a losing season since 1997. "We've been dreaming big about going further," Young said. "We've been talking Sweet 16. We just need to keep grinding it out. We've seen spurts of being really good. We're trying to build it to the point where we're very consistent with that level of play." She still keeps track of how Harrison is performing. Young is excited that the Wildcats are 20-2 heading into the Division II postseason. She has a good friend (senior Maddie Ward) on the team. Young said the bond within her WKU squad is tight. She admitted it's difficult for most players to have friends outside of volleyball simply because they devote so much time to the sport. At Harrison, Young was a three-time Southwest Ohio Conference Player of the Year. She piled up 1,403 career kills as the Wildcats posted an 80-18 record in her four seasons. Deak said he'll keep watching wherever her career leads her. "She's just the sweetest, nicest kid, and she's one of the hardest workers we've had come through our gym," Deak said. "Faith can accomplish anything she wants."   [Read More]