Region volleyball draws set in 16th, 15th
Oct. 21—ASHLAND — Three of the top four teams in the 16th Region Tournament field populate one side of the bracket drawn Friday.
The other — big on-paper favorite Boyd County — looms on the other.
Rowan County (22-12) and host Ashland (29-8) start off the region tournament on Monday at 6 p.m. at Anderson Gym.
The Volleycats topped the Valkyries, 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-20) on Sept. 8 in Ashland.
That's followed by Raceland (25-10) against West Carter (8-19).
The Rams own three sweeps over the Comets this year — 2-0 (25-10, 25-16) on Aug. 20 in the 16th Region All "A" Classic at Rose Hill Christian, 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-17) Aug. 30 in Olive Hill and 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-13) Sept. 27 in Raceland.
Defending region champion Boyd County (33-4) opposes Lewis County (18-12) in Tuesday's first quarterfinal at 6 p.m. The two Lions sides have not met this season.
Boyd County carries a 35-match region win streak covering two seasons in contests completed on the floor into the tournament. The Lions have won 47 of 48 sets they've played this year against region competition.
East Carter (22-13) and Fleming County (21-12) wrap up first-round action on Tuesday night.
The Panthers have twice topped the Raiders, 3-1 (25-22, 17-25, 25-21, 25-22) on Aug. 23 in Flemingsburg, and 3-1 (25-17, 16-25, 25-20, 25-19) on Sept. 27 in Grayson.
The semifinals, matching Monday's winners against each other as well as Tuesday's victors, are Wednesday beginning at 6 p.m. The championship match is Thursday at 7.
In the 15th Region Tournament at Floyd Central, Paintsville (35-2) and Pikeville (17-11) will have their fifth region tournament encounter in six years on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Tigers have won each of the last four.
Paintsville owns two victories in the small-school archrivalry this season. It beat Pikeville 3-0 (25-11, 25-5, 25-13) on Aug. 18 in Paintsville and won 2-0 (25-14, 25-15) on Sept. 6 in the region All "A" semifinals at Prestonsburg.
The winner of that match gets the victor of Betsy Layne (17-12) and Phelps (7-12) in Wednesday's semifinals.
Johnson Central (20-15) and Shelby Valley (23-5) open the tournament Monday with perhaps the premier quarterfinal. The Golden Eagles and Wildcats haven't met this season.
Belfry (10-12) and host Floyd Central (22-10) play in the second match on Monday.
The championship is Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
