Northern Kentucky volleyball coaches announce their all-region teams

The Northern Kentucky Girls Volleyball Coaches Association (NKGVCA)  released its All-Opponent awards for the 2021 season Wednesday night.

The association splits Northern Kentucky into three classes for its awards to mirror the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference alignment.

The association named three players of the year in Ryle senior Lucy Trump (Division 1), St. Henry senior Taylor Preston (Division 2) and Lloyd Memorial senior Jalyn Ballman (Division 3).

The coaches of the year are Ryle’s Tasha Lovins (D1), St. Henry’s Maureen Kaiser (D2) and Villa Madonna’s Sandi Kitchen (D3).

Kaiser and Preston led the Crusaders to the KHSAA state championship earlier this month, the second in a row by a Northern Kentucky and St. Henry’s second all-time, first since 1981.

St. Henry finished 36-8 overall and won its third state championship all-time in a non-classified sport after winning in girls soccer in 2010.

Preston, a University of Oklahoma signee, had 67 kills in 10 sets in the three state tournament matches. She stepped it up in the state semis and final, posting 27 kills and hitting .302 against Sacred Heart, and knocking down 25 kills with only four errors in 44 attempts (.477 average) against Mercy.

She was named MVP of the state tournament and the Ninth Region Tournament.

For the season, she had 460 kills and 42 blocks, finishing her career with more than 1,300 kills and 250 blocks.

Kaiser, St. Henry’s longtime head coach, directed her team to a Ninth Region final win over Notre Dame and then wins over two Louisville powers, Sacred Heart and Mercy, on the final day of the tournament.

Lovins and Trump led Ryle to a 28-9 record, 33rd District championship before losing to Notre Dame in the 9th Region semifinals.

Trump, who has signed with Notre Dame, was named Ms. Volleyball in Kentucky by the state coaches association.