A Decade of Dominance

The 51st District and 14th Region volleyball tournaments ended with much the same results as the last nine years. A team from Letcher County was crowned champion at each of these events this season.

The Letcher Central Lady Cougars beat Cordia 2-0 and Jenkins 2-0 to win the 51st District title, then roared past Owsley County 2-0 and Leslie County 2-0 to take the 14th Region crown again. This marked the tenth consecutive year that a team from Letcher County has won the 14th region championship. Letcher High School under Coach Betty Vaughn Caudill won in 2000, 2001, and 2002, Whitesburg High School under Coach Keith Baker won in 2003 and 2004, and Letcher Central won in 2005, 2006,and 2007 under Betty Vaughn Caudill, and in 2008 and 2009 under Dickie Adams. That’s ten straight years; and counting.

LCC will lose seniors Victoria Halcomb, Brittany Sexton, Sierra Bates, and Katey Mynster to graduation this spring. But they will return seven starters, juniors Lisa Frazier and Myrika Begley, along with sophomores Erica Meade, Kristin Blair, Sierra Dixon, Janetta Dixon and freshman Ari Nichols. So in spite of losing several key players to graduation, the Lady Cougars should be back in the hunt next year to continue their 14th region dominance.

The Lady Cougars finished their 2009 season Friday, Oct. 30th, at Northern Kentucky University. They lost to Paul Lawrence Dunbar High out of Lexington 2-0 in the first round of the KHSAA Sweet Sixteen State Tournament. This loss brought an quick end to one of the most decorated seasons in LCC history. The Lady Cougars varsity finished their season with a record of 34 wins and only 3 losses. The JV team finished 15-1 and the freshmen team finished 11-0. The group of seniors finished their careers at LCC with 112 wins and 20 losses, 4 district titles, 4 region titles, 4 trips to KHSAA state tournament, and numerous other titles, trophies, and accomplishments.

Chosen for All District honors were Victoria Halcomb, Sierra Bates, Lisa Frazier, and Janetta Dixon. All region performers included Lisa Frazier, Erica Meade, Janetta Dixon and MVP-Victoria Halcomb. Victoria Halcomb was also chosen by the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association as the 14th Region Player of the Year and received her award at the KHSAA State Tournament on Saturday night. More honors should follow in the coming weeks as volleyball all star teams are chosen.