The Ohio High School Athletic Association state playoffs begin Monday, Oct. 19, and it's no secret that Greater Cincinnati is annually littered with some of the top talents in the state. Here are some of the top players and teams to watch out for heading into playoff action.
In July, The Enquirer ran down some of the top volleyball players to watch heading into the season. Here's how the players on our list performed during the regular season.
Carly Hendrickson, Mount Notre Dame — The junior leads the Girls Greater Catholic League in kills (391), helping lead MND to a 16-2 record. Hendrickson, who is also fourth in aces (28), is closing in on 1,000 career kills.
Cammy Niesen, Roger Bacon — The junior leads the Greater Catholic League Coed in digs (423) and digs-per-set (5.79). She's also tied for fourth with 39 aces.
Hailey Green, Ursuline — The senior is fifth in the GGCL in kills (183) and is second in blocks (72).
Jules Fink, Kings — The senior is third in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference in kills (290) and first in blocks (114).
Emma Grome, St. Ursula —The senior is fourth in the GGCL in kills (253) with 129 digs, 16 aces and 16 blocks.
Julie Wittekind, Turpin — The senior has 256 digs and is ninth in the ECC in kills (199) and aces (38).
Megan Wielonski, Mount Notre Dame — The senior leads the GGCL in assists (706) and was second in aces (47) and blocks (36).
Caroline Clippard, Mercy McAuley — The senior is third in the GGCL in kills (269) with 18 aces and 95 digs.
Julia Marr, Seton — The senior is second in the GGCL in kills (340) and eighth in digs (150) and 27 blocks.
Katelyn Grimes, CHCA — The senior is fourth in the Miami Valley Conference in kills (171), third in aces (81) and fourth in digs (227).
Rylie Wichmann, CHCA — The senior is second in the MVC in kills (188), eighth in aces (60) and third in digs (228).
Here are some athletes The Enquirer didn't list in its top players to watch (or only listed in honorable mention) that have had excellent seasons this fall.
Sydney Hilderbran, Lakota West — The senior leads the GMC in kills (214)
Kelsey Niesen, Roger Bacon — The freshman is second in the GCL Co-ed in kills (189) with 286 digs.
Emily Morgan, Milford — The junior leads the ECC in digs (364).
Ally Cordes, Wyoming — The sophomore leads the Cincinnati Hills League in kills (406) and is fifth in blocks (48).
Carly Scott, Madeira — The senior is second in the CHL in kills (248), first in aces (64), fifth in assists (308) and third in blocks (60).
Cadin Reveal, Clinton-Massie — The senior is second in the Southern Buckeye Conference in kills (352), second in blocks (76) and fourth in digs (324).
Mya White, Lebanon — The freshman leads the ECC in kills (376).
Riley Broughton, Oak Hills — The junior is the GMC's assists leader with 592.
Tessa Jones, Seton — The junior is third in the GGCL in blocks (43) and leads the conference in aces (49).
Ninah Miranda, Lebanon — The sophomore is second in the ECC in kills with 299.
Lucy Banks, Harrison — The senior is second in the SWOC in kills (212) and aces (57).
Katie Schwarber, Lakota West — The junior leads the GMC in digs with 323.
Kate Hafer, Fenwick — The junior is the kills leader in the GCL Coed with 215.
Paige Fisher, Williamsburg — The senior is the SBAAC kills leader with 369.
Maria Massa, McNicholas — The sophomore is the GCL Co-ed's blocks leader with 78.
Lucy Cluxton, Seton — The senior is sixth in the GGCL in kills (175) and digs (173).
Which teams can make a run through the district and regional brackets? Here are a few:
Seton (No. 1 seed) — Went 16-1 and won the GGCL for the first time since 1997. The Saints haven't lost since Sept. 8.
Lebanon (No. 1) — Warriors went 19-3 overall and 16-0 against ECC foes. All 3 of Lebanon's losses came against GGCL opponents.
Ursuline (No. 3) — The Lions won back-to-back state championships in 2017 and 2018. Ursuline went 15-4 overall and won eight of nine in October.
Kings (No. 8) — Finished third in the ECC at 17-5 overall. Kings went 13-2 following a 4-3 start.
Lakota West (No. 10) — Went 13-9 overall, but finished 8-1 against the GMC.
Mount Notre Dame (No. 2) — Cougars won a regional championship last year. MND went 16-2, splitting its regular-season series with Ursuline and Seton, resulting in a second-place finish in the GGCL.
Mason (No. 7) — The Comets lost their first two regular-season games and their last three but swept GMC foes (9-0) to claim a conference crown.
Colerain (No. 17) — The Cardinals led the GMC in wins with 14, their most since 2007.
Milford (No. 9) — Went 15-7 and was one of four clubs in the ECC with double-digit conference victories.
Mercy McAuley (No. 5) — Went 8-9 overall, but 8-1 outside of the GGCL. The Wolves took Mount Notre Dame and Seton to five sets.
Turpin (No. 6) — Spartans enter postseason play riding a nine-game win streak. Turpin went 18-4 overall and 14-2 against the ECC (both losses to top-seeded Lebanon).
Summit Country Day (No. 4 seed) — Went 13-7 overall and 6-3 in the MVC for second place in the Scarlet Division.
Taylor (No. 3) — Beat Wyoming for the first time since 2009. Yellowjackets finished as the CHL runner-up and have won 10 consecutive first-round playoff games.
Fenwick (No. 1) — Fenwick won a Division II state championship last season. Went 13-7 and tied Roger Bacon for the GCL Coed championship.
Badin (No. 2) — Badin went 17-5 and 10-0 outside of the GCL Coed.
Wyoming (No. 2) — Despite losing its 11-year CHL win streak, Wyoming still won the conference outright at 17-5 (13-1).
Indian Hill (No. 5) — Finished fourth in the CHL at 13-8. Braves went 9-5 against CHL foes.
Roger Bacon (No. 1) — Spartans split the GCL Coed title with Fenwick. Roger Bacon is 66-9 since 2017.
Madeira (No. 3 seed) — One of three CHL clubs with double-digit conference victories and won three straight to end the regular season.
McNicholas (No. 5) — Went 6-6 against the GCL Coed gauntlet.
Williamsburg (No. 2) — Williamsburg hasn't lost an SBAAC contest since Sept. 25, 2014. The Wildcats went 20-1 with their only loss coming to CHCA.
CHCA (No. 1) — CHCA won a regional championship in 2019. The Eagles went 15-7 overall and 10-0 against the MVC.
