Assumption is one of the three Louisville, Ky. schools that have developed into volleyball powerhouses. Coach Ron Kordes has been there 23 years and has seen the area blossom as a national powerhouse.
Photo by Jann Hendry
The websites for three Louisville parochial all-girls Catholic schools read more like an Ivy League scorecard than small private high schools in Kentucky.
• Assumption High School is one of only 41 schools in the nation and the only all-girls school in Louisville to be named a U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon School of Excellence three times.
• Sacred Heart Academy, founded in Louisville in 1877, has had 320 National Merit finalists in its nearly 140-year history.
• Our Lady of Mercy Academy boasts that 98 percent of its graduates move onto post-secondary education.
Test scores for all three schools average 15 to 20 percent above national averages.
From an academic perspective, all three rank among the most prestigious and successful academic high schools in the country. They also occupy the top three spots in Kentucky prep volleyball rankings. Year-in and year out, the rankings are almost interchangeable.
Sacred Heart has had plenty tocheer about, as it owns morestate titles than any other schoolin Kentucky.
Photo by Jann Hendry
, ranked No. 1 yet again in Kentucky, has 15 state volleyball titles to its credit and is the reigning state champion.
Mercy, ranked No. 3, lost to Assumption in the state finals in 2010 after winning state titles in 2008 and 2009.
Sacred Heart is ranked No. 2 after recently defeating Mercy and has more sports titles than any other prep athletic program in Kentucky.
No, wait, Mercy is ranked No. 2 after defeating Sacred Heart Oct. 7. That win gave Todd Garvey a 16-4 edge over his older brother, Eric Garvey, coach at SH.
Between Assumption coach Ron Kordes and the Garvey brothers, they own too many Coach of Year honors to list here. Those honors range from district to National Coach of the Year recognition.
Combined, the three schools have defeated teams from 16 different states this season. Earlier this season, Assumption became the first non-California team to
win the prestigious Durango Tournament in Las Vegas.
On Oct. 5, Assumption (33-1) had to dig deep to beat rival Mercy, 3-2. Earlier this season, Assumption beat Mercy 3-1. Sacred Heart (26-5) has lost twice to Assumption this season and has defeated Mercy twice, most recently Oct. 6. Then on Oct. 7, Mercy avenged an earlier loss to Sacred Heart.
According to Maxpreps, Assumption is ranked No. 3 in the nation, Sacred Heart 28th and Mercy is ranked 128th.
On Oct. 10, Assumption defeated Sacred Heart, 2-0, as both teams move on to next week's regionals. Mercy won the District 21 title to advance as well.
So what's going on Louisville? Why does it appear to be the hotbed of volleyball powers?
Mercy coach Todd Garvey says the "athletes (at the three aforementioned parochial schools) are overachievers, both in the classroom and on the court."
Mercy has been a state finalist ineach of the last three seasons.
Photo by Daniel Hyravy
In his 23 years, Assumption's Ron Kordes has sent more than 80 players to college courts. He also says he's only had one academic issue.
"I'd concur with that academic assessment," said Kordes, who has more than 900 wins, a 95 percent winning percentage and his home court named in his honor.
In Todd Garvey's five seasons, all 19 of his seniors have received Division-I or D-II scholarships. His lone senior this year is Tennessee-Martin bound
Amanda Crask, a 5-foot-8 left-handed outside hitter and setter.
Garvey, who has a 175-15 won-loss record, also says "no one in the United States works harder than we do (in Kentucky). It's our passion and love of the game that drives us. We – players and coaches – share this desire to succeed."
He also is quick to credit a plethora of good youth club volleyball coaches. Kordes supports that "feeder" system.
Todd Garvey, who has coached club ball in the Mid-American Volleyball Association (MAVA) for nine years, says volleyball players in Louisville start taking the game seriously at age 6, then begin travel ball at ages 7 and 8, thus developing their skills at a very young age.
"By the time they get to us, they've played competitively for six or seven years," said Kordes, founder and owner of the Ohio Valley Volleyball Association. He points out that two or three of those six or seven years could be national-level junior play.
"We're really blessed in this area," said Kordes. "Traditions have been established. The top players want to come to these schools."
Todd Garvey coaches many of his high school players in club, another reason Mercy has won a dozen-straight regional titles. Brother Eric does the same with the Union Volleyball Club. And Kordes is the key to the success of KIVA (Kentucky-Indiana Volleyball Association).
Each year, through their club contacts, the Garveys and Kordes play more challenging schedules.
"We schedule teams from out of state to play the best competition we can find," said Kordes. "Playing a tough schedule and having been somewhat successful doing so has provided a lot of respect and opportunities for our high schools and club programs in Kentucky."
So, you have academics, feeder programs, strong club programs, traditions and rivalries keying Louisville's rise to prominence among the country's prep volleyball regions. Anything else keying Louisville's prep volleyball success?
Kordes says good old-fashioned discipline plays a big part, too.
"The kids know to expect hard work and expectations of a high level of competition," said Kordes. "It's not anything we planned, it's just something we've been able to establish mentally over the years."
Kordes has been successful at both the high school and junior levels for numerous years. Imagine losing six starters from a state title team and finding yourself 34-1 a year later.
At the end of the 2011 season, the number of Kordes-coached players earning college scholarships will top 90. This year's list includes five seniors who have already committed, including
Katie George (Louisville) and
Chelsea Bowles (Tennessee-Martin). Two juniors have also committed:
London Ackerman (Georgia Tech) and
Kaelin Grimes (Western Kentucky).
"I tell you what, this team probably has as much chemistry as we've had in a long time," said Kordes. "Things have been so smooth (this season) and there's been no drama or whatever, and I attribute that to those five (seniors). Your seniors are either going to cause it or enable it, and they've been great. They've shown great leadership. I can't say any more about them."
Sounds like some pretty academic volleyball players who got an early start and enjoy the competitive nature of rivalries, tradition, competition and hard work. And good old-fashioned discipline.
