2008 Volleyball

The Mercy Jaguars took top honors as the best team in the district, region, state and (in some publications) nation--a clean sweep for the team that registered just one loss this season. Coach Todd Garvey was named the UnderArmour All-American National Coach of the year and his sister Casey Garvey was named to the 2008 UnderArmour All-American Team (only 24 high school seniors in the nation are chosen).

Other teams garnering national attention included Assumption, who finished the season with a #16 ranking nationally, and earned the #2 ranking in the state according to the MaxPreps.com state poll. State tournament runner-up Sacred Heart finished #3 in the state in the same poll and seven of the state's top 25 teams were from Jefferson County. Public schools duPont Manual at #5, Eastern at #9 and Ballard at #14 have taken giant steps towards closing the talent gaps between them and the "Big Three," Mercy, Assumption and Sacred Heart. They are inching closer to earning one of those big upsets in the district, region or state tournaments.

On the club side, Louisville was privileged to host the inaugural Junior Volleyball Directors Association Championship club team tournament this summer. Nearly 500 teams from across the nation, Puerto Rico and Japan assembled at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center to play in 12 divisions. Kentucky teams claimed 5 of those division championships.

Take Louisville's abundance of talent, add some of the top coaching in the country and it all adds up to one of the deepest, most competitive and respected volleyball regions in America. You have to be really good to win here.