By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Northern Kentucky will have two teams playing in the state volleyball tournament once again this year, but one of them will be making its debut in the season finale that begins Monday with first-round matches at multiple sites.
Brossart defeated Scott, 25-15, 25-20, 21-25, 25-19, in the 10th Region championship match on Thursday to earn a berth in the state tournament for the first time in program history under head coach Bree Velazquez.

Notre Dame won the 9th Region title match against Ryle, 25-9, 25-20, 25-16, on Thursday. The Pandas have reached the state tournament final 21 times in 35 appearances and own nine championship trophies.
This is the 20th year that the state volleyball tournament will include 16 region champions from across the state. Notre Dame has now won the 9th Region championship 13 times in 20 years.
In the first set of Thursday’s region final, the Pandas took an early 9-2 lead and won it 25-9 on a kill by senior Peyton Mast.
After winning the second set, 25-20, Notre Dame fell behind in the third before tying it 15-15 and went on to win it, 26-16, on a kill by senior Sydney Nolan.
Notre Dame senior libero Kamden Schrand was named most valuable player on the region all-tournament team that included three of her teammates — Mast, Nolan and sophomore Ella Goetz.
Notre Dame coach Leslie Litmer and her team will take a 30-9 record into the state tournament and play 15th Region champion Paintsville (37-2) in a first-round game at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Paintsville.

The 10th Region tournament has been won by a Northern Kentucky team every year except 2021 when Montgomery County defeated Campbell County, 3-1, in the final.
Brossart did not qualify for last year’s region tournament, but the Mustangs took the title on Thursday with their second win over Scott during a 5-0 playoff run.
Brossart sophomore middle blocker Corrine Blackburn was named the region tournament’s most valuable player after the region championship match. She had team-high totals of 12 kills and four blocks in four sets. The other Mustangs on the all-tournament team were juniors Maddy Kremer and Payton Parker and sophomore Kate Neltner, who had nine kills, 14 digs and three blocks.
Brossart will take a 27-13 record into its state tournament debut at 16th Region champion Boyd County (36-4) at 7 p.m. Monday. The Lions have won their last 10 matches without losing a set.
Based on enrollments used to classify schools in girls cross country, Brossart is one of four Class 1A teams in the state volleyball tournament bracket along with Owensboro Catholic, Wolfe County and Paintsville.
Flurry of goals in second half carries Dunbar to 4-1 win over Ryle
The Ryle boys soccer team had a 1-0 lead going into the second half of its match against defending state champion Lexington Dunbar in Thursday’s state semifinals at Fredrick Douglass High School.
But the Raiders’ hopes of pulling off an upset vanished when Dunbar scored three goals in the first 20 minutes of the second half and the Bulldogs went on to post a 4-1 victory.
Ryle’s lone goal came with 2:08 remaining in the first half when junior Diego Hoenderkamp ripped a ball into the net off an assist by freshman Brice Denigan. They were two of the eight underclassmen in the Raiders’ starting lineup.
Dunbar tied the score on an unassisted goal by junior Kasen Johnstone less than 10 minutes into the second half. Over the next 10 minutes, the Bulldogs took a 3-1 lead on goals by senior Antonio Blackman and Johnstone, who had scored only three goals in 22 previous games.
With eight minutes remaining, sophomore Chaz Rich got the final goal for the Bulldogs, who will take an 18-2-3 record into Saturday’s state championship game against Louisville St. Xavier (23-1-3). Ryle ended the season with a 19-5-2 record.
Dunbar finished with a 12-9 advantage in shots. Ryle junior goalkeeper Landon Barth was credited with five saves. Barth and senior defender Aiden Byrd were the Raiders named to the state all-tournament team.