By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Four years ago, Brossart made its debut in the postseason state volleyball tournament after winning the 10th Region championship with a team that had mostly underclassmen on the roster.
This season, the Mustangs will have several senior veterans in the lineup and coach Danielle French expects them to be title contenders once again in a region dominated by teams from larger schools.
“This senior class that I have this year has always been very athletic and aggressive and ready to go out there and win games,” French said. “They all know their role and … working hard in practice is just going to help us play better when it comes to game time.”
Brossart’s returning seniors include setter Aubrey Rebholz, a fifth-year starter with more than 2,300 career assists, and 6-foot-2 middle blocker Callie Ritter, the team leader in kills (335) and blocks (181) last season when the Mustangs posted a 24-11 record.
In the final statewide stats on khsaa.org, Ritter was No. 1 in blocks per set (1.97) and Rebholz was No. 5 in assists per set (10.0).
“We rely on her at the net when she’s in because that helps take the pressure off our defense and makes everybody’s job a little easier,” French said of Ritter’s blocking ability.
The senior’s scoring at the net is equally important to the Mustangs, but Ritter said blocking is what she enjoys most. The 181 rejections she tallied last year more than doubled the 78 she had as a sophomore.
“Honestly, I don’t really have a secret,” she said. “I just practice a lot is the biggest thing. I’m very confident in my blocking, so that helps a lot.”
Ritter played club volleyball for NKYVC Tide this summer. The team qualified for the USA Volleyball 17-under national tournament and won six of 10 matches. She hasn’t received a college scholarship offer, but recruiters have contacted her.
“I think this (high school) season will be very important because it’s my last year,” she said. “I do have one more year of club, so if I don’t get recruited during the high school season I could still get recruited during club season.”
Getting to the postseason state tournament as the 10th Region champion is the main goal for Ritter, Rebholz and their Brossart teammates for the 2026 high school season that begins Aug. 17.
“They’re all aware of the possibilities that could be on our horizon this season,” coach French said. “They all know we have a very, very strong chance of doing very well this year.”
Ritter was named second-team all-state by the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association last season. One of the returning first-team all-state nominees is Conner outside hitter Charlotte Patton, who finished 15th in kills per set (4.91) in last year’s statewide statistics.
The other returning local players named second-team all-state were Beechwood outside hitter Isabel O’Brien and St. Henry libero Kenadi Sieg. The honorable mention list included Beechwood setter Skylar Estep and Notre Dame outside hitter Teagan Kondik.
Sieg and Kondik have both made commitments with the University of Cincinnati. O’Brien was recruited by Bellarmine University in Louisville and Estep will go to University of Virginia-Wise that competes on the NCAA Division II level.