What Assumption and Mercy Academy Revealed in Kentucky Volleyball Showdown

The nationally ranked Rockets powered past rival Mercy Academy, in a match-up of state-ranked rivals, behind composure, depth and a late-set rally that showcased championship poise.

Assumption outside hitter Brooke Codey prepares to serve the ball last Thursday in a match against Louisville rival Mercy Academy. Assumption (ranked 9th nationally) prevailed in the contest, but these teams should meet again in the state tournament. / Chris Adams

LOUISVILLE, Ky—A prolonged rally in the third set last Thursday evening told us, or reminded us, of some things about the Assumption High School and Mercy Academy volleyball teams.

The Assumption Rockets (28-4), ranked 9th in the country in the High School on SI Top 25 Girls Volleyball National Rankings and first in Kentucky, by the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association, took three out of four sets from the Jaguars (23-10), ranked third in Kentucky, further solidifying their place in the state’s top spot.

A Rally That Defined the Match

The 12-volley sequence in that third set was an indicator that either team can prevail on any given evening.

Well, almost.

The primary difference between the teams appeared to be who became mired the longest in lulls caused by error-laden segments or long rallies.

Assumption’s Composure Shines Through

The match demonstrated that Assumption is somewhat immune to becoming rattled, and it controls the ball well. With things tied at 1-1 and behind early in the third set, the Rockets won the extended volley sequence and secured the set, 25-14. Assumption recently played in the Asics Challenge in Chicago and were down against Windy City high school Mother McAuley, ranked 21st in the USA TODAY Sports/AVCA poll, before digging out a 31-29 second-set win and eventually claiming the tournament championship.

“Actually, all year long we've been responding pretty well after losing a set,” said Assumption coach Ron Kordes. “We won that challenge (Asics) this past week. Beat McAuley twice after losing the first set and coming back and narrowly winning the second, and then kind of rolling out in the third. It's a good attribute for a team to be able to do that.”

Codey Leads Balanced Attack

Assumption sophomore outside hitter Brooke Codey echoed Kordes’ sentiments and more.

“I feel like we came out more fiery in the last two sets than the first two sets,” she said. “We made a lot of errors in those sets…I think whenever we do get down, we start to dial back the talking a little bit,” she explained. “So I think that's just what we need to work on, on our part. But if we're down by like two points, we find a way to come back.”

A third factor is that nearly any starting Assumption player can step up and get the job done. Codey flipped the kill auto-pilot switch in the third and fourth sets, dominating the action. She didn’t even lead the Rockets in kills heading into the match, though her kill percentage is above 4.0.

Mercy Shows Fight Despite Setback

For Mercy Academy, it’s obvious they come to play with a “never-give-up” attitude. But a controversial call in that third-set rally took a toll and also revealed a mental weakness the Jaguars must overcome.

“That kind of broke our spirit and broke our back a little bit,” said Mercy Academy coach Connie Hulsmeyer. “That's another thing we kind of talked about after the match. We need to be able to bounce back from those things, especially when there's some controversy and a little bit of adversity, to just go, ‘We have to move on.’ We've talked about that all season. Once the play is done, you have to move on. You can't let it affect the next play.”

Rivalry Lessons Before Postseason Clash

The Jaguars seemed to attack the right side of the Assumption defense and found open space on several occasions, but missed the target wide several times. However, they did not abandon the strategy and continued with it. Mercy battled for that second-set victory (25-23), flatlined a bit after the mammoth rally, but reset and began to find themselves again in the final set, before falling to the Rockets 25-20. Basically, the resilience and determination of the 2025 Jaguars — characteristics of any edition of a Mercy volleyball team — were evident and confirmed Thursday. It’s just overcoming immediate adversity that will require some work before these programs lock up in the postseason.