Beechwood rallied from a first-set loss to defeat St. Henry 23-25, 25-12, 25-18 on Aug. 27, claiming back-to-back Ninth Region All 'A' volleyball championships at The Den in Fort Mitchell.

The Tigers, seeded No. 13, trailed the No. 6 Crusaders after a tight opening set but controlled the final two frames with aggressive serving from three young players. Freshmen Kennedy Sturgeon and Emma Harris and eighth-grader Payce Adams combined for 11 service aces as Beechwood finished with 14 aces and just four errors.

"Last year, St. Henry wasn't in (the tournament), so it seemed like maybe it was a little easier. They made it tough for us. We earned it," head coach Matt Long told the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Senior Isabel O'Brien earned tournament MVP honors. The six-rotation player leads the team in kills and aces this season.

The title is the program's second straight regional crown. Beechwood won its first All 'A' state championship in 2025 without dropping a set, finishing 33-6 with the most wins in school history at the time.

How the match unfolded

Sturgeon staked Beechwood to a 5-1 lead early in the first set. Neither team led by more than three points after that, and St. Henry took the opener 25-23 behind Violet Main, Stella Flick and Kayleigh McCormack.

The Tigers answered with a 25-12 rout in the second set. In the third, Beechwood built a 15-9 lead before St. Henry coach Maureen Kaiser called a timeout. The Crusaders rallied to within 18-17 behind defensive play from Kenadi Sieg and Audrey Pieczonka.

Beechwood closed on a 7-1 run. Macy Armstrong's final kill ended the match as students in a coordinated "white out" stormed the floor.

Seniors power the attack

Senior setter Skylr Estep adjusted the offense when pin hitters struggled against St. Henry's defense, feeding the ball to Armstrong and Rachel Lewandowski through the middle. The two seniors combined for 19 kills and three blocks.

"I tell my setter, 'If they're ready, set them the ball' because we know that (O'Brien) is going to get her touches, but we want to make sure that we are in a system that we're getting the ball to our middle," Long said.

O'Brien praised the younger players who stepped into expanded roles this season.

"They've done so amazing … for them to step into these big roles in positions that we really needed, they've been doing amazing," O'Brien said.

What's next

Beechwood returns to regular-season play Aug. 29, against No. 7 Lexington Catholic, followed by matches with Walton-Verona, Holy Cross, Boone County and Scott.

The All 'A' state tournament is Sept. 18 and 19 at the Owensboro Sportscenter. Beechwood enters pool play against the champions from Regions 1, 8 and 11. The top two teams in each pool advance to an eight-team bracket on the second day.

The Ninth Region champion has finished as state champion or runner-up in all but two years since the tournament began in 2009.