Current assistant coach Elizabeth King has been named head coach for the Lady Bomber varsity volleyball team.  She will be the fifth coach in the program’s history since 2002, following the resignation of 15-year coach Adam Solomon.

King has taught at Ballard County Middle School and served as an assistant in the program for the past three seasons, playing a key role in the team’s All A Regional championships in 2020 and 2021, and a Region 1 Runner-up finish in 2021.

King said her goals for the program include building connections with players that continue beyond their graduation from BMHS, and continuing to create success for players at all levels in the volleyball program.

She is a 2015 graduate of BMHS, where she began her career as a varsity starter while in eighth grade. The 2012 and 2014 squads won the first two All A Regional championships in program history, finished as Region 1 Runners-up, and won three District championships.

During her playing career, King became the first-ever Lady Bomber to enter the 1,000-Kill Club. She was a 3-year member of the All-District team and a 2-year member of the All-Region. As a senior, she also was recognized by the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association as a member of the First Team All State.

“With the combination of her stellar performance as a player and as part of the coaching staff during the success of the last three seasons, we feel that our program is being placed into very capable hands,” said Ballard Athletic Director R.B. Mays.

“She has Bomber blood in her, and we believe she will work well in our community.  We are confident that she will focus on growing fundamental skills in our players, from little league through high school, holding players to high standards of accountability, and continuing our tradition of competitiveness and success,” he added.

The new Lady Bomber Coach is married to Justin King, a 2014 BMHS graduate.    

After an incredible season that included a second-straight Region 1 All A championship, a 3rd district championship, and a run to the regional finals, the Lady Bombers season ended on October 28 when the McCracken County Lady Mustangs defeated BMHS 3-0 to win their 9th straight title without losing a set in tournament play.

After earning the right to host the Region 1 tournament in the Green Palace by virtue of winning the 3rd District championship, the Lady Bombers rolled through the first round with a 25-15, 25-9, 25-8 win over the Hickman County Lady Falcons.  In the semi-finals, BMHS faced the Lady Marshals of Marshall County with whom they had split two 3-2 contests earlier in the season. Ballard's ladies played one of their strongest matches of the season and defeated the Lady Marshals 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, and 25-14).

With a packed gymnasium and a raucous environment, the Lady Bombers entered the finals with hopes of finally breaking through the barrier against the Lady Mustangs, who had lost a set to Marshall County in a regular season match earlier in the year.  Despite competitive sets, BMHS fell in the first two sets 25-17 and 25-18 and were deflated, leading to a more lop-sided 25-13 loss in the final set.

The Lady Bombers ended their season with a 32-6 record.

The BMHS Lady Bombers repeated as 3rd district champs by defeating Graves County 3-0 in the championship game of the tournament held at Mayfield on October 19. Coach Adam Solomon's crew earned the first round bye by virtue of winning all four district regular season games, so they faced the Lady Eagles in the second game of the night after Graves' ladies defeated Mayfield in the semi-finals.

Though Ballard had difficulty getting rolling in the match - trailing much of the first set - they were able to squeak out a 25-23 win.  The Lady Bombers steadied the ship for the second set and won convincingly 25-15, setting up the 25-19 match clinching win in the 3rd set.

The winner of the 3rd District was designated as the host site for the Region 1 volleyball tournament, and the Lady Bombers will play host to the tournament October 25-28.

With the Lady Bombers second consecutive Region 1 All A title, they will advance to the state tournament at Richmond to be played on September 17 & 18.  Pool play begins on Friday at 6 PM EDT in the EKU McBrayer Arena, with championship and consolation brackets beginning play at 11 AM on Saturday.  The Lady Bombers are in the bracket with Region 2 champion Caldwell County (8-5), Region 11 champion Sayre (14-2), and Region 12 champion Somerset Christian (10-5).  The top two teams in the pool play advance to the championship bracket, while the 3rd & 4th place teams move to the consolation practice.

The pool play schedule can be found at:

https://www.allaclassic.org/Volleyball/2021/2021%20Statewide%20Pool%20Play%20Schedule.pdf

Currently, there are no seating limitations, but all ticket sales will be conducted on-line through www.allaclassic.org

The Lady Bombers played with a mission in mind - repeat as the All A Region 1 Champions. After five shutout wins over five different Region 1 opponents at the regional tournament held at the Paducah Convention Center on Saturday, September 11, the BMHS ladies can claim MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

In pool play matches against Murray, Mayfield, and Hickman County, the Lady Bombers set themselves up to advance to the championship bracket, winning the six sets by an average of 9 points per set.  In the semi-finals they met up with Community Christian.  The Lady Bombers led throughout the first set and won 25-18.  They jumped out to an impressive 11-1 lead in the second set before CCA narrowed the lead to 2 at one juncture. After a time-out and a renewed focus, the ladies in green took care of business and won the set 25-15.

In the finals Ballard's girls ran into the team that won Region 1 titles in 2017, 2018, & 2019, the Christian Fellowship Lady Eagles.  With the quick win against CCA, the Lady Bombers enjoyed a little more rest time while CFS disposed of Mayfield in the semi's.  That rest and momentum carried into the first set, and Coach Adam Solomon's team won the set easily 25-13. 

CFS showed resilience in the second set, leading most of the early play. The Lady Eagles had the momentum and the lead at 21-16, before the Lady Bombers began feeding their big hitters up front.  Tied at 24-24 with the serve, the Lady Bombers were able to win the advantage and hold serve for the 26-24 win and a second straight title.

The win moves the Lady Bombers to a 14-2 record on the season, and they will advance to the All A Classic state tournament to be held on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University in McBrayer Arena on September 17-18.

After a 3-2 win just 9 days earlier, the BMHS and Marshall County volleyball teams met in round 2 that illustrated how balanced these two Region 1 heavyweight programs really are.  On the night that the Bomber fans honored the 2020 team that finished as All A State Runner-up and hung a new banner in the Green Palace, the two teams provided another 5-set slugfest that was close through the entire match.  After winning the first set 25-21, the second set slipped away from the Lady Bombers in the final moments, and the Lady Marshals evened the match with a 25-22 win.  The Lady Bombers looked as if they were wearing down their opponents with a strong 25-16 win in set three.  However, the last two sets provided heartbreak for the Lady Bombers with close 27-25 and 15-13 losses.

With the loss the Lady Bombers fall to 9-2 on the season.  They play in the All A regional tournament on September 11 with pool play games at 3 pm, 4 pm, and 5 pm against Murray, Mayfield and Hickman County, respectively.  All tournament games will be played at the Paducah Convention Center.

After two sets that required extra play, the Lady Bombers took the third set in shorter fashion and secured a 3-0 win at the Green Palace on Thursday, September 9.  The Paducah Tilghman Lady Tornado battled for back and forth momentum shifts in ultra tight sets one and two.  After the Lady Bombers took the first set 27-25, the Lady Tornado held the lead at 25-24 in the second set, before the Lady Bombers rolled off three straight points to take the set 27-25 as well.  The ladies from BMHS wore down their opponents, and the last set was a much easier 25-14 win.

The Lady Bombers are now 8-1 on the season and travel to Mayfield on Tuesday, September 7 before returning home to play the Lady Marshals from Marshall County on September 9.

In a match that lasted almost 2 hours, the BMHS Lady Bomber volleyball team took down the Marshall County Lady Marshals and now hold sole possession of second place in the First Region.  After winning the first set narrowly by a score of 25-23, the Lady Bombers dropped the 2nd & 3rd sets by scores of 20-25, and 24-26, playing the rest of the night with their backs against the wall.  However, the ladies in green came back and took the last two sets 25-18 and 15-9 to give themselves a 3-2 set win.

The Lady Bombers will be back in action again on Thursday, September 2 when they host the Paducah Tilghman Tornado.  F/JV/V matches begin at 5:15 PM.

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