Volleyball Team Piles Up Awards, Earns First-Ever First Team All-Ohio Honoree
BELLBROOK – To be as decorated an athlete as Kenley Von Handorf is as a junior is quite an accomplishment.
The volleyball standout just accomplished yet another first this season – earning a first team All-Ohio spot for the first time in Bellbrook volleyball history.
At this point, she might need to add another shelf in her bedroom to hold her awards for her senior season.
“I was shocked and really, really excited because that's not something that I had even really thought about up until that point,” Von Handorf said. “But it was super cool and I was really, really excited to hear that.”
Von Handorf was joined on the all-Ohio team by junior setter Katie Hunt, who was Honorable Mention.
The outside hitter is the undisputed offensive leader of the team, and going into the season a personal focus – besides all the team goals – was to improve her numbers from last season.
“We actually took some time and wrote down what we wanted for the team at the beginning of the season,” Von Handorf said. “And a lot of my goals were team-based – How I wanted us to perform in the season and what I could do to make that possible. But individual goals that I set for myself this year was to improve all of my numbers from last year. Statistically, every category I thought that I could improve, and I think I did a pretty good job of that this year.”
Von Handorf filled the stat sheet with 478 kills, 225 digs, 69 aces and 25 solo blocks.
She has a kill-per-set average of 5.31, a kill efficiency rating of .343 and a kill percentage of .440.
She also owns three school records: kills in a season, kills-per-set average and kills in a single match with 39 against Badin in October.
But before the season started, Von Handorf made maybe the biggest decision of her young life – she committed to Siena to play in college.
“That was a huge weight off. And I felt like this season, I was able to just focus on leading the team and playing with my friends and having a great season,” Von Handorf said. “And that was something that I think made a big difference in what I could give to my team, mentally and physically. I thought that (making the decision before the season) was really helpful.”
With that big choice out of the way, the junior and her teammates could focus on the season and their goals. While humble and reserved – at least compared to some of her more boisterous teammates – Von Handorf’s goals – outside of the ones she made with her team – were to be recognized at the District and League level.
“Yeah, that was a part of the goal as well (District 15 First Team and Player of the Year) because I had gotten that last year,” Von Handorf said. “And a goal of mine was to repeat that and get it again this year. But aside from that, I didn't really have any goals, accolade-wise. They were mostly just based on performance and team performance as well.”
And the team also performed, finishing the season as Regional finalists with a 24-3 record overall – SWBL Southwestern co-Champions, and District Champions.
Hunt and Von Handorf worked hand-in-hand to help lead the team to their goals this season. Hunt also repeated as a first-team all-District talent, collecting 805 assists – a single-season school record. That figured out to 8.94 assists per set – another school record.
She also accumulated 206 digs, 104 kills, 40 aces and 39 solo blocks.
“Katie helped set the standard this year in her play, her work ethic and the way she made everyone around her better – on and off the court,” coach Amanda Von Handorf said.
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2026 VOLLEYBALL HONORS ALL-OHIO FIRST TEAM Kenley Von Handorf HONORABLE MENTION Katie Hunt
OHSVCA DISTRICT 15 First Team District 15 Second Team District 15 Honorable Mention District 15
SOUTHWESTERN BUCKEYE LEAGUE SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION FIRST TEAM SWBL SECOND TEAM SWBL HONORABLE MENTION SWBL |