The Lady Panthers have set themselves up for a chance to three-peat as 9th District Champions, fighting off a feisty Owensboro team in a 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-21) first round sweep.
Daviess County got off to a hot start, quickly jumping out to a 5-0 lead. The Lady Devils then got two straight to stop the run, before later using a 4-0 run of their own to knot things up at 7-7.
Senior Josie Newcom got a kill to put them up 8-7 the next play, helping the Lady Panthers build up some momentum. They were able to make it a 17-12 game, before a few big plays went on to secure the first set.
Daviess County was able to grab a 24-17 lead later in the set, as Newcom dove to the floor and barely kept the ball alive for the Lady Panthers to eventually get a kill. The very next play Owensboro tried to stay alive and keep the first set going, but senior Kayla Thomson blocked the shot in bounds to close it out 25-17.
The second set started off as a back and forth affair once again, with Owensboro using a 2-0 run to jump out to a 6-5 lead. Daviess County proceeded to swing things their way quickly, making it a 13-7 game thanks to some communication issues for the Lady Devils.
Despite eventually building their lead to 16-9, the Lady Panthers had some communication and receiving errors themselves. This allows Owensboro to climb all the way back, cutting its deficit to 23-22.
However, Daviess County came right back and locked in to get the next two points, securing the 25-22 win and 2-0 lead in the match.
The Lady Panthers carried their momentum into the start of the third set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. The Lady Devils weren’t going down without a fight though, working the game back to 8-7 and forcing a Daviess County timeout.
The Lady Panthers were able to get two back and reclaimed the lead at 9-8 thanks to a serving error, before later building their lead to 13-10. However, a quick three-point swing and Owensboro knotted it right back up at 13-13.
Just when Daviess County seemingly started to pull away again, the Lady Devils worked it back to an 18-18 set. But the Lady Panthers were able to remain calm, getting two straight thanks to senior Mary Grayce Hill sparking the offense with a kill.
This gave Daviess County the momentum boost they needed, as they closed out a 9th District First Round win by grabbing the third set 25-21.
“Very pleased with the way we came out tonight,” Head Coach Tyla Bailey said. “Owensboro played some really good volleyball, so I think it was a really competitive and good first round of district play.”
The last time these two teams had met, the Lady Devils had snapped a 10-game losing streak to defeat Daviess County for the first time since 2014. Bailey and the Lady Panthers were dead set on that not happening again this time around, using it as fuel to kickstart their postseason run.
“We just kind of used it as a mental motivation factor,” Bailey said. “Then we made the physical adjustments that we needed to make and went from there. We used it as a learning experience, which is pretty much what sports are you know.”
Newcom led the way for Daviess County offensively with 16 kills, while five other players recorded kills and senior Lexi Owen set up the offense with 26 assists on the night. Newcom also had 12 digs, following right behind senior Taylor Roberts team-leading 17 digs.
The Lady Panthers battled defensively with 66 digs as a team, staying mentally tough when Owensboro made big runs in order to come away with the win.
“I feel like we responded much better tonight than maybe we would’ve in past games,” Bailey said. “So I’m very pleased with the energy and the effort that we maintained for most of the match.”
Daviess County now turns its attention to a 2021 9th District Championship rematch, as they are set to take on Owensboro Catholic at home at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. In the first round matchup Bailey played all of her seniors.
She and the Lady Panthers upperclassmen know that they have one shot to extend their postseason success further into regional play over the past few seasons, as they will look to three-peat as 9th District Champions
“We have to limit silly mistakes,” Bailey said. “We need to play together as a team, set the tempo early, go out swinging and be aggressive… It won’t be easy from here on out. Not that tonight was easy by any means, but it just will keep getting tougher.”
Owensboro on the other hand has its season come to a close, finishing the year with an overall record of 13-18. Despite the end results, Head Coach Melissa Hibbs was pleased with her team’s efforts.
“We just didn’t have everything tonight,” Hibbs said. “Offensively we just couldn’t get going. But the fight in the girls I was so proud of. Throughout the season it has been the same thing.”
The Lady Devils had a rough start to the season, but Hibbs felt like they were always competitive in every game. Giving it their all in every single point of every match, Hibbs watched her team piece it together as the season progressed and closed out the year strong.
She gives credit in large part to her senior class, noting that the four that she has coached for a large chunk of their careers has made a huge impact on the program. Hibbs said that seeing how they’ve grown is something that she’s enjoyed and knows that they have bright futures ahead of them.
“I will miss them with all my heart, but I know the women and the leaders they have become through all of this in the past six years is more than I can say about anything,” Hibbs said. “They’re going to be so successful in life and they will always be welcome back as a Red Devil.”
Hibbs hopes that the seniors’ example hits home with the underclassmen and seeing just how much will to fight that they have, she’s confident that Owensboro will come back next season ready to rumble in the 9th District.
“With the fight in them I just think they’re going to come back motivated,” Hibbs said. “We’re going to severely miss our four seniors, but we have a very good underclassmen group ready to step in. Just seeing the way the team came together as a family this season [was special]… Family will win matches, so we’re going to connect, stay together no matter what and build from tonight.”
