The 3rd Region volleyball tournament kicks off tonight, and Daviess County, Owensboro Catholic, and Trinity have each made a case to be legitimate title contenders this year. The top teams in the region all year, their matches against one another have all been tight contests.
The Lady Panthers (25-5) won the lone matchup against Trinity (19-9) in the first game of the season by a final of 3-1.
DC and Catholic (25-12) split their regular season contests, but the Lady Panthers edged the Lady Aces 3-2 in an intense fight to claim the 9th District crown for the second year in a row.
Catholic and Trinity met three times in the regular season. The Lady Raiders picked up a 3-2 road win in the first contest. The Lady Aces then earned a 2-1 in the 3rd/4th Regional All “A” Sectional before getting a 3-0 sweep earlier this month.
None of the three have lost to any of the other teams that made the region tournament.
DC Head Coach Tyla Bailey knows that doesn’t mean anything when it comes to postseason play.
“We know this time of year, everyone is playing well and everyone knows each game could be their last,” she said. “We will just prepare for one game at a time and hope to play out best each night. Our energy is really high after winning a really tight battle with Catholic. We’re hoping to carry that forward and get even stronger heading into region.”
Bailey said she thinks her team, which is on a five-game win streak, is playing well enough to make a deep run.
“I think overall we’re coming together, we’re communicating much better,” she said. “Leadership is really improving. Offensively we’re executing, and I feel like our defense is doing much better than at the start of the season.”
Daviess County plays Breckinridge County in the first game of the tournament at 5 p.m. today. The winner of that game will advance to play the winner of the 8 p.m. contest between Ohio County and Grayson County.
The other pair of first-round games will be played Tuesday. Meade County and Muhlenberg County square off at 5 p.m., with Owensboro Catholic and Trinity set to play at 8 p.m.
Catholic head coach Brian Hardison was hoping to avoid Trinity in the first round but is ready for the challenge.
“We just played them, plus it’s hard to beat a team three times,” he said. “They did beat us at home earlier this year too.”
Still, he’s confident in his squad. He said even though they lost in the district championship, his team fought til the end. He said if they can stay strong mentally they’ll be a tough out.
“They never gave up and they never had all year long,” he said. “They have fought to the final point. If we can limit our errors, I think we’ll be okay. That’ll be the big key. We’re getting contributions from the whole team. We cannot win as one player. Everybody’s got to contribute. Our back row is fast and when their heads are in it, they’re hard to beat.”
Trinity Head Coach Daniel Morris said they are prepared for a tough battle to start their title bid.
“We are playing pretty well going into the regional tournament,” he said. “With our draw being Owensboro Catholic, I think we are excited and ready to go. My girls are motivated and ready for the task at hand. The way we look at it is that we have to meet up and match with them at some point if we want an opportunity to win the title.”
He said they’ve got a few things they can improve, but if they can play at the top of their game they can compete with anyone in the region.
“One thing that we need to do better on our part is having our front line have more touches on swings,” he said. “The more blocks and opportunities we have to slow the ball down, the better we can run our offense and score against the tough teams.”
The semifinals will be played at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Wednesday and the championship will be at 6 p.m. Thursday. For a full breakdown of the bracket and other things fans should know, such as the gym will be cleared between games nightly and tickets are only good for one game, click here.
