For the first time since 2016, Apollo volleyball has won the 3rd Region Championship. The E-Gals jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead over Meade County and fought off a ferocious third set comeback to secure the title.
“I was a little worried in that last set,” Apollo’s Avery Gray said. “We always have a slow start, but we always make our way back. This is an amazing feeling. I’m so proud of us because we are a young team, and we worked so hard to get here.”
In the semi-finals against Breckinridge County and in the third set against Meade County, Apollo continuously found themselves in early deficits, but consistently found ways to claw back. Head Coach Mary Howard attributed her team’s early struggles to nerves, as this was the first time anyone on the roster has played in the 3rd Region Tournament.
“These girls have battled all year long, and that has been our mindset with our youth to not let one point affect the next point,” Howard said. “To have the next point mentality and that whatever just happened, we can get it back.”
Apollo cruised to a quick 2-0 set, but found themselves trailing 7-3 early in the third. The E-Gals cut the lead to 9-7, but over the next few points, were never able to get closer than two points. Trailing 14-10, Apollo called timeout and out of the break responded with a 5-1 run to tie the set at 15. From there, the E-Gals were able to seize momentum and bring their crowd back into the match.
Entering last night, Apollo had played Meade County once during the regular season, winning 3-1.
“We played them in a tri-match, and we knew they were scrappy,” Apollo’s Keelan Wettstain said. “They like to roll a lot and tips. We knew we just needed to play our game and not overthink anything.”
Gray finished with a team-high 12 kills and added13 digs, one block, and one service ace, while Jessica Lee and Maddi Roberts combined for 24 assists. Wettstain recorded eight kills, seven digs, and four blocks, and Jessie Pate posted 14 digs.
The E-Gals will have a few days to recover before the State Tournament begins on Monday. Apollo is set to host Henderson County, whom they have played twice this year already.
“We need to dive in on our serving because I think that’s a strength for us,” Howard said. “Their serve receives versus our serving. Then we also have to make sure we get our blockers up because they have some very powerful hitters.”
