The Trinity volleyball team had to rally in the second set, but they were able to come away with a 3-0 (25-9, 26-24, 25-15) win over Owensboro at home Tuesday on senior night.
The Lady Raiders (21-7) started the second set much the same way as the first, taking an early 10-5 advantage. The Lady Devils (4-26) turned momentum around behind the service game of Skylar Stallings, rattling of 11 consecutive points to gain control. OHS head coach Melissa Hibbs said they were able to find a weakness in the Trinity defense.
“We found a couple openings in their defense and our girls kept hitting that spot,” she said. “They were smart enough to keep going with that and let the momentum go with them.”
Trinity slowly chipped away at the deficit with some heavy attacks at the net, but still trailed 23-22 late. They scored the next two points before Owensboro made it 24-all.
The Lady Raiders went back in front with a good serve by Nina Wathen, and a kill by Savannah Aull closed out the set. Trinity head coach Adam Huff said they had to make some adjustments to come out on top.
“Owensboro played a lot better in the second set,” he said. “But, I knew if we could pull it out, the third would probably go a lot more our way. We had to relax and play the ball. Instead of letting one or two points turn into three or four, we had to concentrate on the next one. We did that pretty well.”
Owensboro kept the score close early in the first set, but Trinity quickly pulled away.
“I thought we came out really well,” Huff said. “We went on momentum from senior night. Fundamentally, we played really well. I think we overpowered them most of the time.”
The Lady Devils again started strong in the third, trailing only 12-9 midway through, but the Lady Raiders were able to go on a couple runs to pull away. Hibbs said her team wasn’t able to maintain a high level of play throughout the night.
“I think we were up and down and inconsistent,” she said. “Our youth showed tonight a little bit, having a lead and letting them get back into it. We need to work on that in our last game leading up to district and continue to be aggressive and work hard.”
The Lady Raiders were led by Aull (12 kills) and Wathen (11 assists, 4 kills, 5 aces). The Lady Devils were led by Mykael Winstead (9 kills, 10 digs), Krystell Pappas (4 kills, 12 digs), Jersie Rhineburger (3 kills, 11 digs), Kennedy Thompson (11 digs) and Skylar Stallings (4 digs).
Trinity will turn their attention to the District 12 tournament, where they play Butler County at 7 p.m. Monday. Their tournament is played at Edmonson County.
Owensboro finishes the regular season at home at 7:30 p.m. Thursday against Muhlenberg County. They will play Apollo in the first round of the District 3 tournament Monday. Their tournament is played at Daviess County.
