Owensboro Catholic and defending champion Breckinridge County will face off for the 3rd Region volleyball championship after each swept their semifinal matches Wednesday at Hancock County.
The Lady Tigers used a balanced attack to defeat Apollo 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 24-13) in the first game of the night, while the Lady Aces rolled past Muhlenberg County 3-0 (25-15, 25-8, 25-11) in the second contest.
BRECKINRIDGE COUNTY vs. APOLLO
While the Lady Tigers prevailed with several prominent hits, it was ultimately their defensive approach that stymied the E-Gals’ offensive attack, as Apollo struggled to find an opening.
“They’re tough to put the ball on because they play such great defense,” said Apollo coach Mary Howard. They are extremely solid. We did a lot of good things tonight. We came in with a good game plan and executed well, just came up short tonight.”
Though their season is over, Howard was pleased with the way her team performed during the season, referencing Wednesday’s contest as a prime example of their growth.
“One thing that you could tag the season on for this Apollo volleyball team is the word fight,” she said. “I think they’ve shown a tremendous amount of fight all year long and I think that’s one thing that they can hang their hat on.”
Breckinridge County trailed early in the opening frame and got back within 16-14 before rallying off eight unanswered points to pull away.
In set two, the Lady Tigers used a dynamic attack to jump out to an early lead that they pushed to a 17-9 advantage. The E-Gals got within three points but couldn’t go in front, and they weren’t able to keep up in the final frame.
Breckinridge County head coach Barry Mingus attributed his teams’ recent success to their energy and dynamic passing game.
“I’m glad that we were able to find our rhythm the other night and tonight because there are times where we’ve struggled to do that,” he said. “It’s good to be in the swing of things. Everyone is contributing instead of just a few and that helps this team out a whole lot.”
Audrey Whitworth was dominant on the offensive end for the Lady Tigers with 18 kills, while Peyton Whitworth added 10 kills and a game-high 26 assists. Defensively they were led by Natalie Henning with 14 blocks.
Apollo’s Natalie Ewing and Whitley Chambers recorded five kills each. Ewing also added five blocks, while Hallie Wilson led the team with 15 digs.
OWENSBORO CATHOLIC vs. MUHLENBERG COUNTY
The Lady Aces struggled at times, but it was ultimately their dynamic outside attack and ability to share the ball that propelled them to victory. They had a slow start in the first set but eventually found a rhythm and never looked back. Head coach Brian Hardison said they’ll need a quicker start moving forward.
“We have to have more energy moving into (the championship),” he said. “We have the talent and we share the ball well but we have to bring more energy against a team like Breck County.”
After trailing in the early phases of the first frame, Catholic narrowed the Muhlenberg County lead to 12-11 before going on a 13-4 run to take control.
The Lady Mustangs weren’t able to mount any real threat the rest of the night as Catholic pulled away early in the ensuing sets.
The Lady Aces were led in kills by Cate Sights with nine, while Cassidy Towery and Madeline Castlen added eight and seven, respectively. Sights and Castlen also led the team in blocks with three each, while Jenna Glenn recorded five digs. Cecilia Clemens finished with 32 assists.
Catholic has relied on a consistent outside attack all year, but Hardison was most pleased tonight with the complete team effort.
“We spread the ball to all of our hitters tonight, and I think that’s key to our success,” he said. “Our outside hitters were consistent and we had some young players step up in big ways in the middle.”
Stay up to date on all your local sports coverage by following @OwensboroSports on Twitter and by liking us on Facebook.
