Owensboro Catholic volleyball bounced back from a tough loss to St. Henry on Tuesday night, defeating Apollo in a three-set sweep (25-15, 25-8, 25-9).
The E-gals came out with a lot of energy in the first set, as a 5-0 run had put them out in front 8-3. However, a 7-0 run from the Lady Aces quickly put them back out in front at a score of 10-8 and they never looked back.
Apollo fought to stay alive, but Owensboro Catholic had momentum on their side and an array of powerful serves from senior Cate Sights that helped them win the first set 25-15.
The Lady Aces carried this momentum into the second set, putting a halt to the E-gals offense and winning 25-8.
With its backs against the wall Apollo tried to fight and go toe-to-toe in the third set, but another set of runs sparked by Sights’ serving led to a 25-9 set win for Owensboro Catholic to complete the sweep.
Sights had nine aces on the day and she said it’s an attacking mindset that has made her much more successful when she serves
“[Be] more aggressive,” Sights said. “I’ve been serving kind of timidly just to get it over recently, but I was working on serving it more aggressively and trying to serve it in between players.”
Head Coach Brian Hardison agreed with the notion, saying it’s the mental side of her game that has allowed her to grow matchy by match.
“Her serving was outstanding,” Hardison said. “I know in one game she had seven aces. Her confidence in herself is a big key. If she got in trouble, last year she wouldn’t regroup. I’d have to take her out. This year, she’ll make some mistakes and she might be in her head for a few seconds and then she regroups… Her serves were just nasty tonight too.”
Apollo Head Coach MaryAnne Howard further backed this stance, saying that they allowed a plethora of runs which brought them to their downfall.
“I think where we didn’t score as well as we would’ve liked too would’ve been our serving and our passing on serve-receive,” Howard said. “I think at times we gave up too many runs to servers. Catholic has got some great servers, but we allowed them to just get too many runs on us there and that’s something we need to continue to work to shore up.”
Sights also recorded nine digs and tied with senior Hadley Latham for the team lead in kills with 14 each.
Hardison credited both of them as being keys to their offensive success, but said that Latham has been stepping up big lately and that it seems like she keeps getting better with each game.
“I think we controlled the floor really well tonight and our hitters were on,” Hardison said. “I mean [with] Cate you kind of expect that and then tonight Hadley was just on fire.”
Latham said it’s the team’s chemistry on and off the court that really helps them communicate well and win games.
“I think our team bond is just really good,” Latham said. “We all hangout before all the games and we’re all just close, so I think that really helps on the court.”
While the score wasn’t exactly in their favor, Apollo is trying to take the match as a learning experience according to Howard.
“One thing we talked about as a team when it was over is that our district is super competitive and as the season goes we’ve got a lot of young players playing varsity for the first time,” Howard said. “Every time we go out and play it’s like taking a test in school. Every time it’s over we have to evaluate and then try to adjust and fix things.”
Howard said they’ve still got plenty of growing to do, but that they see the bright spots and feel as though they can maximize their potential by the end of the season.
“We still have some developing to do, but we see positive things and we show glimpses that it’s there,” Howard said. “Our goal is by the end of the season to put everything together into a match where everything is showing up at the same time.”
One of those bright spots includes freshman Ava Fazio, who worked hard to try and defy the Lady Aces offense with 12 blocks in the game.
With the loss Apollo moves to 7-12 overall on the season and will look to bounce back host Hancock County at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Owensboro Catholic will shift their focus to a doubleheader on Saturday, taking on Todd County Central at 11 a.m. and Breckinridge County at 1 p.m.
