Daviess County opened up the 3rd Region Volleyball tournament with a bang, defeating Breckinridge County with a clean sweep to advance to the second round (25-22, 25-22, 25-23).
The Lady Panthers surrendered the first two points of the match, but quickly bounced back with four straight to take a 4-2 lead.
The two teams continued to trade points back and forth, with neither creating much separation until another 4-0 run from Daviess County gave them a 13-9 lead.
However, the Lady Tigers wouldn’t give in and continued to make the Lady Panthers earn every point, later tying the match at 21-21.
Breckinridge County took the lead at 22-21, but following a timeout Daviess County grabbed its third 4-0 run of the first to take the 25-22 win.
Up 1-0 in the match, the Lady Panthers came out looking to grab total momentum in the second set early.
After trailing 6-5 to start the set, Daviess County exploded offensively and rattled off a 9-0 run to take a 14-6 lead.
Despite seeming like they would bow out, Breckinridge County fought and cut its deficit to 16-12. It seemed as though the Lady Panthers would go on to easily secure the match when a 3-0 run gave them a 19-12 lead, but the Lady Tigers had other ideas.
Breckinridge County gained momentum behind some strong volleys and its student section, using a 5-0 run to cut it to 19-17.
However, it was too little too late in the set for the Lady Tigers, as Daviess County took a 2-0 lead with a 25-22 win.
The Lady Panthers jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the third set, but Breckinridge County’s resiliency didn’t waver as a 5-0 run knotted things up at 10.
With their backs against the wall, the Lady Tigers continued to fight to keep their season alive and jumped out to a 20-19 lead.
Daviess County grabbed the next three points to go up 22-20, but Breckinridge County kept making them work for each point.
The Lady Tigers made one last push to make it 24-23, but following a Lady Panthers timeout junior Josie Newcom ended the match with a kill to secure the 3-0 sweep.
Head Coach Tyla Bailey gave credit where it was due, saying that the Lady Tigers didn’t make it easy for them all night long.
“Props to Breck,” Bailey said. “We knew they were a very strong team. They came out ready to play and it was a battle point-by-point.”
Bailey felt that they excelled the most by grabbing out of system points as well as a strong night serving and returning the ball.
“Our out of system plays were very good,” Bailey said. “I’m very impressed with our serve-receive tonight. I knew regardless of the rotation I felt confident with who was passing for us. And then our hitters clicked and they’re like ‘I’m tired of this crap’ and put it away when it mattered.”
Juniors Josie Newcom (15), Adylan Ayer (7) and Mary Grace Hill (6) led the way offensively, combining for 28 of the team’s 35 kills on the night.
Junior Lexi Owen was her typical self, setting up the offense and keeping the defense on their toes with 27 assists. Owen also chipped in five digs, four blocks and two kills, leading the Lady Panthers by example with her work ethic on the floor.
“She’s a very aggressive player,” Bailey said. “Whether it be setting or playing the net. She just gets this killer instinct and she goes out and gets the job done.”
The win pushes Daviess County to the second round of the tournament, as they will take on the winner of Grayson County vs Ohio County at 8 p.m. on Wednesday in hopes of reaching the 3rd Region Championship.
“Going forward we’re just going to keep the mentality of ‘hey we’re here to win and we’re here to play’ and just play our game consistently throughout the match and the rest of the tournament,” Bailey said.
