Despite Owensboro’s best efforts to force a fifth set on Tuesday, the E-gals were able to best them for the second time this season with a 3-1 win.
The Lady Devils tried to forge a comeback in the latter half of the first set, but Apollo controlled the majority of the set in order to grab a 25-19 win. Owensboro was able to bounce back and jump out to a 14-8 lead to start the second set, but the E-gals grabbed a 5-0 run to climb their way back into the match.
The Lady Devils tried to use a 3-0 run to create separation again, but Apollo came right back with a 4-0 run of its own to tie things at 17-17. This gave the E-gals enough momentum to bounce back in front later in order to grab a 25-23 win and a 2-0 lead.
Apollo nearly grabbed a second comeback win in the third set, but Owensboro was able to secure a big 25-21 win to shift some momentum its way to make it a 2-1 game. The E-gals had total control of the fourth set early on, with the Lady Devils trying to forge a comeback and force a fifth set.
But Apollo was able to fend them off, securing a 25-23 win (3-1) to defeat Owensboro for the second time this season to start the week. Head Coach MaryAnne Howard was pleased with her team’s willingness to fight, staying sharp despite suffering a tough loss in the third set of the match.
“We just talked at the end about staying focused and making sure we focus on doing the little things right,” Howard said. “In a long match like that sometimes you can get a little unfundamental with just the adrenaline and things like that, but we just talked about staying focused and making sure we didn’t make any unforced errors. They really came through in the end.”
The E-gals got strong play from their front line throughout the night, getting 15 kills from sophomore Ava Fazio, 14 from sophomore Abbie Butterworth, 12 kills from junior Jennifer Lee and 11 kills from freshman Elise Wilson. Lee and Fazio also showed out defensively, combining for 17 kills with nine and eight respectively.
The duo have been key contributors for Apollo all season, as Howard said that they have been very strong at reading opposing defenses while being a force on that end themselves.
“They really were big tonight,” Howard said. “Their blocking has been unbelievable this season and then offensively they’re just doing a really great job of realizing the open spots on the other side whether it’s a tip or an open swing.”
The E-gals also got big lifts from juniors Kelsey and Kaley Dickinson defensively, as the two earned 12 and 10 digs respectively. Junior Ahalia Ramirez also gave Apollo a boost on the offensive side in her first game of the season, chipping in a whopping 34 assists and eight kills on the day.
Having Ramirez back to set up the offense is crucial in taking steps forward as the season progresses and Howard said she just hopes to get them completely healthy to really see what they can do.
“It was very nice to have her back,” Howard said. “We’ll be thrilled when we can have everybody to choose from because we’re still four girls out. But all year long that’s all we’ve talked about. Just whenever we face adversity, if one player’s out we all just fill in the gaps and pick up the slack.”
The E-gals will have nearly a week to try and do so, sitting at 4-6 overall and 2-1 in district play before they return to the floor at 7:30 p.m. against Muhlenberg County on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
Meanwhile, Owensboro falls to 4-7 and 0-2 in district play, as Head Coach Melissa Hibbs said that they beat themselves on Tuesday.
“It was a very competitive match, we just can’t make unforced errors like that in the match,” Hibbs said. “We had 14 missed serves. We can’t do that against competitive teams, nonetheless a district foe. So we kind of shot ourselves in the foot with that, but give it up to Apollo. They served aggressively and our serve-receive was just not where we needed it tonight.”
The Lady Devils got a big game out of sophomore Ava Fincher, as she tallied 29 assists and 11 digs on the night. Senior Brooklyn Williams and sophomore Addie Travis also had strong offensive games, combining for 25 of Owensboro’s 41 kills with 13 and 12 respectively.
With such a young team Hibbs said they know that there will be growing pains along the way, but is convinced that if they keep taking steps forward and become tougher in all facets of their play that they will click sooner rather than later.
“I think it’s just being mentally strong,” Hibbs said. “Volleyball being such a momentum sport, we have to take that error and throw it out and know ‘I’m ready to go on that next ball.’ It’s a long night and as we showed it could’ve easily gone five sets if a couple things went our way… We just gotta keep capitalizing on those moments and just push forward and see those good moments and go with it.”
The Lady Devils will also take close to a week off to prepare for their next game, as they will have a tough home district matchup with Daviess County at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
