Down 2-1 and trailing 17-14 in the fourth set, Daviess County went on an 11-6 run to force a fifth set. Having recovered momentum, the Lady Panthers jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the fifth set and fought off a late Owensboro push to close out the set 15-11 and win the match 3-2 (25-19, 17-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-11).
“I am very pleased with the way we came out,” Daviess County Head Coach Tyla Bailey said. “We had some struggles in the second set, but I am very happy. In the locker room, we discussed how this time last year, there was no way we would have made some of the plays we did tonight. I am just happy to see us improving and working on.”
After dropping the first set, Owensboro bounced back in the second, jumping out to a 20-11 lead. Daviess County cut the lead to 21-15, but Owensboro responded with a 4-2 run to tie the game at 1-1. In the third set, the Lady Devils were in control 20-15, but once again Daviess County began to roar back, going on a 7-3 run to cut the lead to 23-22. Yet, Owensboro was able to hold off the late surge and take a 2-1 lead. Leading 10-6 in the fourth set, Daviess County saw momentum and the match slip away after Owensboro responded with an 11-4 run to take the 17-14 lead.
Bailey attributed her team’s comeback to lineup adjustments and reminding her team that they had worked too hard to come this far, and they might as well play their game and get it done.
Haylee Clark led Daviess County in kills with 17 and added three blocks and three digs, while Maya Pollard, Maddie Chinn, and Reese Whiteside combined for 42 combined blocks. Jazlynn Howard and Lexi Jones led the way in assists and digs with 18 and 27 respectively.
For Owensboro, Macey Kahn, Anna Travis, and Carsyn Cecil led the team in digs assists, and kills with 33, 47, and 19 respectively.
“I thought we had some moments tonight for sure. We definitely had some moments where we showed great potential, and we also had moments where we showed our age a bit. We are a very young team, so we kind of got into our heads and allowed the crowd to get the best of us. Volleyball is all about a game of errors, and unfortunately, tonight we committed more of them than Daviess County did.”
The Lady Panthers return to action Thursday when they host Grayson County, while Owensboro will have a few days off to prepare for the Apollo Summer Slam Down Tournament.
