Trailing Daviess County 2-0 and on the verge of missing the 3rd Region Tournament, Owensboro Catholic rallied off three straight set wins to complete the comeback 3-2 (17-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-6) and set up a date with Apollo in the 9th District Championship.
“We came back and fought as a unit, and that changed everything,” Owensboro Catholic senior setter Mayme Powell said. “We haven’t played like that together this whole season. When we knew our season was on the line, we came together as a team, and it was probably the best feeling I’ve had in a really long time. Everyone put in their effort and did their part.”
Once they started trailing, the Lady Aces made some key adjustments that paid off dividends. They switched their defense for their outside a bit and adjusted to the change.
“We started picking up more,” Powell said. “We didn’t keep looking at balls, we didn’t let things drop, and we just went because we wanted it.”
Powell finished with a team-high 45 assists and added 10 digs, six kills, five blocks, and one service ace, while fellow senior Addie Oller recorded 13 kills, four service aces, and three blocks. Ava Martin and Emma Castlen led the team in kills and blocks with 14 and 11, respectively.
Next up for the Lady Aces is the 9th District Championship against Apollo, a team they are 0-2 against on the season.
“We need to learn from what we did last time,” Oller said. “Learn from it and hopefully win.”
E-Gals take care of Owensboro 3-0
A year ago, Apollo’s season came to a heartbreaking end at the hands of Owensboro in the first round of the 9th District Championship. Fast forward to last night, and Apollo was able to return the favor, beating the Lady Devils 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-16).
Avery Gray made her presence felt early, recording a team-high 15 kills and adding 10 digs and one service ace. Jessica Lee and Maddi Roberts combined for 15 assists, and Jessie Pate finished with nine digs, and five service aces.
“It was a great win tonight,” Apollo Head Coach Mary Howard said. “Our girls came out nervous at the start, but settled in during the second and third sets. We are excited to advance. Our defense led the way for us tonight, and our serving helped us finish strong.”
For the Lady Devils, Ayrish Barksdale recorded eight kills and five digs, while Anna Travis had 17 assists, five digs, three blocks, and two service aces. Carsyn Cecil and Georgia Gabbert led the team in blocks with four, and June Larsen had 19 digs.
