Eyeing the ball as it floated towards her, Owensboro freshman Ayrish Barksdale took a few steps back and then quickly started her approach, launching herself into the air and unleashing a missile that split multiple Lady Panthers defenders. Turning around to embrace her team after scoring the point, she enthusiastically raised her fist and let out a loud roar.
This was just one of multiple standout plays by Barksdale, whose team-high 14 kills were instrumental in the Lady Devils’ 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-17) sweep on the road against Daviess County.
“This was the first time Barksdale led the team in kills all season,” Owensboro head coach Melissa Hibbs said. “What’s even better was her efficiency. Her errors have gone down.”
In the first set, Owensboro jumped out to an early 11-5 lead, but the Lady Panthers went on a 6-1 run to cut the lead to one. Unfazed, Owensboro responded with their own 6-1 run to go up 18-12. Yet, the Lady Red Devils struggled to cleanly close out the first set, winning 25-18.
“We talk about unforced errors,” Hibbs said. “We need to eliminate our side. Daviess County does a great job of keeping the ball alive and keeping the pressure on you. We need to focus, zone in, and become mentally tough. It’s something we work on every day and talk about.”
The second set saw the Lady Panthers jump out to an early 4-3 lead, before Owensboro went on a 16-6 run to make it 19-10. Daviess County responded with a 5-3 run before Owensboro scored three straight to win the second set 25-15.
In the third set, neither team refused to budge early with the two teams tied 9-9. In a similar fashion to the first two sets, Owensboro started to pull away – going on a dominating 12-3 run to make it 21-12. For a third straight set, unforced errors reemerged in the Lady Red Devils game, winning the set 25-17.
Ava Fincher, Macey Kahn, and Anna Travis led Owensboro in assists, digs, and service aces with 24, 20, and eight respectively.
Maya Pollard led the Lady Panthers in kills with five, adding six digs, one block, and one service ace. Lexi Jones added 15 digs, while Lily Farmer finished with five assists and six digs.
Despite losing 3-0, Daviess County head coach Tyla Bailey was pleased with her team’s progress.
“The first time we played Owensboro, it wasn’t pretty,” Bailey said. “Going into tonight, it was good to see our team put up a better performance. I think our front row is starting to become more aggressive. We were working on blocking a lot in practice and just putting away every ball. Tonight, we did a much better job than we have in the past.”
