Despite feisty play from Owensboro, the Lady Aces were able to fend them off and win the match 3-1 to earn their spot in the 9th District Championship (21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-23).
The Lady Devils were on fire out of the gates, looking to set the tone for the match. A trio of runs had Owensboro out in front early, holding onto a 10-4 lead. However, Owensboro Catholic wouldn’t go down without a fight, clawing its way to a 13-8 deficit.
Down 15-12, the Lady Aces put together a 4-0 run and grabbed their first lead of the day at 16-15.
From there the two traded points back and forth, before Owensboro capitalized on some errors by Owensboro Catholic.
Looking to mount a comeback down 23-21, a net violation by the Lady Aces gave Owensboro a point before they ultimately closed the set with a 25-21 win.
Head Coach Brian Hardison said it was the Lady Devil’s defense that really allowed them to get off to such a strong start in the first set.
“They kept everything off the floor,” Hardison said. “I mean they wouldn’t let anything hit the floor and then every time we took it back they brought it back… They played solid ball.”
Owensboro Catholic looked to swing momentum its way to start the second set, starting it out with a 3-0 run.
Owensboro responded swiftly though, using a 4-0 run after surrendering a point to tie things at 5-5. They grabbed two straight after tying it, taking a 7-5 lead.
But Owensboro Catholic kept hanging around, eventually going on a 4-0 run to take a 10-6 lead. They expanded on their lead to go up 17-13, but the Lady Devils weren’t done.
A 4-0 run from Owensboro made it an 18-17 game, forcing the Lady Aces to take a timeout. The Lady Devils kept trying to chip away at the lead, but Owensboro Catholic kept its composure and won the second set 25-21 to knot things up at 1-1.
Owensboro used a 4-0 run to grab a 5-4 lead to start the third set, before the Lady Aces quickly took control of the set.
Owensboro Catholic used a pair of runs to get out in front of the Lady Devils, leading 11-6. Owensboro cut it to 11-9, before the Lady Aces stopped the run and went up 13-10.
The Lady Devils were determined to mount a comeback though, using a 5-0 run to take a 17-15 lead later in the set.
A 4-0 run for Owensboro Catholic quickly swung momentum once again, taking a 19-17 lead. Owensboro had chances with the Lady Aces making a couple of bad serves, but Owensboro Catholic ultimately came up with the third set 25-22 to go up 2-1.
Neither team gave much leeway in the fourth set, as it was tied at 10-10 with no team leading by more than one until a 3-0 run by the Lady Aces.
After scoring to tie it at 10-10, Owensboro Catholic scored the next two to make it a 12-10 game. Owensboro grabbed the next point to stop the run, but the Lady Aces quickly took over the set.
A 4-0 run gave Owensboro Catholic a 16-12 lead, before later going on a 5-0 run to make it a 21-13 game.
However, the Lady Devils kept fighting and used a 5-0 run to eventually make it a 23-21 game and force a Lady Aces timeout.
Hardison told his team that they needed to end the runs just like they had faced in previous matches with Owensboro, knowing that if they did they could walk away with the win.
“My favorite saying to them is focus on our side,” Hardison said. “If we can control our side, they cannot. That’s what I told them in that last timeout. I was like ‘we’ve got to control our side’ and they responded.”
Owensboro grabbed two more points to make it a 7-0 run and knotted things up at 23-23. Senior Cate Sights earned a massive kill on the ensuing point, before they secured the 25-23 win.
The win gave them the 3-1 advantage in the match, marking the Lady Aces second victory over Owensboro while earning the title of 9th District Champions.
Hardison knew the cross-town matchup would be a hard fought battle, but had a good feeling about the match after practice the weekend prior.
“Our Sunday and Monday practices were just awesome,” Hardison said. “They came in and they were focused and they had crazy energy.”
Sights and senior Hadley Latham led the way offensively finishing with 13 and 12 kills respectively. Meanwhile, junior Paile Miles (17) and sophomore Kennedy Murphy (16) set up the offense all night with a combined 33 assists.
Junior Emily Chrisian led Owensboro Catholic defensively, as she covered the floor extremely well with 28 digs.
It was an all-around effort from Owensboro offensively and defensively, and Head Coach Melissa Hibbs was thrilled with their play despite the score not ending on their side.
“I couldn’t be more proud of my girls and the fight that they had tonight,” Hibbs said. “That’s been the story of our season. We just continued to fight and believe in ourselves that we can do this. Unfortunately tonight we kind of got ourselves into some holes and we had to fight back, but we didn’t quit and I think that’s something to build upon.”
Having started three freshmen in the championship game without a single season on the roster, Hibbs was pleased with the year they had and said that the Lady Devils volleyball program is trending upward.
“I’m happy with where we ended,” Hibbs said. “A 20-win season is nothing to hang your head about… It’s just using tonight as motivation, using the season as motivation to know that we have more in us and we have more potential. We can execute bigger and we can play at a faster rate. I think this season getting those freshmen the varsity time that they’ve never had, I just think that we have a really bright future for OHS.”
Meanwhile Owensboro Catholic will set its sight on the 9th District title, as they host Daviess County at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
