Hosting their annual Apollo Summer Slamdown volleyball tournament over the weekend, the E-Gals finished runners-up in the Silver Division. Owensboro and Daviess County also competed in the Silver Division, while McLean County, Trinity (Whitesville), and Hancock County all competed in the Copper Division.
Apollo beat Owensboro 2-0 to start their Silver Division run, and they followed it up by beating Thomas Nelson 2-1, before losing to Tates Creek 2-0. Avery Gray led the team in kills and blocks with 26 and four, while Jessie Pate had a team high 46 digs. Jessica Lee led the way in assists with 26.
“I am so proud of our girls,” Apollo Head Coach Mary Howard said. “They battled all weekend long, and we played some great volleyball. This group has great team chemistry and has a touch of fight.”
After they dropped their opener to Thomas Nelson, Daviess County bounced back by beating Owensboro and Meade County to finish fifth in the Silver Division. Owensboro lost to Henderson County and finished eighth.
“The Apollo Summer Slam is a great tournament and an awesome opportunity to get things worked out,” Owensboro Head Coach Mitchell Johnson said. “Our team had really good moments this weekend when our energy was high and our communication was great. We need to work on finishing strong and not allowing mistakes to get the best of us.”
Clarksville won the Gold Division and Ballad Memorial won the Bronze Division. In the Copper Division, Hancock County beat McLean County in the third-place match, while Trinity (Whitesville) beat Evansville Harrison to finish seventh.
Annie Shelton led the Lady Cougars tournament run with 24 kills, 60 digs, and four blocks, while Abbi Shivers had 60 digs and Haylie Billerbeck recorded six blocks.
“The girls played really well together,” McLean County Head Coach Traci Capps said. “They always look forward to the Apollo Summer Slam every year. I think because they spend the two days playing in the different atmosphere that it brings.’
For the Lady Raiders, Laney Mills finished with a team-high 70 digs, while Emmy Edge recorded 77 assists and 42 digs.
“We had a good day, although we didn’t pull out as many wins as we would have hoped,” Trinity (Whitesville) Head Coach Adam Huff said. “We were highly competitive throughout the weekend, winning sets against four of the six teams we played. We are still working to clean up the unforced errors and string together the consistency to pull out some of the close matches. “We improved from playing such competitive teams, and that’s what we are trying to accomplish right now.”
