OWENSBORO — Whitley County is moving on.
The Lady Colonels turned in one of their biggest performances of the season Friday, defeating Warren East 26-24, 25-9, 25-17 in the quarterfinals of the Kentucky 2A State Volleyball Tournament.
“We are very proud of our girls and how they played today,” Whitley County coach David Halcomb said. “This is the biggest win of our season against a very good team.”
The opening set provided Whitley County with its toughest challenge. With little separating the two teams, the Lady Colonels maintained their composure in the closing points and prevailed 26-24 to take control of the match.
“We gutted out a very tight first set and I like the way the girls kept their composure down the stretch,” Halcomb said.
Whitley County carried that momentum into a dominant second set. The Lady Colonels controlled virtually every aspect of play on their way to a convincing 25-9 victory and a 2-0 advantage.
“We played some outstanding volleyball the second set, near flawless in most aspects of the game,” Halcomb said. “I thought our defense was phenomenal during a stretch there and our offense found a good rhythm as well. A total team effort.”
Warren East attempted to extend the match in the third, but Whitley County never allowed it to gain enough momentum to force another set. The Lady Colonels closed out the quarterfinal victory with a 25-17 win.
The victory sends Whitley County into Saturday morning’s state semifinals, where the Lady Colonels will face Christian Academy of Louisville with a spot in the Kentucky 2A State Championship match on the line.
“We’re excited to have advanced and will face another good team tomorrow morning in the semifinals in Christian Academy of Louisville,” Halcomb said. “We’ll be ready. Go Colonels.”
