The dream of every high school athlete, regardless of the sport involved is getting to a State Tournament and for some athletes, that’s totally out of reach. For the Breckinridge County volleyball team, that task was finally accomplished in 2018. The DREAM season, in which the Lady Tigers made their first Region final in a sport which is usually dominated by the private school system and in a Region in which only two teams had ever done that in succession seemed like a senseless pipe dream —until it finally happened that season with a team which was young, talented and full of youthful energy. The Lady Tigers first had to vanquish two skeletons from their closet. After beating Owensboro Catholic in the semi-finals, they had to face Apollo which was another team which had a history of dominace over them. So in front of a pro-Breckinridge County crowd, the Lady Tigers fought hard, smelled blood and went for the kill as they finally beat Apollo for the 3rd Region Championship. Afterwards, the team and the fans began to party like it was 1999. The journey to the Region Tournament that season seemed like it was unreal at times and until they finally achieved it, it was like Christmas, New Years Eve and the 4th of July all rolled into one.
Although their stay at the KHSAA State Tournament was shortlived, there was much to look forward to next season because only two seniors were lost and the majority of their starting lineup would be back and should actually be better since they now understood what was required to get there.
So, after going 32-8 the previous season, the Lady Tigers volleyball team, would be an early favorite to repeat as 3rd Region champions and make a deep run to the Final Day of State. The 2019 version was a senior dominated squad which consisted of frontline hitters Tessa Allen, Peyton Whitworth, Halle Barr and backline defenders Kendall Miller, Madison Thompson and sophomore Audrey Whitworth, who had all worked hard during the offseason to prepare for the upcoming season and the long grind of a 30-game season including playoffs. Also, the slow and steady development of youngsters Natalie Henning and Avery Aulbach proved to be crucial as the team began their march to the playoffs.
Head coach Barry Mingus understood the importance of preperation and keeping the team on an even keel for as the regular season wore on there would be plenty of time for pits and valleys emotionally for a team to be distracted and that was something he wanted to avoid.
Fortunately for Mingus, his Wonder Women were up to the task as they went on a 15-0 run to start the season and after their first loss which didn’t happen until the middle of September in a tournament (Taylor County Throwdown), they recovered and then went on a 9-0 run before finishing 3-2 at regular seasons end. So dominate were the Lady Tigers that only once during their 31-regular season games were they every taken to a five game set and in 24-of those wins they didn’t lose a set. In fact, in one match against Frederick Fraize, Breckinridge County won it 25-1 (which isn’t easy when any change of possession results in a point.
The Lady Tigers were rolling and all season long were playing with the energy and passion that a team needs in order to repeat as Region Champs. They fought hard and were having fun. A good combination.
Their season long success also led to outside attention as they were in everyone’s Top Ten rankings and rightfully so as home games began to draw attention from everyone whether it be scouts, rival coaches and outside media as everyone wanted to see what the curiosity of the girls wearing maroon and red was and suddenly the colors became an interesting fashion trend.
So after finishing the regular season with a 27-4 record, Breckinridge County traveled to Hancock county high school for the 11th District Tournament and breezed winning their two games by a combined total of 6-0. That led to another return trip to Hancock county for the Region Tournament and the Lady Tigers made short work of their first two games winning 3-0 and 3-0 over Trinity Whitesville and Apollo. Now only one team stood between them and a repeat Region Championship.
Owensboro Catholic had struggled at times and finished with a 23-10 record entering the Region Tourney and had actually lost their last two matches against Breck including a 3-0 pasting during the regular season back on September 19th. The Lady Aces had played better of late, but the Lady Tigers had been consistant all season long, so it turned out to be quite a game afterall.
Fired up by the crowd and their lofty ambitions, Breckinridge County came out quick in Game one building a quick lead and then breezing to a game one 25-12 win. Needing two more to finish things, Game Two turned out to be quite a different story.
A slow start had the Lady Tigers in a hole early and after falling behind as many as eight points, Breckinridge County made a furious rally to close within several points and finally they managed to tie things up at 25-all, but a couple of errors eventually undid them and they lost, 28-26.
Game three was like a nightmare as Breckinridge County stayed close, but struggled again and eventaully lost, 25-18. This was not how the Lady Tigers had played all season long and several of the players looked confused at certain points of game three.
Was this how it was going to end for the team and this senior class? After such a great start, were they going to clock out and move on?
What usually seperates good teams from experienced good teams is the ability to focus on the “Here and Now” and to develop short term memory. That’s why playoff sports is so different than regular season sports.
Playoff Pressure and the realization that the season is over has cracked many great teams and athletes. Would Breckinridge County be the next?
As Mingus gathered the team before Game four he reminded them of their assignments and to “Just Worry About This Game!” After winning the Region for the first time in team history, it would be so easy for his experienced players to revert back to bad habits and negative mindsets. Even the good ones do that sometime.
Fortunately, they didn’t.
Breckinridge County came out hard and fiery and after a nip and tuck match that swung back and forth between one and two points at times. It wasn’t easy, but they finally pulled it out to even the score at two games apiece, 25-23.
After suddenly feeling like inmates on death row, the Lady Tigers were still alive and kicking. Their dream and season would come down to a deciding Game Five and the first one to fifteen would advance to the promise land. As the two teams took the court for the last time, the crowd began to swell with anticaption and the Harned faithful gave their heros one more round of appreciation. Allen did her ritual dance this time with teammate Kendall Miller and the match started.
If you’ve never watched a volleyball game before, the one thing that is usually missing is a back and forth rhythm that is missing from games that tend to get out of hand early. In a game of this magnatuide, with so much at stake, this one most definitely had it. By that, I mean one where every point is matched with a counter point as the outcome of the game depends on who can get two straight.
It became a nick and tuck affair as both teams countered each others actions. Madeline Castlen and Cecila Clemons of the Lady Aces were a force at the net and their actions kept the game close. It eventually came down to several key plays that decided the victor, but not without several heroics. After Catholic took a 6-4 early lead, the Lady Tigers kept countering. First they tied the score at 6, then after Catholic reclaimed the lead at 12-10, Breck came up with the game tying two points on kills by Tessa Allen and Peyton Whitworth.
Whitworth, who was playing the game of her life sent a kill past the furious arms of a triple team block wall and her spike tied the score up at 12-all.
After the Lady Aces retook the lead at 15-14 and had the Lady Tiger on game point, Catholic faulted and it was tied at 15 again. Four times Catholic had Breck on game point (15-14, 16-15, 19-18 and 20-19) and three of those times the Lady Tigers came up with big kills to stay alive. It was high school volleyball at it’s best and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
One fact that completely went unnoticed was Breckinridge County’s service record. One of my biggest arguments about the high school game is the inability for servers to execute the simplest task of getting the ball over the net. It’s something like free throw shooting in basketball that eventually either wins games or loses them in the end. In the toughest of situations with the pressure on, the Lady Tigers did not botch a single serve during the frantic Game Five. That is not only a good example of coaching, but also practicing good game habits in stressful situations.
With the score 17-all, the Lady Tigers got a big point on Madison Thompson’s dig that kept a play alive and set up a kill to make it 18-17 Breck. Now the game was in their hands. After all the problems, struggling play and having to overcome a 2-1 games deficit, the game could be won and the Dream kept alive.
Unfortunately, it was Catholics turn to make a game saving play to tie things up. Then the Lady Aces reclaimed the lead at 19-18, but Breck got a big kill to tie it up. That’s where it finally came to an end. A block by Catlen made it 20-19, then Isabella Wright, who had played an excellent Region Tourney ended the game with a kill that glanced off the Breck front line and couldn’t be returned.
For Catholic, it was simply another 3rd Region Championship. Between them and Apollo, only two other teams have ever won the volleyball Final. For Breck, it was an emotional loss as the players filed off the court. The thoughts going through their head had to have been “What Might Have Been” or “It’s Over!” As I watched the Lady Aces accept the Region trophy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the Breck sideline during the ceremony. One of the most interesting studies is usually how a team reacts during defeat. The theory being the further you get, the harder it is to accept defeat.
This season’s Lady Tigers had invested an entire season (not to mention offseason) in the 2019 result and it was very obvious that the initial shock may have now been apparent, but the emotional hurt was.
They certainly didn’t play a flawless match, but neither did Catholic. Their was one thing that was very obvious: When Breck’s players realized that their season might be coming to an end, instead of tanking and allowing the game to get out of reach, they instead reacted positively, played harder and with a sense of urgency that isn’t always seen in many Win-Or-Go-Home games.
From the point that Game Five was at 11-9 Catholic, it seemed like every possession was hard fought, every point contested and every move or kill move had a sense of urgency. It’s as if, even in defeat you couldn’t walk away thinking they just mailed it in after Game Three.
Some coaches might say, the Lady Tigers didn’t really lose. They just got outscored.
Sounds funny doesn’t it.
I didn’t chose to interview any of the Breckinridge County players afterwards. I had always planned to do that much later on when they had a chance to cool down and reflect. I knew that several of them would not be in the best mental frame of mind to give good inqusitive answers and I hardly wanted to be intrusive.
So, the Breckinridge County Dream Season came to an end. The obvious questions will be “Where will this team rank among the best in the Region?” That’s for guys like me to decide for that’s what we do, I guess.
Still, watching one of the best volleyball matches that I’d ever seen that went to five and seeing the desperation in their eyes and the way they came through at a time they simply had to and how it ended so suddenly was something I’ll never forget.
And that was six months ago and I still remember. Just like they will for the rest of their lives.
