Challenger

It takes a lot more than just your average everyday volleyball team to defeat infamous programs such as Daviess County, Owensboro Catholic and Evansville Reitz. It requires more than pure athletisism and skill, alone, to be invited to prestigous tournaments across the state and come home wearing a gold medal and carrying a gleaming trophy off the bus to eventually place proudly in the front office at school. Do you know any team that has an outstanding 24-2 record for their season sofar? But, hey, the 15th ranked Apollo E-gal's volleyball team aren't you're average team. Not even close.

Featured on the starting lineup for the E-gals are 5'11'' middle hitter junior Chasity Thomas, senior outside hitter and captain , Katie Cecil, senior setter and captain, Emilee Duvall, senior outside hitter and captain Natalie Hardesty, junior weak-side hitter Alex Headley and junior middle-hitter Heather Young. Katie Thompson, a defensive specialist, is the fourth senior on the varsity squad. Every single player on the varsity lineup showcases their own, individual strengths and talents, which ultimately leads to amazing and gratifying victories. On September 16th, Apollo matched up with Owensboro High School in a head to head district rivalry game. Tension and excitement lit up the court and stands the entire match.

The match was a suprisingly competitive nail-biter throughout the night, especially considering Owensboro's volleyball program hadn't been strong in several years.
The E-gals won the match 25-19, 25-14 overall, but were suprised at how drastically the Lady Devils had improved from years past. The E-gals were forced to make every serve, pass, set and hit perfect to defeat the Lady Devils in two games.

Junior Chasity Thomas helped rally the E-gals to the win with a game-high 9 kills. Senior Natalie Hardesty played very agressive and finished the night with eight kills. Emilee Duvall, known for her "sweet hands", had a nearly flawless night and led the team with 14 assists. Katie Carpenter stepped in to set and added 9 assists.
Although the E-gals were plagued by some sloppy passing, the team came together to defeat Owensboro once and for all.

So far, Apollo has beaten every single team in the 9th district. That's something to brag about, especially considering the 9th district features some heavily profiled programs, such as Owensboro Catholic and Daviess County. This group of girls is by far one of the strongest programs in not only the region, but in the state as well.

But, with every good volleyball team, comes its moments for disappointment . The E-gals faced district rival Daviess County on their turf September 23rd. Previously, the E-gals had beaten the Panthers to win a tournament in Bowling Green, so DC was more than ready to show Apollo up and redeem themselves. Apollo was agressive at the net, with Natalie Hardesty getting 20 kills and Chasity Thomas 13, but several other E-gal hitters failed to meet contact with the hardwood, resulting in many strong hits being dug up by the Panther defense. Several key serves were also missed by Apollo, which gave Daviess County an unearned advantage. The Panthers exuded a little more confidence and spirit to the game giving them an uplift to win. The final score was 15-8, and ended in five games, the highest number of games playable in a match. Although the E-gals experienced the loss, their incredible record of 24-2 shows that they never let up easily. Apollo has come home in several tournaments with a W this season including the Bluegrass Invitational in Louisville, The Bowling Green Invitational, and the Los Amigos Summer Slamdown, held here at Apollo.

The seniors have shown awesome leadership and work to make the team better everyday and they love you to come support them so come cheer the E-gals on in their upcoming matches!