They swept the 11th Region tournament. Next up? A shot at Goliath.
Paul Laurence Dunbar was ready from the word “Go” in the 11th Region volleyball championship game. The defending champs swept Tates Creek to secure their program’s second straight trip to the state tournament Thursday night at Scott County High School.
Tates Creek led 2-1 in last week’s 43rd District finals before Dunbar eventually won that match in five sets. Dunbar seemed much more comfortable in this week’s rematch. The Bulldogs bolted out to a 13-1 lead in the opening set against Tates Creek, which gained momentum down the stretch in what was ultimately a 25-19 decision in Dunbar’s favor.
The teams traded leads before Dunbar used a 7-2 run in the middle of the second set to create some distance in an eventual 25-18 victory. They again exchanged the advantage to open set three but the Bulldogs ended on a 10-4 run to take the final frame convincingly.
“Tates Creek played a hell of a game,” Dunbar Coach Jenni Morgan said. “The 11th Region is a difficult region and we talk about it all season, you’ve just got to come to battle.”
Dunbar has battled at its best over the last month. The Bulldogs won their ninth straight game to improve to 29-9. They didn’t drop a set in their three 11th Region tournament games; they swept Western Hills on Monday and Henry Clay on Wednesday.
Junior Peyton Gash believed the sweep of Henry Clay – the top-ranked public school in the state entering the postseason – enabled Dunbar to play with even more gusto in the finals. Senior Meredith Phillips concurred.
“Coming out 13 to 1 or whatever it was, it just set the tone and we kept it the whole game, like we did against Henry Clay,” Phillips said, “which has been a struggle for us all year but when it comes time for postseason we came ready to play.”
Dunbar will needs its most herculean effort of the season when it meets 7th Region champion Assumption in the first round of the KHSAA State Volleyball Tournament next Friday. The Rockets are ranked No. 1 in the country by PrepVolleyball.com.
“There’s not a lot of people that get to go to state and be involved in the state tournament. It’s a road to state and there’s a lot of things that come with it,” Morgan said. “Win or lose, when you’re going to play the No. 1 team in the nation and No. 1 team in the state, there’s a big gap, but that’s not what it’s always about. This is an opportunity for them to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We’ll make the most of it and go out there and represent the best that we can.”
Gash and Phillips got to play in last year’s state tournament, in which Dunbar reached the quarterfinals. They’re eager for the shot to help Dunbar become David.
“Going in there, you know that no team is gonna be easy, so you might as well play your hardest no matter who it’s against,” Gash said.
“Obviously it’s gonna be difficult but if we believe we can do it, that we can work for it and just work our butts off all week, that’s what’s gonna make it happen,” Phillips said.
This story was originally published October 18, 2018 at 9:22 PM.