Comeback win over ranked foe proves Bryan Station volleyball’s still got it
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Bryan Station rallied past No. 23 Tates Creek for a five-set comeback victory.
- The Defenders overcame injuries and recent losses to regain momentum at home.
- An open 42nd District gives Bryan Station a chance to reclaim its 2021 title.
Despite an injury to a key player and a disappointing start to the 2025 high school volleyball season, Bryan Station proved Tuesday it can still be a force in the weeks ahead with a hard-fought, five-set victory over No. 23 Tates Creek at home on the Northside.
The Defenders (4-5) were ranked as the No. 19 team in the state in the preseason coaches poll but have been without all-state watch list senior hitter Micah Robinson, who ranked second on the team in kills last year. She’s out for the year due to injury.
With their top senior hitter, Cameron Owens, playing through some aches and pains, the Defenders lost two of three in a Knoxville, Tennessee, tournament and then got smacked by two defending region champions in back-to-back late-August games — the 12th’s No. 13 West Jessamine and the 11th’s No. 8 Lexington Catholic.
Worse, last Thursday, Bryan Station went to unranked George Rogers Clark and got swept.
It’s been a tough couple of weeks.
But Station proved it can be tough, too, in rallying for a 25-23, 20-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-12 win over the crosstown Commodores (11-4). The Defenders faced a 19-16 deficit in the fourth set but stormed back to win it and carried that momentum over into a final frame they never trailed.
“I think it showed we can come back on any team,” said Owens, one of five all-state watch list players on the Defenders. “You have to be able to pick up your teammates and not give up early on the game. Because if you do, the whole thing goes to crap. Every point you have is a choice. You can choose to do better. Until the game is over, you have a choice every play.”
Second-year Station coach Jonnalyn Shimko acknowledged the losses suffered over the past two weeks have been difficult, but she likes how her team has responded.
“They’ve been committed to going in the gym since then and getting better,” Shimko said. “I think as a coach, that’s really all you can ask for. They’re committed to each other. They want to win districts this year, and I think hopefully we’re going to peak at the right time.”
Bryan Station’s 42nd District includes No. 19 Frederick Douglass (5-5, 1-0) and No. 25 Henry Clay (13-4, 1-2). Douglass handed the Blue Devils their second district loss of the season last night.
Another district foe, unranked Sayre (7-1, 1-0), also beat Henry Clay and will represent the 11th Region in this weekend’s All “A” Classic state tournament in Owensboro.
Bryan Station begins district play Tuesday when it hosts Scott County (9-4). Given that the Cardinals got swept by West Jessamine (Bryan Station lost 3-1 to the Colts) and that Douglass has suffered a 3-1 loss to Tates Creek, it appears the 42nd District could be wide open for the Defenders to reclaim the title they last won in 2021.
“I just think we need to do a better job of walking in there and believing in ourselves and believing in our teammates and not let the outside (influences) affect us too much,” Owens said. “We need to take this win under our belt and know we beat them not because they gave up, but because we played hard. Now, we just need to have more confidence.”
