Apex volleyball shows mental strength in defeat of Green Hope

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By J. Mike Blake, mblake@newsobserver.com

CARY - Apex senior Megan Hooks said she was nervous, which is a typical feeling entering an Apex-Green Hope volleyball match.

Both programs have been in the top two of the Tri-9 Conference each of the past four seasons, meaning every meeting from the 2008 season on has had conference championship implications. What is there to be at ease about?

But Hooks and the Cougars felt right at home during Tuesday’s match. Nobody worried when Green Hope cut into the lead with a long rally in game one. And despite being two points away from dropping game two, Apex was calm.

And that helped carry Apex, ranked sixth in the N&O Triangle Top 15, to a 3-0 sweep of No. 6 Green Hope with a 25-21, 25-23, 25-20 victory.

First-year coach Emily Regan decided to exercise her team’s mental strength leading up to the match.

“(Regan) had us do drills where we would be behind by five points and we had to win the game. And if we didn’t, we would run,” Hooks said. “She just prepared us through the week: being down and having to come back up, and being mentally strong and having each other’s back and having confidence in each other.”

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Apex volleyball shows mental strength in defeat of Green Hope