Notre Dame took care of Whitley County on Thursday night to advance to the state volleyball tournament semifinals. The Pandas (32-5) downed Whitley County 3-0 (25-6, 25-5, 25-12).
Now the Pandas turn their attention to Louisville Assumption (34-7) whom NDA will face in its third trip to the semifinals in four years, including 2020 when they won the state title.
“We were definitely ready to go,” said Jenna Leistner, Notre Dame associate head coach. “It was a team effort from the freshmen all the way to the seniors. It was just a great job by the Pandas. We’re lucky at Notre Dame Academy to have the depth on our team. We’re great across the board. I told them I was proud of them for coming together with energy and communicating, winning together.”
The hitting percentages reflected the lopsided game. Notre Dame recorded 42 kills minus four errors on 61 attempts for an astounding .623 hitting percentage, compared to 12 kills minus 18 errors on 50 attempts for a negative-.120 percentage for the Colonels (25-15).
The Pandas saw nine different players record kills while using 15 players in the game. Sophomore hitter Riley McCloskey had 10 kills and senior hitter Sydney Nolan garnered nine, while sophomore Ava Tilden contributed six.
“We’re really trying not to underestimate teams,” McCloskey said. “Our height helps a lot to hit over blocks.”
The Pandas played some reserves in the second and third games. Freshman Grace Portwood came in and had three kills including one to end the match.
“I’m so grateful to be part of this team,” Portwood said. “We have a great team. I’m glad to cheer them on. When we work as a team, we do great. Practice helps a lot prepare us for games like this.”
The Pandas dominated at the net consistently making that first pass well to run their fast-paced offense with 17 digs and seven blocks. Senior defensive specialists Kamden Schrand, the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association Defensive Player of the Year, and Kayla Hostetler had four digs and two aces each.
Sophomore hitter Ella Goetz had four blocks while McCloskey, freshman hitter Audrey Dyas and senior Peyton Mast had two blocks each.
Notre Dame also had 13 aces and 42 assists. Freshman Lizzy Larkins had 27 assists and six aces to lead the Pandas and sophomore setter Lauren Ott had 11 assists.
“I just try to do everything for my team,” Larkins said. “I can’t have 27 assists without the hitters out there, without the passers. We always try to take care of the ball. We want to execute and put it away.”
Whitley County had 12 assists, one ace, 13 digs and two blocks. The Colonels made it to the state quarterfinals for the first time in school history. Junior outside hitter Marissa Douglas led the Colonels with six kills and junior setter Kaytlynn Collier had 10 assists.
Scouting Assumption:
The Pandas beat the Rockets twice during the regular season. They won the best-of-three battle in the Asics Challenge in Chicago, 2-0 (25-23, 25-19) on Oct. 1 then beat the Rockets at home 3-2 (20-25, 25-17, 25-16, 22-25, 15-6) to conclude the regular season Oct. 13. But beating the 22-time state champion Rockets led by legendary head coach Ron Kordes another time is a challenge.
“They’re doing a great job right now. They’re on,” Leistner said. “They’ve been on since the very first point of the match. I think they came in here hungry in the state tournament ready to win it all. We’ll do our best in preparation and I think our girls will be ready to go.”
Assumption displayed balance in the 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-13) win over Louisville Mercy in the state quarterfinals. Sophomore defensive specialist Kristen Simon had 15 digs and senior setter Whitney Woodrow had 47 assists. Sophomore Bailey Blair led the Rockets with 18 kills and junior outside hitter Charlotte Moriarty had 13.
Notre Dame faces Assumption at 2 p.m. on Friday after the other semifinal game at noon which features Bowling Green and Lexington Paul Laurence Dunbar.
The state title game between the winners of the two semifinal matches is 7 p.m. Friday.
All games are at George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester.
