The semifinal match-up between the second-seeded Beechwood Tigers and host Holy Cross Indians had the battle one expects between two teams fighting to keep their seasons alive.
It went back-and-forth a good bit. But Beechwood’s depth eventually won out, 3-1 (25-17, 20-25, 25-22, 27-25) giving the Tigers their first berth in the 9th Region Tournament since 2017. The Tigers return to Holy Cross at 7 p.m. on Thursday to take on the defending state champion Notre Dame Pandas in the district championship game.
“The first thing I have to say is Holy Cross did not quit,” said Matt Long, Beechwood head coach. “What an awesome job they did on their side of the court. I’m proud of my team and the resiliency that they showed in the tough times. It shows a lot for their young character. They stayed mature and I’m super proud of the way my young ones played (Tuesday).”
Beechwood (25-11) knew Holy Cross 6-foot-2 senior standout middle blocker Julia Hunt would put a number of balls down with 26 kills to go with 12 digs and five blocks. But the Tigers dug up a total of 73 balls. Sophomore libero Maggie Dawson led the way with 22 digs to go with two aces.
“I think we were just trying to get a touch on every ball,” Dawson said. “We had the mentality we could get any ball we tried to get. Trying to contain (Hunt) was really the goal. Even though we’re young, we’ve been showing some fight and we’re going to keep doing that as we move forward as a team.”
Beechwood put up 48 kills, 38 assists, 11 aces and two blocks. Freshman Bella O’Brien countered Hunt with 13 kills, 17 digs and five aces. Rachel Lewandowski made a number of clutch plays in the fourth game with 12 kills and three aces with Macy Armstrong and Isabel Baaker recording eight kills each. Baaker also had seven digs.
“You have to realize you can still hit around (Hunt) and you have to know your spots,” Armstrong said. “I couldn’t hit around her without my setter and my back row players so a big thanks goes to them for helping me do my job and helping us win this game.”
Freshman setter Skylr Estep once again displayed her consistency running the offense with 35 digs to go with 11 digs. Eighth grader Dara Jackson added six digs.
“I think our communication with our hitters has really worked out for us because it really helps us play smart and place the ball well,” Estep said. “We stay up on every point even if we’re down by a lot and try to get the next point.”
Holy Cross (23-12) finished with 63 digs, 34 kills, 30 assists, seven aces and six blocks. Sophomore setter Lucy Lenihan had 20 assists and 11 digs. Olivia Gangwish finished with 14 digs and Luci Wurtz had 10 with Avery Sturgeon recording a team-high five aces.
Holy Cross scored the first four points of the game. But Beechwood slowly worked its way back and tied it at nine after a long hit. O’Brien landed three straight aces to put Beechwood up 19-13. O’Brien ended the first game with a kill.
“We had a rough last two weeks to be honest with a lot of mental stuff going on,” said Jill Hunt, Holy Cross co-coach. “I feel like we fought. We just had way too many ups and downs. It was like riding a roller coaster. When we were on, we were on. When we were off, we made a lot of errors. I think that was what hurt us.”
The Tigers started the second game off better scoring the first three points. But Holy Cross came back and went up 6-5 when Hunt landed a block. The lead increased to 10-6 on a Hunt ace before the Tigers came back and built a 14-11 advantage on a Dawson ace.
That lead increased to 18-12 when Baaker hit one off a Holy Cross block. But Sturgeon came in and served two aces and Hunt landed four kills in a 9-0 run to give the Indians at 22-19 advantage. A Baaker kill made it 22-20 Holy Cross before Hunt landed consecutive kills to end the second game and tie the match at 1-1.
The third game stayed tight before Beechwood scored five straight to go up 10-5. The lead increased to 17-11 before Holy Cross made its run cutting the lead to 23-22. But Lewandowski landed a kill and a Holy Cross error ended the third game.
The fourth game did not see either team lead by more than four. Tied at 19, O’Brien landed a kill before a Dawson ace and two Lewandowski kills gave the Tigers a 23-19 advantage. But Camille Lowe had a block then a kill followed by another Hunt kill to trim the Beechwood lead to 23-22.
Lewandowski had another kill to give Beechwood match point up 24-22. But Gangwish and Wurtz avoided it with kills and a long hit gave the Indians a 25-24 advantage. Lewandowski tied it with a kill before an O’Brien ace then a Holy Cross error gave the Tigers the match.
“We told them it was going to be one of those battles that Holy Cross would not let up and we may get down in games,” Long said. “I’m super proud of the aggression they had at the end of the game. We talked to them in the middle of the fourth with the way they were being tentative. But they came out of the timeout being super aggressive with those last swings and serves.”
Holy Cross finished the season 23-12 and a third straight September Slam championship. The Indians graduate six seniors from the team, including Hunt, who led the state in kills this season.
Notre Dame 3, Holmes 0 (25-4, 25-2, 25-7)
The Pandas played a lot of the regulars trying to work on various things after ending last week with losses at Ursuline (Ohio) and Assumption. They had few issues taking care of business in the semifinals.
“We definitely challenged our girls to think about what our weaknesses are on our side. We’ve tried to approach not focusing on who’s going to be on the other side of the net, but we’re focusing on our side and how we can improve,” said Leslie Litmer, Notre Dame co-coach.
Notre Dame gave a big card to sophomore Audrey Dyas in honor of her grandfather Mike, who passed away on Oct. 6. The family held his funeral on Thursday before Dyas joined the team against Assumption.
“He always taught me to be the best that I could be, so I’m just going all out, riding through postseason just thinking of him in every way,” Dyas said. “Even when he was struggling (with his health), he still thought of me and wanted to be with me in every way. It just proved how much he loved his granddaughter and I owe it all to him.”
Holmes finished 5-24 in Brittany Vancini’s second season as head coach after going 6-22 her first season. The Bulldogs graduate one setter in senior Zyia Burton.
“My team is pretty much all freshmen. We lost a ton of girls this season, including four starters,” Vancini said. “They’ve been able to build up as a team. Just being on the court for some of them is awesome because I have three girls that have never played before. I’m having to teach basics at a varsity level.”
Holmes last won a district tournament game in 2019 against Covington Latin in the last time the Trojans participated in the tournament.
