In a jam-packed Notre Dame gymnasium, the Pandas defended their home court defeating Beechwood 3-0 (25-20, 25-12, 25-14), in straight sets Thursday night to open up the season 3-0.
It’s been seven years since Beechwood won their last set over Notre Dame. The last one came 21 sets prior in 2017 when the Tigers fell 3-1 against the Pandas in the 35th District championship.
Putting an end to the streak would be no easy task for a young Beechwood team without a senior on the roster. Leading a strong group of young talent that includes eight underclassmen, the Tigers return outside hitters Isabel Baaker and Isabel O’Brien, who combined for 445 kills last season.
But the Pandas put their foot on the gas early as they jumped out to a 14-7 first set lead. Notre Dame sought early help from Xavier University commit and senior outside hitter Ava Tilden, who had seven kills on the night.
“What’s really helped us so far this season is recognizing not to get down or shaken when teams make their runs,” Tilden said. “We recognize that’s part of the game so we try to do our best to feed off of each other’s energy and rhythm one point at a time.”
While it looked like the Pandas may run away with the opening set, Beechwood’s Kendale Lair and Teegan Becker both had kills to draw the Tiger’s back within four at one point before dropping the set, 25-20.
“We’ve had a goal this season of prioritizing what we like to call ‘mini games’,” Notre Dame co-head coach Jenna Leistner said. “Each set, we want to be first to five points, first to ten and so on. Throughout this match, I think our girls did a great job of utilizing that mindset.”
The Tigers found the second set to be most challenging as they had a game high 10 unforced errors behind the net. With the help of middle blocker Audrey Dyas’ four kills, the Pandas were able to win each of their ‘mini games’ and claim the second set 25-12.
Despite Notre Dame’s dominance through the first two sets, Beechwood never lost their tenacity. Both sides contested long points in the third set as Notre Dame’s Grace Portwood and Beechwood’s Rachel Lewandowski traded kills.
Tied at six, it looked as though the Tigers had put themselves in a decent position to contest the third set. That’s when the Pandas served four aces to retake the momentum and eventually claim the third and final set 25-14.
“I think the positive tonight was that our defense was really scrappy,” said Tilden. “It really allowed us to create solid serves and get good shots while forcing them (Beechwood) into tough situations.”
A large portion of that defense came from fellow Xavier commit and senior libero Julia Grace who had 17 of the team’s 44 digs. Of the Pandas’ 27 kills, 24 of them were assisted and or created by defensive returns.
“I’ve definitely noticed a shift from us defensively now that we’ve used these ‘mini games’ as one of our goals,” Grace said. “It helps us worry less about the set and more about each point at a time. Completing the small goals allows us to reach our big goals.”
Tilden’s seven kills led the Pandas while Portwood followed closely behind with six. Grace’s 17 digs were accompanied by fellow seniors Hannah Dannenberg and Lacey Hostetler who each had 10.
For Beechwood, they’ll look to feed off O’Brien’s seven kills as they are set for another tough road match against St. Henry Tuesday followed up by Bellevue the night after.
Notre Dame will close out the week Saturday against Ohio’s Archbishop McNicholas. The Cincinnati program reached the finals of the Ohio Division III state championship last season.
“To play four matches in a week is always a lot but it’s really helped us dive into the season,” Leistner said. “We haven’t played McNicholas in a few years, so we’re looking forward to hosting them and we expect it to be a back and forth battle.”
Saturday’s matchup will also include Notre Dame’s volleyball alumni day as all alumni in
attendance will be honored before the match starts at noon.
