Playing with heavy hearts, Notre Dame continued its dominance in 9th Region play with their third straight region championship, taking down St. Henry Wednesday night in Erlanger, 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 28-26).
Shortly after Tuesday night’s semifinal victory over Highlands, the Pandas were dealt the devastating news that associate Athletic Director and Pandas golf coach Karen Henderson had passed away.
What was a joyful night suddenly turned somber.
“We visited her every day during school,” Pandas senior Julia Grace said. “She was more than an Athletic Director, she was like a second mom to a lot of us and always there to cheer us on. It’s sad, but we know she’s in a better place now.”
The school held a prayer service for Henderson on Wednesday morning and Pandas coach Leslie Litmer spoke with the team about it.
“Karen wanted this for the girls and that was something we kept in mind,” Pandas coach Leslie Litmer said. “At her heart, Karen was a competitor and to really honor her appropriately we really wanted to come out and compete. I know the girls are doing that for her and she’ll continue to stay with us on our journey.”
A moment of silence was held before the game.
Come gametime Wednesday evening, the Pandas played inspired volleyball as they made it through the season without dropping a set to a region opponent. The dominance was on full display in the first two sets, tallying 16 kills in the first set, tournament MVP Ava Tilden with six of them, Audrey Dyas adding five.
They’d add 17 kills in the second set, Grace Portwood making her mark on the match with five kills and an ace, Dyas adding four kills and a block.
Litmer credited their passing and service game to the quick 2-0 start, staying in system and getting the offense set up quickly.
“Our first contact was really critical,” Litmer said. “I thought we served really aggressively that put them in some tough situations that maybe didn’t allow them to use the hitters they like to use as often. And then, for the most part, we passed really well. We never really got into any runs.”
A young St. Henry team with just two seniors on the roster weren’t going to lay down easy. They rallied from a 20-16 deficit in the third set to eventually earn themselves a set point at 26-25 after a Elizabeth Casey ace. But an error followed by Tilden’s two of her 16 kills on the night gave the Pandas the championship.
Photo slideshow below, provided by Charles Bolton:
“We were able to mix it up a lot on them tonight,” Tilden said. “We wanted to make sure their blockers didn’t know where to go.”
Notre Dame will now chase their ultimate goal…the program’s 11th state championship. They open up with the 11th Region champion in Park Hills on Monday night. The 11th Region championship is Thursday night between Lexington Catholic and Paul Laurence Dunbar.
The Pandas season is now at 31-3, the lone loss in state to Sacred Heart, who lost to Assumption in the 7th Region semifinals on Wednesday. If the Pandas were to win two state tournament games and Assumption gets out of the region and wins two games, the two would meet in the semifinals of the state tournament for a rematch of last year’s state championship game where the Rockets came out on top.
“We think about that match last year all the time,” Grace said. “Every single day at practice, before bed. A lot. We replay it in our head and it makes us mad and brings up the adrenaline and allows us to play good.”
The Pandas have defeated Assumption twice this season.
St. Henry’s season ends with a 33-6 record. Corrine Blackburn and Casey are the lone seniors as they’ll bring back a solid nuclues keyed by Madi Demler, Violet Main and Kenadi Sieg in hopes of ending the Pandas run. Blackburn departs as the team leader in blocks at the middle hitter position while Casey led the team in aces.
All-Tournament team: Audrey Schilling, Cooper, Maya Kondik, Villa Madonna, Katelyn Brannen, Newport Central Catholic, Isabel O’Brien, Beechwood, Ella Cox and Sydney Schomaker, Highlands, Ria Furuta and Morgan Heater, Ryle, Madelyn Kiepert, Violet Mains and Kenadi Sieg, St. Henry, Julia Grace, Audrey Dyas, Grace Portwood and Ava Tilden (MVP), Notre Dame.
