No need to pencil it in. Might as well use a permanent marker.
For the third time in the last four years, Notre Dame and Assumption will meet for a KHSAA state volleyball title on Saturday night.
It didn’t come easy for either team, though.
The Pandas defeated Whitley County in Saturday’s semifinals, 3-1 (26-24, 19-25, 25-14, 25-14), while Assumption needed five sets to eliminate Mercy in the day’s first semifinal at George Rogers Clark High School.
“It’s a hard match when you don’t have any history with another team. We just knew that they were going to come out and they were going to give it everything that they got,” Pandas co-coach Hannah Colvin said. “We just couldn’t let up and we had to figure out a few things. We made a few adjustments and ended it with a win.”
Notre Dame’s start was slow, to say the least.
Facing set point and trailing 24-23 in the first set, the Pandas scored the final three points to take it, 26-24. Teagan Kondik made her presence felt at the net with nine kills in the set, helping overcome a sloppy start that included three service errors and four hitting errors.
Whitley County was certainly up for Saturday’s contest. After losing momentum late in the first set, the Colonels regained it in the second, earning a convincing 25-19 win to even the match at one set apiece.
“They were really scrappy,” Pandas co-coach Madison Salkowski said. “We kind of knew that going in. They played a great game against Bowling Green last night, so we knew that they were going to be scrappy all over the court. And then we just had to make adjustments.”
Notre Dame made the necessary adjustments in the third set, aided by nine Whitley County errors, as the Pandas cruised to a 25-14 win and took a 2-1 lead.
The Pandas continued to roll in the fourth set, closing out the match with another 25-14 victory.
Notre Dame featured a balanced attack at the net, with Teagan Kondik, Makayla Roose, Emma Redlinger and Ellie Breitling combining for 55 of the team’s 57 kills. Kondik led the way with 21, followed by Roose with 13, Redlinger with 12 and Breitling with nine. Ella Osterkamp paced the offense with 48 assists.
“Having such great hitters, literally all the hitters we have, I’m never worried, even if it’s not a great set,” Osterkamp said. “I have full faith in them to get it over the net and fix my mistake, even if I make one.”
Kaia Tilden anchored the defense with 18 digs, while Kondik added 17 and Dara Jackson had 14.
Now, the table is set for Saturday night.
Assumption has won 25 state championships, compared to Notre Dame’s 10. The two programs have combined to win eight of the last nine state titles, with St. Henry the only other school to claim a championship during that span. Assumption has won six of those titles, while Notre Dame has claimed two.
“I think this one just means more to us,” Colvin said. “I know it means something every year, but like I feel like we faced a lot of adversity this season. We’ve grown a lot. We lost to them in the championship last year, and it was a heartbreaker. So like I think this one just means more. So it would be really, really nice to have a trophy at the end of this that says champs.”
Saturday night’s championship match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
PANDAS DEF. COLONELS, 3-0 (26-24, )
Game Stats
Kills: Whitley County 48, Notre Dame 57
Aces: Whitley County 3, Notre Dame 7
Errors: Whitley County 21, Notre Dame 18
Blocks: Whitley County 6, Notre Dame 4
Records: Whitley County 38-5, Notre Dame 28-11
