Notre Dame upsets De Soto on way to volleyball final four

Notre Dame's Shannon Brennan celebrates her team's victory in Saturday's Class 3 state quarterfinal match in De Soto, Mo. (CHRIS STALTER ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian) [Click to enlarge]

Notre Dame beat Rosati-Kain in three games in the quarters

DE SOTO, Mo. -- After it ran onto the court before Saturday's Class 3 sectional match, Notre Dame's girls volleyball team huddled and yelled in unison, "All for one and one for all."

Three hours later, its play echoed that rallying cry when it used teamwork to overcome a late five-point deficit and defeat Rosati-Kain in the Class 3 state quarterfinal, earning a spot in the final four.

"We all just played together as one," senior Lindsay Strieker said.

The Bulldogs defeated De Soto in the sectional match, 25-21, 25-21, then punched their ticket to the final four for the first time since 2003 by beating Rosati-Kain in an intense quarterfinal match, 25-19, 17-25, 25-23.

Notre Dame's opportunity to play in the final four appeared to be slipping away late in the third game of the quarterfinals. Rosati-Kain held momentum, leading 20-15.

However, Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup still believed in her squad.

"I knew they had the fight in them," she said.

Notre Dame clawed back, scoring six of the next seven points to tie the game at 21-21.

When the team was trailing in the third game, junior setter Shannon Brennan was thinking about all of the tough workouts the team endured in practice and all the games they had played.

"We came too far to quit now," she said she recalled thinking.

Instead of giving up, the team kept its composure.

That approach paid off when Notre Dame took its first lead of the decisive third game at 24-23 on a hitting error by Rosati-Kain. The Cougars attempted to tie the game with a cross-court spike, but it sailed out of bounds, ending the roller-coaster match, 25-23.

"We wanted this so badly," senior Meghan Dohogne said, explaining that the team kept its final four hopes alive in the third game by staying together and "picking each other up."

Dohogne led the Bulldogs with eight kills and 18 digs in the quarterfinals. She posted seven kills, three blocks and 11 digs in the sectional match against De Soto.

The senior middle hitter said that the team "was feeling good" entering its match against the host school, De Soto.

"This was our day," she said.

The Bulldogs and Dragons engaged in a tug of war in the early portion of their first game. The two teams were tied 10 times in the first 34 points. The Dragons threatened to take momentum when they pulled ahead 18-17 and had their top player, Shelby Cable, stepping to the service line.

Stroup called timeout to calm down her team and to attempt to throw off Cable's rhythm.

The plan worked, as the Bulldogs broke Cable's serve and scored the next two points to build a 20-18 lead and force a De Soto timeout. Notre Dame scored four of the next five points to earn a game point, eventually winning 25-21.

"I'm really proud of how they came out," Stroup said of the way her team started against De Soto.

The two teams met two weeks ago with the Dragons winning in two games in the semifinals of the Festus tournament.

"We made too many errors today," De Soto coach John Scheffel said of the difference in the two matches between De Soto and Notre Dame. He said he thought his team had a "case of the nerves."

The Bulldogs did not allow De Soto's home-floor advantage to rattle them. Stroup said they have played in front of big rival crowds before.

"The girls are used to it," she said.

Between games, Stroup warned her team not to be complacent. She remembered last year's sectional match against Lutheran South when her team won the first game, only to lose the match. She told her team that it needed to "focus and finish this."

The team heeded her words, earning a 5-4 lead and never trailing again en route to the 25-21 victory. The loss was only De Soto's second of the season. Scheffel credited Notre Dame for making adjustments after their first meeting.

"We couldn't get into our offense at all," he said.

In addition to Dohogne's 15 total kills on the day, Notre Dame's offensive attack was helped by Strieker and Allyson Bradshaw, who both had three kills against De Soto and five kills against Rosati-Kain. Sophomore Amy Wibbenmeyer contributed three kills against De Soto and some clutch serves late in the Rosati-Kain contest.

"You would have thought she was a senior," Stroup said of the sophomore's play.

Brennan set up the offense with 15 assists in the sectional and 17 assists in the quarterfinal. She also put down four kills against the Cougars.

"I've never had this feeling," Strieker said of reaching the final four.