Bulldogs look for better showing

~ The Notre Dame volleyball team will compete in the Class 3 final four today

The Notre Dame volleyball team can't wait to erase the bad taste from last year's Class 3 final four.

The Bulldogs struggled at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo., dropping seven of the eight games they played.

"This year I feel like I know what's going to be there," Notre Dame senior Allyson Bradshaw said. "Last year we weren't really aware of the competition. This year we just know we're going to have to play our best.

"The leadership is a lot different, too. As a junior, I felt like I still had another year. This year I feel like it's my last chance to prove we're really a good team. I think that with all the seniors, I feel like this is not going to be the same as last year."

Notre Dame will get its shot at redemption starting today when it opens pool play against reigning state champion O'Hara at 4 p.m. The Bulldogs will get a rematch against the team they lost to in the third-place match at 6 p.m. when they play Logan-Rogersville. Notre Dame wraps up pool play against St. Francis Borgia at 8 p.m.

"I kind of like that because you know what you're expecting," Notre Dame junior Kate Edwards said about facing two of the same teams as last year. "But then again, playing O'Hara, they are one of those teams that has one of those main hitters who's incredible, so that's always intimidating. It's also kind of comforting because you know what you need to do."

O'Hara enters at 30-6 and riding a 15-match winning streak. It hasn't dropped a game during the run. Three of its losses have come against teams from Kansas.

Sophomore 6-foot-1 middle hitter Victoria Hurtt leads the Celtics' offense. She's recorded 408 kills and 109 total blocks.

Logan-Rogersville is the lone team that Notre Dame defeated in a game at last year's final four, splitting their pool-play match 1-1. The Wildcats boast a 32-3-3 record.

Senior 5-10 outside hitter Madison Redfern and senior 5-9 setter Erica Heim pace Logan-Rogersville's offense. Heim leads the team with 325 kills, while Redfern has recorded 302. The two players also lead the team in service aces. Redfern's 47 barely edge Heim's 44.

St. Francis Borgia carries a 23-11-1 record into the final four and is the lone participant that didn't qualify last season. The lone common opponent for St. Francis Borgia and Notre Dame is Festus, which the Bulldogs defeated 2-1 and the Knights beat 2-0.

Senior 6-0 middle hitter Kathryn Politte leads the Knights with 211 kills and junior 5-11 outside hitter Kristina Fitzpatrick has put down 209 kills. Fitzpatrick leads the squad with 36 aces.

Notre Dame suffers from a lack of height, topping out at 5-9. But the Bulldogs have adjusted their offense to overcome that weakness.

"We just have to keep the other team's defense on their toes," Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup said. "I've got a lot of pretty experienced players who do a good job of knowing when to tip, where to tip the ball to. So the other team, they kind of pull up to defend the tip and we hit it deep. We're pretty good with our placement. I think what we lack in some other areas, size being No. 1 and we can't do anything about that, what we lack in that area, we make up for in other areas by playing a faster offense and being smart about where we place the ball."

Edwards leads Notre Dame's offense with 193 kills, followed by Bradshaw (186), Shannon Brennan (176) and Brooke Bohnert (141). Brennan leads the team with 389 assists and 34 aces.

The two teams with the best records in pool play will advance to Saturday's 4 p.m. state title match, while the other two teams will play for third place at 7 p.m.

"I'm a little nervous, but I definitely feel like we have something to prove," Bradshaw said. "We're a different team than last year and I just want to show people that. We're not just going to state to get fourth. We're going to play our best."