Dexter takes ND to the wire in district finale

In the playoffs it's not how a team wins, but that it wins.

That's what Notre Dame did Wednesday night in the Class 3 District 1 championship.

Just win.

Notre Dame got all it could handle from second-seeded Dexter in a 15-10, 12-15, 15-8 three-set victory. The win puts the Bulldogs in the Class 3 sectional at Ste. Genevieve at 3 p.m. Saturday.

Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup said she wasn't surprised by Dexter's strong showing.

"Dexter's a good team," she said. "They brought everything back we hit at them."

After cruising to a 9-2 lead in the first game, Notre Dame looked like they would roll right through the game and match. With her team down big, Dexter coach Kris Vandeven called a time out that seemed to get her team fired up.

Out of the time out, Dexter (19-11) pulled to within three and got as close as 13-10 before the first game slipped away. By making Notre Dame push for every point, Dexter was able to get back into contention.

Dexter hitter Carrie DeArman said one of the big keys to playing in the district tournament is playing as a team, something they did well all night.

"We were playing much more as a team as the season went on," DeArman said.

With a renewed confidence, Dexter shot out of the gates in the second game. The Bearcats stretched the lead to 6-2 before Notre Dame stormed back.

Notre Dame took its first lead of the game at 8-7, but the lead was short-lived. Dexter picked up the pace once again and pulled in front 13-9. Notre Dame cut it to 13-12, but couldn't get any closer.

"They picked up everything, but we worked really hard to fight back and picked up everything we could," Notre Dame middle hitter Katie Beussink said.

Despite losing game two, Notre Dame came out confident to start game three. That confidence paid off as the Bulldogs pulled out to a early lead and extended it to 14-5.

Dexter staved off three separate match points before bowing out 15-8 in the final game.

"We really pulled together there at the end," Beussink said.

Stroup said a tough win like Wednesday's can really help the team as they look to go far in the playoffs. The Bulldogs finished fourth in the state last year.

"They made us play," she said. "I'm glad we didn't just walk through it."

Stroup said she was happy with the way her team performed in districts, but knows they will have to play strong Saturday if they want to advance.

"We're gonna have to be on our game Saturday," she said.

Junior Sommer McCauley led the Bulldogs in the tournament with 12 kills and 16 assists. Ali Tyson added 10 kills and 14 assists in the two matches, and sophomore Laura Browne had 11 kills and an astounding 17 blocks.

Beussink had 12 blocks and eight kills. Kristen Boos had 22 service points in the two matches.

jjoffray@semissourian.com

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