ND blocks Perryville's path in Class 3 District 1 final

DEXTER, Mo. -- There is closing out a game and then there is what the Notre Dame volleyball team did to Perryville on Tuesday night in the Class 3 District 1 championship match.

The Bulldogs slammed the door on the Pirates in the opening game on their way to a comfortable 25-13, 25-20 win to claim the title.

Notre Dame held a slim 14-12 lead after a stuff from Perryville's Natalie Gremaud before reeling off 11 of the next 12 points to take the game.

"Notre Dame is so tough," Perryville coach Dave Mirly said. "They got us a little frustrated."

Five Perryville errors contributed to the run, but many were the result of Notre Dame's strong play at the net.

Notre Dame players celebrate their two-game sweep of Perryville in the Class 3 District 1 title match Tuesday in Dexter, Mo. The Bulldogs advanced to the sectional round with a 25-13, 25-20 victory. (KRISTIN EBERTS ~ keberts@semissourian)

"Notre Dame's blocking was phenomenal," Mirly said. "They just dominated at the net and it got us frustrated. But we were still fighting right until the end, and I'm so proud of them."

The Pirates jumped out to an early lead in Game 2, just like they did in Game 1. Perryville led 9-3 at one point and forced Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup to call an early timeout.

"Each game we started off a little slow, but we never gave up," said Notre Dame setter Shannon Brennan, who led the team with 10 kills and added nine assists. "The thing is we can't let our intensity lower. We had to keep our intensity up."

This time the Bulldogs went on a 12-1 run in the middle of the game to take control of the match.

"We really worked hard this season so we could go against them," said Notre Dame's Amy Wibbenmeyer, who recorded five kills. "We beat them once and they beat us once, so we knew it was going to be a really good game.

ABOVE: Notre Dame's Kate Edwards passes the ball during Game 1 of the Class 3 District 1 title match. BELOW: Notre Dame's Allyson Bradshaw hits as Perryville's Samantha Amberger, left, and Natalie Bauwens, right, go up to block

"The first time we played them we weren't very up and they hit a lot of balls at us and we weren't quite ready for them, so we knew our defense had to be better. But we also knew we had to have offense to get back at them."

Notre Dame's play at the net -- both blocking and attacking -- kept a powerful Perryville offense scrambling for much of the match.

"That's happened to us several times this year," Stroup said. "We've been, it seems, on the defensive the whole time and I told them that exact thing before we came out here tonight.

"I'm like, 'You have got to keep them on the defensive. We have to attack the ball. We cannot tip.' They're quick and they pull their defense in and we rely on our tips against a lot of people if they can't pick them up, but Perryville's a good defensive team, so I knew we were going to have to hit the ball."

Stroup said improving her team's offense has been a focus in practice.

Notre Dame's Allyson Bradshaw hits as Perryville's Samantha Amberger, left, and Natalie Bauwens, right, go up to block during the first game of a Class 3 District 1 title match on Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2010, at Dexter. Notre Dame won 2-0. (KRISTIN EBERTS ~ keberts@semissourian)

"We been working, working, working, working on our offense because I've always felt like this season that was our biggest weakness -- not being able to get that kill when we really needed to," Stroup said.

Allyson Bradshaw finished with five kills and Ashley Humphrey led the Bulldogs with 13 assists in the title match.

Notre Dame defeated Kennett, while Perryville needed three games to defeat Dexter in the semifinals.

"We knew it wasn't going to be as challenging as the second game, but we didn't want to play down to their level because we knew Perryville was watching us," Brennan said. "We wanted to get fired up and get ready to play them because we knew that whoever we played, they were going to be ready because everyone likes to beat us."

The defeat put an end to Perryville's most successful season.

"Tonight's loss hurts, but it doesn't take away what we've accomplished this year," Mirly said. "Thirty wins is just above and beyond what my expectations were for this group. These seven seniors did a phenomenal job all year long. I couldn't ask for a better group of people."

Notre Dame advances to the sectional round, which will be played Saturday.

"I know it's going to be tough from here on out," Stroup said. "We knew this was going to be tough tonight. I mean I was not coming in here looking any further ahead than this game tonight. We haven't even discussed down the road from here because I knew Perryville was going to be good, and you hate to look past somebody that can beat you."