Notre Dame, Scott City fall short of earning final four berth

Notre Dame's volleyball season ended Saturday in the Class 3 quarterfinal match in Park Hills, Mo.

The Bulldogs defeated Lutheran South 25-19, 25-15 in the sectional but then lost to Borgia 25-16, 25-16 to fall one victory short of its second consecutive berth in the state's final four.

Notre Dame finished with a 30-5-3 record, while Borgia advanced with a 32-4-1 mark.

"They were a very good team," Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup said. "I think that's going to be the state champs out of Class 3. We played hard but they just didn't make a lot of mistakes."

Against Lutheran South (11-18-5), Laura Browne had 12 kills, Amanda Essner had five kills, Allison Essner recorded 17 assists, and Amber Karnes added nine assists.

In the loss to Borgia, Browne and Lauren Beussink both had four kills.

"The girls had a very good season," Stroup said. "To finish in the top eight of the state is not bad."

Scott City ousted

Sometimes, momentum is all that is needed to determine the outcome of a volleyball match.

Scott City used momentum to claim its second district championship in three years earlier last week in Bloomfield, Mo.

Unfortunately, that momentum disappeared when the Rams returned to Bloomfield on Saturday. The Rams lost 26-24, 25-12 to Bismarck in the Class 2 sectionals. Scott City's 2002 season also ended in sectionals.

"We played hard, but we couldn't get any momentum going at all today," Scott City coach Laura Ort said. "Momentum is everything when you're playing volleyball."

Kacie Cartwright had eight kills and six digs, and Jenny Glency had six kills and seven digs to lead the Rams (26-10). Lindsey Amick had 16 assists, and Ashton Phillips added 11 assists. Jenny Heisserer had six digs and Abbie Cook added five blocks.

"We had a great year," Ort said. "It's disappointing to lose, but the kids played hard all year long. I'm very proud of them."

Valle won the quarterfinal, beating Bismarck 25-21, 25-11.

-- From staff reports