Notre Dame volleyball team avenges loss to Perryville

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- As far as missed attacks go, this one was more a warning shot than an unsuccessful spike.

Notre Dame's Kate Edwards got the first set of Game 2 in the Bulldogs' match against Perryville on Monday night and delivered a blistering shot around the Pirates' block and down the sideline, missing just wide as the Perryville crowd let out a collective sigh of relief.

The junior then had a hand in scoring seven of her team's next nine points to help lead Notre Dame to a 25-22, 25-21 victory.

Edwards recorded four kills from her customary spot in the middle and took part in three kill-blocks to give the Bulldogs the momentum and lead early in Game 2.

"That felt nice," said Edwards of her hot start. "I'm not going to lie. There's always something about getting a good block that kind of pumps you up."

with seven kills -- including the most emphatic of the evening -- and five blocks.

"Everybody was pretty on, but Kate was on," Notre Dame setter Shannon Brennan said, putting far more emphasis at the end of the statement. "I could tell when she got a good hit, it just builds her confidence up. And pretty much every time she did, she just hit it almost in front of the 10-foot line, it seemed like."

Perryville coach Dave Mirly called a timeout with his team trailing 8-3 in the game, and after two Pirate points and a Notre Dame sideout Edwards rotated out of the front row.

The Pirates won nine of the next 11 points to take a 15-11 lead, and later led 21-19.

"We didn't back down," Mirly said. "You know, in the past when we'd play Notre Dame we'd get a little nervous and we'd back down, but tonight I thought we weren't intimidated by them. We just didn't make enough plays."

The Bulldogs avenged a loss to Perryville in the championship game of the season-opening Notre Dame Volleyballfest tournament.

"When they played us first, they found our weak spots where they always hit those corners," Brennan said. "They stayed up, and plus it was at the end of a tournament. It was the end of the day and we were tired, and they totally surprised us with how good they played. Tonight we were ready for them. We knew how good they were and we were ready for them, and this is going to set the tone for districts."

Both teams were ranked in the Class 3 state rankings released Monday -- Notre Dame at No. 10 and and Perryville at No. 4 -- and both are in District 1, meaning a postseason meeting is possible.

"I thought Notre Dame played great," Mirly said. "I thought Notre Dame came in here -- it was loud, there were a lot of people here. I was screaming at my own players and they couldn't even hear me, and I thought they played really good.

"Last time we played we were tied 18-18 and won both games 25-19, and tonight we were tight close to the end and they went on to win."

Notre Dame was coming off a Thursday night loss to Jackson that caused it to slip five spots in the rankings.

"We had an off night," Edwards said. "That's really about all there is to say about that."

According to Bulldogs coach Tara Stroup, the loss prompted a "heart-to-heart" talk between her players, and the defeat was still on her and her players' minds.

"We knew this one was an important one," Stroup said. "We knew they were going to be good because we have three losses and that was one of them, so we didn't want that to happen again, especially after Thursday."

So while paying back Perryville for an early loss was nice for the Bulldogs, Monday night's win was just as much about getting over their recent loss.

"I think there was a little bit of a competitive rivalry there, but mostly we just knew that it was between us," Edwards said. "We had to play our game and focus on what was important."