Notre Dame volleyball team edges district rival Perryville

Notre Dame volleyball coach Tara Stroup knew her team was going to be challenged when the Bulldogs faced Perryville on Tuesday night for the second time this season.

The two teams met in the Notre Dame VolleyballFest on Sept. 5 when the Bulldogs defeated the Pirates 25-17, 25-14 in straight sets, but Stroup had a feeling things wouldn't come as easy the second time around.

"I told the girls two weeks ago to get ready for this one because it's not going to be like it was last time," Stroup said. "I knew it wasn't. They always play really good defense, and it's a faster offensive game."

Notre Dame dropped a 25-22 decision in the opening set but bounced back by winning 27-25 in the second set and 25-21 in the third to come away with a crucial win at home over its Class 3 District 1 rival.

The victory improved the Bulldogs to 20-2-1 on the season, and Stroup said she was pleased to see her team stay focused after losing the first set.

Notre Dame's Allyson Jansen spikes over Perryville's Brooke Hogard during the second set Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 at Notre Dame Regional High School. (Fred Lynch)

"I wasn't sure what they were going to do. I was glad they were able to come back from that first loss because most of the season, we've had two-game sets and have won in two games," Stroup said. "Having that third game was just anybody's game right until the end. I was glad to see that fight in them because I've had some teams in the past that when it got real close, they would fold, so I was glad to see that they fought hard for every point.

"They were on the floor. They were running around the stands to get the ball. That was good effort."

A kill from Sam Brennan gave Notre Dame a 19-18 advantage in the third set, and the Bulldogs never allowed Perryville (18-10-2) to get within two points over the final eight points of the match. Brennan, a junior, finished with a match-high 15 kills, including one that gave Notre Dame its largest lead of the set at 22-18, but a kill and an ace from Maci Hotop pulled the Pirates back within two at 22-20.

"Both teams are just so good that it's hard to get momentum. It's hard to score more than three points at a time. ... It was just a good back-and-forth game," Perryville coach Dave Mirly said. "It's kind of what Notre Dame-Perryville has turned into, and after the first time we played them earlier this year when they got us pretty good, we wanted to make sure we made a statement to let everyone know that we're still around and we're a pretty good team, too."

The Bulldogs used a 3-1 run to close the set and secure the victory, wrapping up the match in fitting fashion when Abbie McAlister rose up from the middle and delivered a thunderous kill that sent the gymnasium into a shrieking roar.

"It felt great," said McAlister, who finished with 13 kills and three aces. "I was just so excited and happy. ... It was a good moment."

Perryville coach Dave Mirly reacts to a point scored against Notre Dame during the third set Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 at Notre Dame Regional High School. (Fred Lynch)

Lexi Welter also delivered for Notre Dame down the stretch. The sophomore had a match-high 18 digs defensively and led her team with 17 service points, including several key serves that allowed the Bulldogs to build a late lead.

"She's a good, solid player. She's only a sophomore, and she's very composed," Stroup said about Welter. "We were talking tonight about her just being able to make a mistake, shake it off and move on. ... I thought that was something we did well tonight."

The Pirates scored the first points of the opening set and built a 7-2 lead before Notre Dame used a 5-0 run to even the match at 7-all. An ace from Briley Bieser gave the Bulldogs their only lead of the set at 9-8, and Perryville rattled off six consecutive points before a kill from Brennan cut Notre Dame's deficit to 14-10. Brennan provided a kill later in the set that pulled the Bulldogs within a point at 23-22, but a kill from Brooke Hogard and a combined block from Hannah Layton and Hogard concluded the set for the Pirates.

During warm-ups, Mirly said he could sense his players were ready to play.

"I walked over to my coaches and said, 'I don't know if we're going to win this or not, but our girls are the most ready I've ever seen them.' We were focused. We were intense, and we were everything you needed to be to play in a big game," Mirly said. "Then when the score was 7-4, one of my starters went down and got hurt, and Notre Dame made a little run on us. Emma Derickson and Lydia Cook stepped in, and they don't usually get to play as much. ... Those two gave us a big lift that first set and all night long."

Cook finished with six digs, while Ahnie Hoff had a team-high 11 kills to lead Perryville. She also added seven digs and four aces while Layton contributed 10 kills and Hogard added five. Hotop notched seven kills for the Pirates, and Kayla Buxton added 27 assists.

Mirly said his team made several adjustments from the last time the two teams met, and Layton's presence on the outside proved to be one of the best results from those adjustments.

Perryville defenders Brooke Hogard, right, and Kayla Buxton block a shot by Notre Dame's Sam Brennan during the first set Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015 at Notre Dame Regional High School. (Fred Lynch)

"We adjusted how we set her," Mirly said about Layton. "We adjusted a few things in our blocking schemes tonight, too, that helped out Ahnie and Brooke getting some blocks. The ability to make adjustments out there was big from the first game to the second game. We'll watch the game tape again to make some more adjustments, and hopefully we'll be ready to see them if we play again."

The Bulldogs led for most of the second set, which featured eight ties, including three over the final seven points of the set. A kill from Brennan broke a 25-all tie and sparked the final two points of the set for Notre Dame.

Sam Feeney had a match-high 32 assists for the Bulldogs while libero Marianna Below contributed 16 digs.

The two teams have met in the district tournament the past five years, with Perryville winning the last four meetings. Mirly huddled his players after the match and praised their effort.

"Our girls believe they can win. They believe they can beat this team," Mirly said. "There's no fear. There's nothing like that, so we'll get another chance to play them. I don't know what's going to happen, but I guarantee we'll be ready to play."

Despite a number of unforced errors, Stroup said she was impressed by her team's ability to stay focused and pull out the victory.

"We talked about it after the game, and we all kind of agreed that it wasn't our best played game of the season by far," she said. "The fact that we were still able to come out with a win against a good team showed that we fought because we weren't exactly on at times."

JV -- Notre Dame won 22-25, 25-16, 25-22