Perryville spikers outlast ND

The Notre Dame and Perryville volleyball teams have built quite a rivalry over the past few years, one marked by high intensity and close matches.

"It's a big rivalry. It's always intense and exciting," Perryville coach David Mirly said. "I think both teams have a lot of respect for each other."

It's not likely what transpired Monday night at Notre Dame did anything to diminish the mutual respect between the area powers.

The squads waged a back-and-forth battle that featured 26 ties, leads by both squads in all three sets and no advantage bigger than five points.

Sophomore Brooke Hogard's kill finally ended things as Perryville squeezed out a thrilling 25-21, 22-25, 25-20 victory.

"It was definitely an intense match," Hogard said.

Perryville, one year removed from its first state final four berth, improved to 23-4-5 despite having just one senior.

"This young group has done great," Mirly said.

Notre Dame fell to 18-2-1 -- both losses coming at the hands of the Pirates, who are also responsible for the Bulldogs' tie.

"It was exciting. It was close," Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup said. "We were up, they were up. I feel like we played good at times. We just have to be more consistent."

There is a solid chance the teams will meet again during the Class 3 District 1 tournament that Notre Dame will host.

Notre Dame’s Lydia Goodson spikes over Perryville’s Brooke Hogard in the third game Monday at Notre Dame Regional High School. (Fred Lynch)

Perryville virtually assured itself of the No. 1 seed in the district, so if the squads do square off it almost certainly would be for the title -- which would be old hat.

The Pirates captured the last two district championships by beating Notre Dame in the final. The Bulldogs prevailed the previous two years by knocking off Perryville in the title match.

"They're a very talented team. We'll probably meet them in the district," Perryville senior Kaylie Hadler said. "They want that this year. So do we."

Added Perryville junior Alex Spears, the Pirates' kills leader on the season: "Next time we play them we'll have to bring it 10 times harder."

Monday's match featured plenty of ebbs and flows in all three sets as neither side was able to gain much seperation.

"It was definitely intensity on both ends of the net," Spears said. "I think both teams were really fired up."

The first set featured four-point leads by each squad and six ties, the last at 16-16.

Spears' kill put the Pirates ahead 17-16 and they kept the lead on their way to the 25-21 victory.

The biggest leads in the second set were three points by Notre Dame and two points by Perryville. There were 11 ties, the last at 21-21.

Senior Taylor Feeney's kill put the Bulldogs on top 22-21, part of a 4-1 run to end the 25-22 Notre Dame win.

That set the stage for the decisive third set that was every bit as close as the first two.

"It was good play on both sides," Mirly said.

The final set featured five lead changes and nine ties, the last at 13-13.

Spears' kill-block put the Pirates ahead 14-13. A Spears kill made it 18-15 for Perryville's biggest advantage of the set to that point.

Notre Dame, which never led by more than two points in the set, cut the deficit to 19-18 and 20-19.

But the Pirates finished strong, scoring five of the final six points to close out the match with a 25-20 win.

That five-point margin was the biggest lead of the contest by either team.

"Our girls had to show a lot of toughness. We were losing every game early," Mirly said. "Notre Dame has some very talented players."

Spears had nine kills, six digs, two blocks and two aces.

Hogard also recorded nine kills to go along with six digs and four blocks.

Hadler added six kills, while sophomore Kayla Buxton dished out 28 assists.

"It shows a lot of heart," Hogard said when asked what it means to have beaten Notre Dame twice this season. "But we know we have to bring it even more next time."

Junior Lydia Goodson paced Notre Dame with 14 kills and Feeney added 10.

Senior Kaitlin Welter had 18 assists and five kills.

Senior Annie Siebert added five kills, while senior Madeline Rosenquist had 13 digs and three aces.