Scott City volleyball team outlasts Notre Dame

The Notre Dame volleyball team did not appear to fade physically at the end of its three-game thriller at Scott City on Wednesday. But neither did the Rams. That made the difference, according to Scott City setter Sydney Short.

"We're more conditioned this year," Short said when asked what helped her team pull away at the end. "We're more in shape. I remember last year I would be dying out of breath. We've worked so hard. We're in so much better shape. I feel like I could play all night."

The Rams won seven of the match's final eight points -- many of them grueling battles at the net -- on their way to a 25-16, 21-25, 25-19 victory over their rivals.

"That kind of stuff is hard because whenever you have quick net play like that, it's hard to get your transitions off and really get a good swing," Notre Dame middle Kate Edwards said about the long points played mostly in front of the 10-foot line. "That definitely affected our hitting because we really do have strong, strong hitting this year. We felt like we really didn't get to show it so much tonight."

A year ago more than one Scott City player left the Notre Dame gym in tears after a loss on the court and some off-court drama.

Notre Dame's Myriah Bernard and Kate Edwards, right, block against Scott City's Katie Hogan during Game 2 of Wednesday's match in Scott City. (Kristin Eberts)

"You have no idea," Short said. "After last year, the whole thing that went on, we just wanted to get revenge so bad. We really wanted to do this for our team. It just meant a whole lot to us."

Both teams were backed by large and loud student cheering sections.

"That was exciting," first-year Scott City coach Erin Hoffman said. "It's been a long time since I've coached in a packed gym. That rivalry is so great to have such support from both towns, to come out and support these few girls that play volleyball. It was great."

Scott City never trailed in Game 1. The Rams were able to produce points from their offense, recording 11 kills in the game, while Notre Dame struggled.

Nine of the Bulldogs' attacks either were blocked by Scott City, hit out or hit in the net. They had just three kills in the game, two of which came on tips.

Notre Dame's Dani Roosman sets the ball as teammates Myriah Bernard, center, and Kate Edwards, right, get into position during the second game of a match on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011, in Scott City. Scott City won 2-1. (Kristin Eberts)

Short recorded three kills in the game by hitting the second touch over the net.

"Notre Dame is a smart team," Short said. "They're smart, so you have to trick them every once in a while."

It was something she and Hoffman worked on before the match.

"Actually, I wasn't thinking just tonight," Hoffman said. "I know that last night in the game she tipped a whole bunch and it didn't work, so I thought, hey we need to get in the gym and practice some other stuff, some variation in her tipping, and it happened to come in useful."

Notre Dame's offense produced 12 kills in its Game 2 win.

Scott City players celebrate a point during Game 1 of Wednesday's match against Notre Dame in Scott City. (Kristin Eberts)

"We didn't really know what to expect because we know that Scott City always has a good team. We knew they had the new coach and they were really fired up wanting to play and we hadn't seen them yet," Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup said. "We know that they have some very, very good hard hitters. I told them in the locker room it was kind of like we were waiting to see what they could do, and then we started to play."

Edwards finished with a team-high seven kills for Notre Dame while Miranda Fowler, Brooke Bohnert and Amy Wibbenmeyer all had five. Dani Roosman had 12 assists, while Wibbenmeyer and Olivia Roth both had 15 digs.

"We did a better job on defense the second game -- picking up the tips, we passed better the second game and just played our game than waiting to see what someone else does and trying to react," Stroup said.

After Scott City raced out to a 6-1 lead in Game 3, Notre Dame won the next five points to even the score. The teams exchanged short runs until Scott City called a timeout with the scored tied at 18-18. It proceeded to close the match on a 7-1 run.

Katie Hogan had 12 kills, while Mikah Simpson had 11 for Scott City.

"Those first two weeks of preseason when every day they'd complain," Hoffman said about her team's initial reaction to tougher conditioning. "I'd say we're going to run a circuit today, and they're like 'Oh.' And now they understand why. Plus just there are a lot of seniors. They're hungry for this year, and they played really, really hard."

Scott City avenged its loss to Notre Dame in the championship match of the SEMO Spike tournament a season ago. Both teams once again will participate in the 48-team tournament, which starts Friday at the Show Me Center and Notre Dame Regional High School.