Sluggish offense hands Bulldogs early exit at Dig for Life

~ Notre Dame lost to Dexter in straight sets in the semifinals of the gold bracket

A slow start and a lack of offense ultimately doomed the Notre Dame volleyball team, which fell to Dexter for the second time this season.

The young Bulldogs dropped both sets 25-12, 25-22 to the Bearcats in a gold bracket semifinal match Saturday at the Dig for Life Classic at the Show-Me Center.

Notre Dame (10-5-1) held a 20-19 lead late in the second set but gave up the next five points to the Bearcats, who went on to win the Dig for Life championship.

"I thought we played well overall in the tournament up until that point," Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup said about her team's performance against Dexter. "That was the only game where I wasn't real happy with the way we played, but we came out and gave it a good shot against them in the second game."

Dexter held a slim 15-12 lead early in the first set but quickly took care of Notre Dame with a 10-0 run to take a 1-0 lead.

"Our girls played too timid I think in that first set," Stroup said. "They had beaten us before and we knew they were good, but I thought they were maybe shying away from the ball and not attacking with that intensity that it takes to beat Dexter who is a really good team."

Notre Dame was one of six teams to go undefeated in pool play in the 48-team tournament according to Stroup. The Bulldogs beat New Haven in the first round of bracket play 25-13, 25-21 and routed Jefferson 25-16, 25-15 in the semis.

"We started out hot, just ran into a good Dexter team that also beat us in the VolleyballFest tournament, so they're probably the best team out there right now," Stroup said.

Advance (8-7-1) finished second in its pool with a 2-1 record, good enough for a spot in the gold bracket.

However, the Hornets lost to Bismarck in the first round, dropping to the consolation bracket.

Advance defeated Woodland in round one, but lost to Bernie in a tightly contested consolation semifinal game.

The Hornets lost the first set 25-15 but were mindful of their mistakes heading into the second set with the Mules.

Advance coach Dana Below said her team made adjustments defensively.

"They were really hitting it hard at us, and I think we had to kind of reposition ourselves and be able to attack back," Below said. "We did make those adjustments, but they weren't as effective, and I don't think this team has progressed as much as I would have liked them to in the past couple weeks."

Bernie had a 16-12 lead midway through the final set, but Advance rallied back to tie it at 17. However, the Hornets couldn't hold the Mules' attacking game up front as Bernie went on a 13-3 run to advance to the consolation championship.

"There are a lot of things to work on," Below said. "We'll have to address those in practice and play good teams to get better."

Advance will host Notre Dame at 7 p.m. on Monday.

St. Vincent's Kassidy Kassel spikes the ball in a match against Dexter in the second round of the Dig For Life Classic volleyball tournament at the Show Me Center Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014 in Cape Girardeau. St. Vincent was defeated 25-10, 25-14. (GLENN LANDBERG)

Saxony Lutheran (7-6-3) went 2-0-1 in pool play, knocking off Marquand-Zion, Portageville and split with Eminence.

In the opening round of gold bracket play, the Crusaders lost to Park Hills 12-25, 10-25.

Saxony coach Julie Brandmeyer said the Crusaders were outplayed by a good all-around team.

"In both games I think we just weren't up to the same level that they were," Brandmeyer said. "They run a faster offense than we're used to seeing, and the way they executed their attacks and pokes over the net just threw us off."

Brandmeyer said her team learned a lot playing against a better opponent.

"I'm glad our kids had an opportunity to play a higher-paced game, but it was definitely different, and I think they learned that playing at a higher pace can be more effective."

The Crusaders played Bernie in a consolation semifinal losing in three sets 21-25, 26-24, 20-25.

"Their defense was just too tough," Brandmeyer said. "It seemed like there were a couple stretches there where the ball hardly hit the floor on their side. That may have taken a little out of our girls, but we did have a rally in us right to the end. We just came up short."

Leopold (11-1-2) played Park Hills Central in a quarterfinal game, losing to the Rebels in straight sets.

The Wildcats were 3-0 in pool play.

In the first round of the silver bracket, Cape Central (4-8) beat Sikeston before losing to Kennett in a quarterfinal matchup.

Scott City (3-7) defeated Ellington in the silver bracket, but the Rams couldn't get by Calvary Lutheran and were eliminated from the tournament.

St. Vincent won their pool, advancing to the gold bracket to play Lesterville. The Indians got past Lesterville and then lost to Dexter in a quarterfinal game.