Summer school - ND's volleyball program tunes up for fall

High school sports will kick into high gear Monday with the start of fall practice, but Notre Dame's volleyball team is getting a head start on what it hopes will be another successful fall season with a successful summer campaign.

The Bulldogs competed in the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation's High School Volleyball League, taking home first place in the season-ending tournament July 28. Notre Dame's two teams met in the finals, with Notre Dame defeating the Lady Bulldogs.

"I stayed on one bench, just coaching the black team first then the blue team," Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup said.

Other teams featured in the league tournament were Advance, Bell City, Leopold, Jackson, St. Vincent and Puxico. Notre Dame will likely face the majority of these teams once the high school season begins.

Stroup said having both her squads in the final showed how strong and balanced this year's squad will be.

"We got first and second, so our team is pretty even," she said.

Notre Dame is coming off a fourth-place finish last season, its first trip to the state final four since making the jump to Class 3. The Bulldogs made a trip to the state final four in Class 2 in 2001.

Notre Dame will have another strong senior class this season but will have to replace its top hitters in Sommer McCauley and Emily Buehrle.

"We've had a couple of camps and the city league, and a couple of people have stepped up," Stroup said.

With several spots in the starting lineup likely up for competition heading into this season, Notre Dame's summer schedule gave Stroup a chance to see her players in action.

"It definitely gave them an advantage. If they came to stuff all summer at least we could see them," Stroup said.

While success in the summer league is nice, there is still a long way to go before the season gets started.

"We haven't had tryouts yet, so some people that were playing may not be on the team," Stroup said.