By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
After winning a tense five-set match in the semifinals of the state volleyball tournament on Friday afternoon, Notre Dame Academy players had a little over two hours to reboot their emotions before the championship match against Lexington Dunbar.
It seems the Pandas had no problem doing that. They defeated Dunbar, 25-22, 25-11, 25-16, in the season finale at George Rogers Clark to win their second state championship in three years and 10th overall.
Notre Dame head coach Leslie Litmer missed the state tournament after giving birth to a baby daughter so associate head coach Jenna Leistner guided the Pandas to their final three victories with the help of some strong senior leadership.
The team’s leading hitters in the championship match were seniors Sydney Nolan with 19 and Peyton Mast with 11. They were named to the state all-tournament team along with senior libero Kamden Schrand, who had 23 digs to launch scoring opportunities.
In the three-set sweep, Notre Dame had 54 total kills and a .407 team hitting percentage compared to Dunbar’s 35 kills and .233 percentage.
Nolan received the state tournament’s most valuable player award. In her team’s three victories, she had 53 kills in 102 attempts with only five errors for a .471 hitting percentage.
A University of North Carolina recruit, Nolan was also the leading hitter on the Notre Dame team that won the 2020 state tournament as a sophomore.
After winning a close battle in the first set, Notre Dame used a 12-4 run to open up a 15-7 lead in the second set. The Pandas ended the set with a 10-2 run that included three services aces.
Notre Dame jumped ahead 6-0 in the third set with Nolan and sophomore Riley McCluskey each getting two kills. The Pandas pushed it to 10-4 with three more kills by Nolan, who ended up with eight in the 25-16 win for the state title.
St. Henry won last year’s state volleyball tournament in between Notre Dame’s two state titles. That’s the longest win streak by Northern Kentucky teams since they won the first six state tournaments from 1979 to 1984.
Notre Dame upsets Assumption in five-set state semifinal match
In the state tournament semifinals Friday afternoon, Notre Dame had to win the last two sets to upset Louisville Assumption, 25-15, 22-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-7. In the final Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association rankings, Assumption was No.1 and Notre Dame was No. 4.
The Pandas scored the last two points in the fourth set on back-to-back kills by senior Peyton Mast off assists by sophomore setter Lauren Ott. Two of their teammates — senior Sydney Nolan and sophomore Ava Tilden — each had six kills in that crucial victory that kept their team from being eliminated.
In the final set, Notre Dame went on a 7-0 run to take a 13-6 lead. Nolan had two kills during that stretch and ended the match with another pair of kills to give her a five-set total of 25.
Tilden finished with 15 kills and Mast had 14 in the semifinal match. Notre Dame had a .273 hitting percentage compared to Assumption’s .186. The Pandas had a 3-0 record against the Rockets this season.