By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Notre Dame Academy reached the final four in the state volleyball tournament for the fifth consecutive year with 3-0 victory over West Jessamine in the quarterfinal round on Friday at George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester.
The Pandas had a strong .327 attack percentage in the three-set sweep, winning by scores of 25-22, 25-13 and 25-22. West Jessamine finished with a .150 attack percentage.
Notre Dame’s kill leaders were senior outside hitter Teagan Kondik with 15 and junior middle hitter Makayla Roose with 14. Junior libero Kaia Tilden had a team-high 18 defensive digs.
Notre Dame (27-11) will play Whitley County (38-4) in the semifinals at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Pandas have a 3-1 record in semifinal matches over the last four years, but the last time they won the state title was 2022.
The other semifinal match will be Louisville Mercy (30-7) vs. three-time defending state champion Louisville Assumption (38-3) at 11 a.m.
Volleyball hitting leaders named first-team all-state
The leading hitters on the Notre Dame and Beechwood volleyball teams that reached the 9th Region final were named first-team all-state by the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association.
Notre Dame won the 9th Region title behind 6-foot-1 senior outside hitter Teagan Kondik, a University of Cincinnati recruit. She has a team-high 454 kills going into the Pandas’ semifinal match in the state tournament on Saturday.
Beechwood senior outside hitter Isabel O’Brien received first-team all-state honors for leading the 32-3 Tigers in kills (429) and finishing second in digs (354).
She’ll continue her career at Bellarmine University in Louisville.
Brossart senior setter Aubrey Rebholz and senior middle hitter Callie Ritter were both named second-team all-state. Their team won the 10th Region championship.
The 9th Region players on the second-team all-state list include Beechwood senior middle hitter Macy Armstrong, Notre Dame junior middle hitter Makayla Roose and St. Henry junior libero Kenadi Sieg.
Coach of the Year awards went to Matt Long of Beechwood for the 9th Region and Danielle French of Brossart for the 10th Region.
St. Henry inducts state champions into Hall of Fame
Northern Kentucky’s first state champion golfer and two distance runners who won Class 1A state titles in cross country and track were among the latest inductees into the St. Henry Hall of Fame during a ceremony held in October.
Ray Hoffman, who took medalist honors in the 1945 boys state golf tournament, was inducted posthumously. Chris Danks and Gordon Dooley are the distance runners who won state titles in two sports.
The other former St. Henry athletes added to the Hall of Fame were basketball and baseball player Gerald Koop, girls soccer players Krista Dowell Knapke and Libby Leedom Nields, volleyball players Stephanie Niemer and Abbey Bessler Schuster and golfer Ralph Landrum.
The only coach inducted was Dave Faust, who retired with a 482-425 record in 33 seasons as St. Henry boys basketball coach. He holds the 9th Region boys basketball record for most career wins and led three teams to Kentucky All “A” Classic state championships.
The Team of Distinction Award went to the 2010 St. Henry girls soccer team that won the state championship. Dan and Karen Riegler received the Father Bach Community Award and Bill Tobergte Service Awards went to Steve Rice, Denny Seibert and Jeff Schuler.