KHSAA Championship: Notre Dame vs. Dunbar

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The championship game we have all been waiting for. Notre Dame vs. Paul-Laurence Dunbar. Notre Dame had to beat top five ranked Assumption in five sets to get to this point, and Dunbar faced a tough semifinal with other public school, Bowling Green. Both teams earned their right to be in the finals and showed their determined demeanor throughout the tournament. Notre Dame took the title though as they came out fearless winning in three straight sets over Dunbar (25-22, 25-11, 25-16). </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dunbar gave them a good fight in the first set and slowly lost some momentum here and there, but overall showed a great performance in the championship. Senior, middle blocker, Nyla Gains was an offensive threat for the Lady Bulldogs though as she hit .348 with 10 kills and 3 errors on 19 attempts. Gains ruled that front row with authority and kept her team in the game because of her competitive attitude. [player_tooltip player_id='198544' first='Isabela' last='Haggard'] was the leader in hitting percentage, hitting .714 as a setter with 5 kills on 7 attempts. She also tallied 2 blocks, 25 assists, and 6 digs. Sophomore setter, [player_tooltip player_id='198544' first='Isabela' last='Haggard'] definitely put her heart into this game. The other stud to mention for Dunbar was junior libero, [player_tooltip player_id='128188' first='Mia' last='Telechbush'], who racked up 17 digs in three sets. As they say, defense is a mindset. It's all about how bad you want it, and you could that [player_tooltip player_id='128188' first='Mia' last='Telechbush'] was giving the game her all. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Then, you have the winners of the KHSAA championship, Notre Dame, who just dominated this matchup. Their team as a whole hit .407 and had 51 digs. Every single player contributed to this win, and it'll be hard to name all the players that led the team to victory. The two stud seniors to mention first were nonetheless outside hitter, [player_tooltip player_id='106678' first='Sydney' last='Nolan'], and libero, [player_tooltip player_id='170952' first='Kamden' last='Schrand']. Nolan hit a .548 as a left side which is just insane with 19 kills and only 2 errors on 31 attempts. Like I said in the semfinals, Nolan can hit every shot in the book, and in the finals, she showed exactly what she's made of. She was an unstoppable force in the front row. Then, you have senior libero, [player_tooltip player_id='170952' first='Kamden' last='Schrand'], who is an unstoppable force in the back row. Schrand tallied 19 digs in three sets, and not only did she fly around, but she made plays and dug the ball with control. That's what sets this kid apart from every other passer in the state. It's not just about digging the ball, but it's digging the ball to target which is significantly harder said than done..... Another senior defensive specialist who gets this job done is [player_tooltip player_id='157454' first='Kayla' last='Hostetler']. She contributed to the win by making some key plays in the back row and passing nails in serve receive. She had the pressure on her serving wise and handled it with grace. The other senior to note would be lefty right side, [player_tooltip player_id='157453' first='Peyton' last='Mast'] who had 11 kills and hit a .286. She opens up so many doors offensively for this team because of her athleticism and skill on the right but also because of her leadership and devotion to the game. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moreover, Notre Dame's two middles, freshman, Audrey Dyas, and sophomore, [player_tooltip player_id='231876' first='Ella' last='Goetz'], both did a great job as just underclassmen. Dyas hit a .444 and had 3 blocks, and then Goetz hit a .154 with 2 blocks. Both girls worked hard in transition and kept themselves as options which made Dunbar's job a lot harder. Also, sophomore outside hitter, Ava Tiden, played very well hitting a .500 with 8 swings and one error on 14 attempts. When star senior, [player_tooltip player_id='106678' first='Sydney' last='Nolan'], was not in the game, Ava Tiden was, but this did not hurt Notre Dame whatsoever. Tiden did a great job of taking care of the ball and powering through Dunbar's block. Another underclassman that showed out was sophomore right side, [player_tooltip player_id='159327' first='Riley' last='McCloskey'], who hit a .500 with 7 kills, only 1 error, on 12 attempts. None of these hitting numbers could be possible without the smooth underclassmen setters, freshman, Lizzy Larkins, and sophomore, Lauren Ott. There's a reason all of these girls are hitting so well... It starts with a pass and a set. That's why Notre Dame is so good. Their ball control is quite unmatched.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Congratulations to Notre Dame for winning the state championship. What an accomplishment. They might be losing some key seniors, but their future is still so bright!! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->