Semifinals: Notre Dame vs. Assumption

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Our second KHSAA semifinal match took place on November 4th, 2022 where we had two stellar teams, Notre Dame and Assumption, facing off to secure their spot in the finals. What a five set thriller this was. This match was certainly a battle and had a truly electric atmosphere in the gym. Notre Dame ended up taking the win (25-15, 22-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-7), but Assumption gave it their all till the very end. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The three leaders that really stuck out in this game were three starting seniors: setter, [player_tooltip player_id='106669' first='Whitney' last='Woodrow']; middle hitter, [player_tooltip player_id='106664' first='Gabrielle' last='Gerry']; right side, [player_tooltip player_id='106670' first='Alexis' last='Strong']. Woodrow is the obvious pick for an all-tournament team because she makes everybody's job around her so easy. She makes a bad pass look like a great one because of her quick athletic ability but also allowing herself to square up around every ball. Then, Woodrow's fast tempo to the pins and accuracy really gives her hitters late blockers and big seams. Woodrow had 50 assists this game which gave her a total of 1,517 assists on the year. Plus, she added 312 digs, 27 service aces, 37 blocks, and 40 kills. Next, middle hitter, [player_tooltip player_id='106664' first='Gabrielle' last='Gerry'], showed out having 9 kills on 19 swings with no errors. Gerry hit a .474 and led the team in hitting percentage and blocks with 4. If you want that middle to lead by example and go for kills even with big blockers in front of you, [player_tooltip player_id='106664' first='Gabrielle' last='Gerry'] is your girl. Gerry ended the year with 195 kills and 61 blocks. Lastly, senior, [player_tooltip player_id='106670' first='Alexis' last='Strong'], on the right side, was the go-to hitter and made a difference for the team when she was in the front row. Strong had 12 kills, 4 errors, and 30 attempts to give her a .267 hitting percentage. With her efficiency at hitting line and making the right attacking decisions, [player_tooltip player_id='106670' first='Alexis' last='Strong'] proved to be one of the best hitters in the gym. Strong ended her senior year with 217 kills and 46 blocks. What a career for these ladies. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>However, Notre Dame really exerted their overall dominance in the game, where they hit a .273 and dug 91 balls compared to Assumption's .186 and 71 digs. Notre Dame fired from every cylinder because of their 6'2 offense. The two setters for Notre Dame are underclassmen where freshman, Lizzy Larkins, and sophomore, Lauren Ott, both did a great job of staying steady throughout the match and performing their job at a high-level. I was impressed with their ability of handling tight balls at the net and decision making skills. Another impressive underclassman was sophomore, Ava Tiden, who displayed great confidence throughout the match and took some big swings while also being smart with the ball. Tiden hit a .361 with 15 kills and only 2 errors on 36 attempts. Then, the last young one to mention is sophomore middle hitter, [player_tooltip player_id='231876' first='Ella' last='Goetz'], who made her presence known hitting a .500 and tallying 5 of the 7 total blocks for Notre dame. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moreover, these two seniors though were the game changers of the match. Libero, [player_tooltip player_id='170952' first='Kamden' last='Schrand'], was just unreal defensively for Notre Dame. Schrand had a whopping number of 32 digs which is just something you don't quite see in the high school world. She not only flies around in defense but takes up so much court in serve receive which makes their offense so lethal. If you serve to Schrand, the ball is normally going straight to target which gives her team the upper hand in any battle. The other key senior, outside hitter, [player_tooltip player_id='106678' first='Sydney' last='Nolan'], was a straight star for Notre Dame. Hitting a .404, she had 25 kills and 2 errors on 57 attempts. Nolan is amazing at moving the ball around whether it's powering the ball down line, hitting a sharp cut shot, swinging for hands, or barreling the ball as hard as she can cross court. She's got every shot in the book which makes her extremely hard to defend and why she put on a show in the semifinals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Overall, this game was one to remember for both teams. Congrats to Assumption on a great season and Notre Dame for advancing to the state championship! </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->