Mount Notre Dame at Ursuline Takeaways

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Each night in the Girls Greater Catholic League is a battle to the end and often comes down to who responds better to it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>That turned out to be more than the case when the rival Ursuline Lions and Mount Notre Dame Cougars met at Ursuline's home on Pfeiffer Road on Thursday. The Lions (3-1 overall, 1-0 GGCL) earned the 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-16) win over the Cougars (6-3, 0-2) taking advantage of the energy created by the electric atmosphere.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first game was tight. The Cougars tied the game at 23 after a tight crossing the net call on the Lions. However, Ursuline responded well to win it. After a long serve, senior [player_tooltip player_id='152057' first='Alyse' last='Smith'] landed an ace to give Ursuline the victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ursuline has great reach at the net and took full advantage of it in this game. Senior setter [player_tooltip player_id='482519' first='Addy' last='Franz'] (pictured) reached her 1,000th career assist consistently placing balls on target and the Cougars could not slow down the Ursuline attack. [player_tooltip player_id='176087' first='Katie' last='Gielas'] was spot on all game and [player_tooltip player_id='434971' first='Jillian' last='Forrest'] made a number of plays at the net including some big blocks to bring the house down. [player_tooltip player_id='195856' first='Lindy' last='Radaszewski'] also had some big kills. Gielas also had big plays serving.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It started on defense with libero [player_tooltip player_id='176092' first='Rainey' last='Weidman']. Weidman consistently tracked down balls making solid passes to Franz to start the attack. Seniors such as [player_tooltip player_id='152051' first='Madeline' last='Gosky'] and Alice Finn also dove after balls as each Lion that saw the floor contributed in small ways to the win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the second game, Mount Notre Dame tried to use [player_tooltip player_id='480817' first='Kendall' last='Hubbard']'s versatility and had some success with it. However, the Cougars could not stop the Ursuline surge at the end. Up 16-14, Ursuline scored nine of the game's last 10 points to win it and carried that momentum into the third game. The Lions scored the first three points of the final game and did not look back.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Stat Leaders</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Kills</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='176087' first='Katie' last='Gielas'], Ursuline - 15</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='434971' first='Jillian' last='Forrest'], Ursuline - 10</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='195856' first='Lindy' last='Radaszewski'], Ursuline - 6</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='480817' first='Kendall' last='Hubbard'], Mount Notre Dame - 5</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='227617' first='Cara' last='Richter'], Mount Notre Dame - 5</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bridget Scheeler, Mount Notre Dame - 5</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Assists</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='482519' first='Addy' last='Franz'], Ursuline - 33</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hubbard - 11</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Digs</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='176092' first='Rainey' last='Weidman'], Ursuline - 15</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Franz - 9</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Aces</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Gielas - 4</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Blocks</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Forrest - 4</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alice Finn, Ursuline - 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Peformances</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["482519"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":["override_image"],"_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":623985,"_player_evaluations_0_player_featured_image":"field_62f141137ead9","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dac9d209321"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Franz brings great energy to the court. She sets her teammates up at high points above the net so they can put balls down. Franz tries to get a number of hitters involved, but does not hesitate to set up hot hitters. Franz reads defenses well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["176087"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dac9d209377"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Gielas was money in this game. She takes great approaches at the net and puts a lot of power into balls so they go screaming to the floor. The Lions do what they can to take full advantage of her athleticism and that will continue to grow throughout the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["434971"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dac9d2093b8"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Forrest was a beast at the net in this game. She has great timing on her blocks and forms double teams well on blocks. Forrest also has great net approaches and puts solid power into balls making her tough to defend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["176092"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dac9d2093f6"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Weidman reads hitters well and puts herself in great position to make solid passes. Balls do not land easily near her. She squares her arms up to balls well constantly making two and three-ball passes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["195856"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dac9d20943d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Radaszewski also had some big kills in the win. She makes defenses know where she is because she can smack balls down with tremendous force. She will have plenty of one-on-one opportunities at the net because Ursuline is so balanced offensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["480817"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66dac9d20947c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hubbard is a versatile athlete and the Cougars will do what they can to take advantage of it. She sets up hitters nicely with jump sets and rises high in the air to smack down balls. Hubbard will continue to improve as the season progresses.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->