State Quarterfinals: Late Session Results, Takeaways

The two later games saw a battle between two teams seeking to make it to the final day for the first time in program history and a battle between two teams that had been there before.   Game 1: Lexington Catholic 3, Ashland 0 (25-8, 25-15, 27-25)   Ashland had been destroying teams at the net all season with 6-0 sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='781585' first='Elise' last='Marcum'] and 5-11 [player_tooltip player_id='782415' first='Miley' last='Murphy'] then adding balance on the outside with [player_tooltip player_id='741516' first='Mena' last='Pittman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='741511' first='Olivia' last='Wiley'].   However, the Knight defense led by the 6-1 junior [player_tooltip player_id='535172' first='Miller' last='Duncan'] stymied it for the most part to advance to the state semifinals for the first time in program history. The Knights (33-4 overall) take on Assumption at 11 a.m. back at George Rogers Clark in Winchester.   Duncan had five blocks as LexCath recorded five to three for Ashland (37-5). [player_tooltip player_id='212387' first='Ella' last='Blackburn'] had three with [player_tooltip player_id='212388' first='Payton' last='Avilez'] and [player_tooltip player_id='774758' first='Noah' last='Cecil'] recording two each. Marcum recorded two herself finding success with Duncan out of the game.   Lexington Catholic wound up hitting .406 landing 49 kills on 96 attempts with 10 errors as setter [player_tooltip player_id='603863' first='Charlotte' last='Hall'] dazzled once again with 37 assists. Blackburn hit .400 with 20 kills on 35 attempts and just six errors. [player_tooltip player_id='212388' first='Payton' last='Avilez'] made no hitting errors connecting for 15 kills on 30 attempts for a .500 percentage. Duncan also had a good game with 10 kills on 19 attempts and three errors for a .368 hitting percentage to go with three aces. LexCath out-dug Ashland, 44-34 with [player_tooltip player_id='741875' first='Maddy' last='Warner'] leading the way with 11 digs. Blackburn and Avilez had nine digs each and Hall had seven with [player_tooltip player_id='874997' first='Finley' last='Quinn'] contributing five.   On the other side, Ashland hit .044 with 20 kills on 104 attempts and 20 errors. Marcum and Pittman led the Kittens with nine kills each. [player_tooltip player_id='782955' first='Sydney' last='Mertz'] had 16 assists and [player_tooltip player_id='766336' first='Karley' last='Jade Sperry'] led the Kittens with 12 digs.   After winning the first two sets, LexCath trailed Ashland 24-18, but scored six straight to tie it at 24. Avilez had two kills and an assisted block during the run. Pittman landed a kill to put Ashland up 25-24 before Avilez had a kill to tie it at 25. Blackburn then put one down before Avilez and Duncan combined on a block to finish the game.   Game 2: Notre Dame 3, Bowling Green 0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-17)   Both teams have size and sound defenses. It was a question as to whether Bowling Green could have with the fast-paced game the Pandas have dominated much of the state with over the years. The Purples showed they can handle fast-paced play, but they made too many mistakes and the Pandas capitalized on them to pull away in all three sets.   Notre Dame (31-7) dug up 49 balls to 27 for Bowling Green (38-4) and hit .352 landing 46 kills on 91 swings and 14 errors to negative-.010 with 24 kills on 102 attempts and 25 errors for the Purples. [player_tooltip player_id='507601' first='Grace' last='Portwood'] led the balanced attack with 11 kills with [player_tooltip player_id='484250' first='Teagan' last='Kondik'] landing 10. Senior 6-2 middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='312234' first='Audrey' last='Dyas'] landed 9-of-12 attempts with just one error for a .667 hitting percentage. [player_tooltip player_id='571992' first='Katie' last='Zwick'] and Michaela Roose had seven and six kills, respectively.   Portwood and [player_tooltip player_id='798218' first='Ellie' last='Osterkamp'] led Notre Dame defensively with 13 digs each and Dyas had six blocks. Veteran senior setter [player_tooltip player_id='379687' first='Lizzy' last='Larkins'] had 20 assists and Osterkamp had 14.   [player_tooltip player_id='577773' first='Chayse' last='Gilliland'] had eight kills to lead Bowling Green with [player_tooltip player_id='276175' first='Morgan' last='Rockrohr'] and [player_tooltip player_id='212192' first='Amirra' last='Bailey'] recording seven each. Junior setter [player_tooltip player_id='741315' first='JoEllen' last='Marshall'] had 12 assists with no one digging up more than six balls for the Purples.   Notable Performers    Duncan (pictured) deserves several gold balls for her performance at the net in the win over Ashland. Duncan got up with teammates and turned back a number of balls at the net for the Knights. Duncan powers balls off blockers on offense and is tough on short sets, including quicks. Duncan said her parents talk to her before each game about winning the battles at the net, adding she tries to get hands on balls to help slow balls down for her teammates if she can't block them.     Blackburn continued her stellar play attacking balls with pure power. She sends hard balls to the right line on go routes and is not afraid to tap balls to the middle if the sea parts. Blackburn has turned into an effective hitter on pipe plays giving the Lexington Catholic offense an added dimension. Blackburn said she's been playing with setter [player_tooltip player_id='603863' first='Charlotte' last='Hall'] since they were 12 so they have a great connection to get the touches Blackburn desires.     Quinn produced some in the back row. She reads hitters well and moves her feet into position to beat balls to their spots. Quinn does a good job not hiding behind blocks. Quinn said she tries to push herself to the limit when it comes to going after balls.     Sperry laid everything on the line trying to help the Kittens extend the deepest postseason run in program history, Sperry laid out a good bit making some one-armed saves to keep plays alive.     Zwick handled her role well taking big swings when balls came her way and getting hands on balls to slow them down for the defensive specialists. Zwick hit a number of balls off blockers and was especially tough on go routes. Zwick said it is important to continue to swing at this stage, noting teams do not win with tips and rolls alone.     The lights did not turn out to be too bright for Osterkamp in her first appearance at the state tournament. She went out and performed as well as she has all season. She involved a number of hitters with various sets per usual and hustled hard after balls. Osterkamp said it's important not to go into games like that nervous, instead treating it like a normal game. She added the teammates that have experienced the state tournament help her feel comfortable on the court.     Tilden came in and gave the Pandas great rotations defensively. She squares her arms up to balls well and delivers crisp passes. Tilden said her older sister Ava teacher her to stay confident. Tilden added Ava does that on the court and moves on quickly from any mistakes.     Rockrohr left everything she had on the court in her final game for the Purples. Rockrohr took great rips including from the back row trying to put balls down against the tough Notre Dame defense. She kept a lot of plays alive defensively setting her feet and using a good platform to stay under control.    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The two later games saw a battle between two teams seeking to make it to the final day for the first time in program history and a battle between two teams that had been there before.