Heroes in Dominant Five Showdown between St. Henry, Notre Dame

In great rivalries, it often turns into a matter of time before things reverse course.   The St. Henry Crusaders denied the arch rival Notre Dame Pandas a 10th straight win in the series with an exciting reverse sweep, 3-2 (18-25, 24-26, 27-25, 25-20, 15-11) Tuesday in Park Hills. The regular season series had been played at neutral sites in recent years in the Playing for a Purpose Game, but both teams are playing different opponents for that event this season. Prior to Tuesday, the Pandas (5-3 overall) had won 59 in a row against 9th Region opponents dating back to that last St. Henry victory on Oct. 28, 2021 at Conner in the 9th Region Tournament championship. St. Henry (9-3), led by current assistant Abby Schaefer, won state that season.   St. Henry picked up its play in all facets following the first set. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='610406' first='Kenadi' last='Sieg'] along with Maria Klare, [player_tooltip player_id='727132' first='Kali' last='McCane'] and Ashlyn Summers along with setter [player_tooltip player_id='612108' first='Madelyn' last='Keipert'], [player_tooltip player_id='727147' first='Molly' last='Blackburn'] and 6-1 middle [player_tooltip player_id='709517' first='Violet' last='Main'] made defensive play after play to help the Crusaders earn key points. Keipert then dished off to the likes of Main, [player_tooltip player_id='950707' first='Hadley' last='Lemmond'], Stella Flick, Blackburn and [player_tooltip player_id='1005143' first='Ashley' last='Hammond'] for huge swings. The Crusaders withstood match point in the third set that carried the momentum all the way to the win.   “You play five for a reason. We've got a lot of young girls learning the game and learning spots," St. Henry veteran head coach Maureen Kaiser said. "By game two, you should know where the holes are and where their strengths are, and we kind of just played our game. We controlled our passing game and our defensive game, and things just fell into place for us.”   Notre Dame put forth a great effort in the loss. [player_tooltip player_id='741510' first='Dara' last='Jackson'], [player_tooltip player_id='774790' first='Elise' last='Grout'], [player_tooltip player_id='727131' first='Kaia' last='Tilden'] and [player_tooltip player_id='941141' first='Emma' last='Miller'] and others put a number of passes on the dime to setter [player_tooltip player_id='798218' first='Ellie' last='Osterkamp']. [player_tooltip player_id='484250' first='Teagan' last='Kondik'], [player_tooltip player_id='727143' first='Makayla' last='Roose'], [player_tooltip player_id='731698' first='Ellie' last='Breitling'], [player_tooltip player_id='741504' first='Emma' last='Redlinger'] and [player_tooltip player_id='484450' first='Leah' last='Bowman'] then landed some tough kills, giving the Pandas the usual balance. The Pandas will continue to grow throughout the season per usual.   Notre Dame will look to bounce back on the road at Mercy in another Dominant Five battle Wednesday. On the other hand, St. Henry has nine days off before facing Dixie Heights at home on Sept. 10.   Heroic Performers    Keipert (pictured) has taken her game to a whole new level. She rose up and pushed down key setter dumps and landed a few the old-fashioned way, giving opponents something extra to consider. Keipert makes the most of the hitters trying to involve as many as possible. St. Henry does have size on the front row and Keipert tries to hit them at their high attack points so the hitters can smash balls over and around double blocks. Keipert makes great decisions and does not give up on plays. She just sets another place if the initial swing does not terminate balls. Keipert is also coachable and draws from other great setters she faces. Keipert said she tries to do what gives St. Henry the best chance to earn points and added two-handed setter dumps put more pressure on defenses because they are harder to defend since they're not as predictable as one-handed ones.     Main has been consistent for the Crusaders since stepping into high school, but she knew her game had to go to a higher level to end the region's losing streak against the Pandas. Main delivered in more ways than just the front row. Main made a lot of things happen on ones and gap shots to go with timely, aggressive blocks per usual. She also tools blocks well. However, Main has expanded her game to the back row with crisp first touches and tough serves. Main said winning net battles is about staying confident and trusting teammates backing up plays so she does not have to fear taking a variety of swings.     Blackburn has come around as a six-rotation player in a number of ways for the Crusaders. Blackburn sets her feet and makes sound two to three-point passes in the back and front row. Blackburn handled some well-struck crosses under control to help the Crusaders win big points in the game. Blackburn also takes sound swings on the outside so opponents have to pay attention to her. That pulls blockers away from St. Henry's middles and gives them more room to work with. Blackburn said the Crusaders made sure to lift each other up whether the team won or lost the point to keep positive mindsets.     The Crusaders needed another strong presence at the net when Main is not in the front row and Lemmond has answered the call. Lemmond uses her size to alter if not outright block balls to slow them down for teammates. She also has carried over a great attack rhythm she developed during club season. Lemmond credited the great team chemistry and good school spirit for helping the Crusaders win the big game.     Sieg is the unquestionable leader of the St. Henry defense and she had another great game. Sieg makes the simple passes, but even when she has to lunge or dive, Sieg makes the first passes under control. Sieg tries to keep her arms above her waist and does not hesitate to swing out to dig up balls. Sieg sets up well behind blockers and sets up in various locations to take away seams. Sieg is especially good at encouraging her teammates whether the Crusaders win or lose the point.     Miller embodies how much Notre Dame values defense. She makes the simple passes to keep plays alive and takes minimal steps to balls before stopping to beat balls to their destinations on the floor. Miller showed she can dig up hard crosses and is not afraid to dive when needed. She'll continue to grow with the teammates she faces in practice daily.     Breitling has inserted herself into the Notre Dame balance with an improved arm swing. Breitling makes a lot of things happen on gap shots and slides. Her aggressive play at the net leads to a number of blocks. She's also developed great mental toughness. Breitling bounces back from mistakes quickly.     Osterkamp has improved her touch to run a quicker and even more efficient offense as the main setter this season. Osterkamp takes advantage of three-point passes making the most of three available hitters. Osterkamp puts balls where back row players tell her and puts up great blocks at the net. She works well with teammates to put together double blocks and makes a number of nice first touches.     Kondik's determination on the court is unmatched. Kondik gets on top of balls and pounds out tough crosses and line shots. Kondik does a great job painting side and back lines. Kondik mixes in nice tips and makes things happen when Notre Dame is out of system. Kondik is not afraid to shove balls to open spots on the court.    Note from Writer   Mike Graham has been writing for Prep Dig for two years and has enjoyed getting to know the volleyball scenes in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. If you liked the story, please copy and paste to X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. You may also follow us at @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prepdigkentucky/#">prepdigkentucky</a>, @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prepdigtennessee/#">prepdigtennessee</a> or @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prepdigoh/#">prepdigoh</a> on Instagram in addition to @PrepDigKy, @PrepDigTN or @PrepDigOH on X. If you feel someone in Kentucky, Tennessee or Ohio needs coverage or even have feedback on the Kentucky or Tennessee rankings, please email Mike at michaelgraham@prepdig.com. You may also follow him on X @GMCgrah or Instagram @g.michaelgraham. Subscriptions give you access to exclusive content. For a 30% discount on yearly subscriptions, enter code graham30 at checkout.

In great rivalries, it often turns into a matter of time before things reverse course.