9th Region Recap: Notre Dame nearly took another state crown

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Notre Dame Pandas have a tradition of consistently withstanding challenges in this region. They consistently improve throughout the season and this year was no different.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Notre Dame (32-8 overall) fended off primary rival St. Henry, 3-2 (27-25, 25-23, 20-25, 23-25, 15-6) then made it back to the state championship game and had Assumption down 12-7 in the fifth set, needing just three more points to win it. The Pandas could not hold the lead and wound up losing 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 25-19, 19-25, 17-15) in a heartbreaker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Three powerful hitters in [player_tooltip player_id='312234' first='Audrey' last='Dyas'], [player_tooltip player_id='507601' first='Grace' last='Portwood'] and [player_tooltip player_id='571992' first='Katie' last='Zwick'] graduate along with setter [player_tooltip player_id='379687' first='Lizzy' last='Larkins']. Junior setter [player_tooltip player_id='798218' first='Ellie' last='Osterkamp'] comes back to set the likes of [player_tooltip player_id='484250' first='Teagan' last='Kondik'], [player_tooltip player_id='727143' first='Makayla' last='Roose'], [player_tooltip player_id='484450' first='Leah' last='Bowman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='741504' first='Emma' last='Redlinger']. Libero [player_tooltip player_id='741510' first='Dara' last='Jackson'] returns on defense along with [player_tooltip player_id='727131' first='Kaia' last='Tilden'] and [player_tooltip player_id='774790' first='Elise' last='Grout'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>St. Henry (24-16) hit a swoon late in the season with a five-game losing streak. However, the Crusaders snapped the losing skid with a win on the road at Paul Laurence Dunbar, won the 34th District crown then knocked off Conner and Beechwood on the way back to the region championship game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The three amazing sophomores in setter [player_tooltip player_id='612108' first='Madelyn' last='Keipert'], 6-1 middle blocker [player_tooltip player_id='709517' first='Violet' last='Main'] and libero [player_tooltip player_id='610406' first='Kenadi' last='Sieg'] return. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='727147' first='Molly' last='Blackburn'] emerged to help the Crusaders both offensively and defensively. Key graduation losses will be [player_tooltip player_id='594619' first='Emily' last='Helmers'], [player_tooltip player_id='805561' first='Gianna' last='Butler'], [player_tooltip player_id='451098' first='Madi' last='Demler'], [player_tooltip player_id='792902' first='Caroline' last='Tabeling'] and [player_tooltip player_id='843371' first='Lauren' last='Taylor'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Beechwood (33-6) had an outstanding season highlighted with the first All "A" State championship in program history. The Tigers did not lose a set in the six games, including two against Holy Cross (Louisville). The Tigers graduate libero [player_tooltip player_id='796736' first='Maggie' last='Dawson'], hitter [player_tooltip player_id='397726' first='Isabel' last='Bakker'] and defensive specialist [player_tooltip player_id='797739' first='Piper' last='Steinmetz']. However, setter [player_tooltip player_id='456668' first='Skylr' last='Estep'] and four powerful junior hitters in [player_tooltip player_id='484442' first='Isabel' last='O'Brien'], [player_tooltip player_id='484443' first='Macy' last='Armstrong'], [player_tooltip player_id='456263' first='Rachel' last='Lewandowski'] and 6-3 [player_tooltip player_id='827943' first='Teegan' last='Becker'] return. The Tigers also have some young talent coming up.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ryle (22-14) won a sixth straight 33rd District crown and made it back to the region semifinals. The Raiders knocked off St. Henry for the first time since 2021. Dynamic all-around [player_tooltip player_id='212347' first='Morgan' last='Heater'] and libero [player_tooltip player_id='486910' first='Ria' last='Furuta'] graduate, but Ryle welcomes back a good bit next season. It starts on defense with [player_tooltip player_id='334217' first='Francesca' last='Hansel'] and [player_tooltip player_id='919067' first='Adailee' last='Schoborg']. [player_tooltip player_id='767630' first='Morgan' last='Gehring'] is back at setter along with [player_tooltip player_id='774786' first='Clare' last='Holtzapfel'], who stepped in when Heater went down with a season-ending injury. [player_tooltip player_id='731690' first='Layna' last='Wilkinson'], [player_tooltip player_id='781286' first='Bridget' last='Burns'], [player_tooltip player_id='535265' first='Rachel' last='King'] and [player_tooltip player_id='712121' first='Ashley' last='Towner'] after having nice seasons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Highlands (23-10) won the 36th District for the ninth straight season and hoped to make it back to the region semifinals for the second year in a row. However, the Bluebirds fell just short in a 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11) loss against Beechwood in the first round of the region tournament. Senior libero [player_tooltip player_id='276170' first='Hayden' last='Gessner'], setters [player_tooltip player_id='503792' first='Ava' last='Muzumdar'], Audrey Sorrentino, kills leader [player_tooltip player_id='590640' first='Liz' last='Perkins'] and defensive specialists [player_tooltip player_id='827206' first='Madison' last='Barlow'] and Mia Perron graduate. The Bluebirds will build around [player_tooltip player_id='590644' first='Alexis' last='Steinhauser'], Taylor Janosick, Ava Ireland, [player_tooltip player_id='608333' first='Bella' last='Thomas'], [player_tooltip player_id='836110' first='Meredith' last='Hicks'] and [player_tooltip player_id='727125' first='Edy' last='Hobson'] next season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Players</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["727131"],"_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-693e4c87da086"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Tilden has received a lot of great practice at home going against older sister Ava, who is currently at Xavier. Tilden is consistent on the court. She is always finding ways to better balls. She'll only get better there after landing a spot on the [program_tooltip program_id='430243' first='NKYVC' last=''] 16-1 Tsunami squad. Tilden had 123 digs for the Pandas this past fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["727147"],"_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-693e4c87da142"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Blackburn (pictured) took major strides for the Crusaders this year. She consistently makes things happen at all six spots on the floor. Blackburn makes fundamentally sound passes then takes solid swings. She'll continue to grow during the club season. Blackburn had 112 kills and 173 digs for St. Henry this past season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["476283"],"_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-693e4c87da1be"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Stewart hopes to step into a bigger role for the Tigers next season. Stewart can shift forward quickly on defense to pick up tipped balls and take precise swings hitting balls off blockers. Stewart can also get up at the net and make sound blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["919067"],"_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-693e4f901ae31"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Schoborg brought consistency to the solid Ryle back court. Schoborg reads hitters well and squares her arms up to balls to make sound two to three-point passes. Schoborg can go down on knees to get balls when needed. Schoborg adds in a nice jump serve. Schoborg had 140 digs for the Raiders this past season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["727125"],"_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-693e52e29fe8d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hobson helped give Highlands a sound net defense. Hobson uses her size well to time up blocks and does a good job forming double blocks. Hobson also makes things happen at the net on ones. She sends hard ones to the back row and can pound them off blockers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Note from the Writer</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mike Graham has been writing for Prep Dig for nearly two years and has enjoyed getting to know the volleyball scenes in both Kentucky and Ohio. If you liked the story, please copy and paste to X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. You may also follow us at @prepdigkentucky or @prepdigoh on Instagram in addition to @PrepDigKy or @PrepDigOH on X. If you feel someone in Kentucky or Ohio needs coverage or even have feedback on the Kentucky rankings, please email Mike at pnmikeg@yahoo.com. You may also follow him on X @GMCgrah or Instagram @g.michaelgraham. Subscriptions give you access to exclusive content. For a 30% discount, enter code graham30 at checkout.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->