John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — Down 2-0 in Saturday’s Division VII district championship match, Notre Dame’s season was on life support.
But after regrouping, the Titans controlled the final three sets as they pulled off an impressive come-from-behind win to keep their season alive and oust Western by a 23-25, 19-25, 25-14, 25-13, 15-11 final, claiming a second consecutive district crown.
“It’s a lot more fun when we have the momentum and I felt like we did not have that at all in the first two sets,” Notre Dame’s Maycee Ford said. “But, when we reached the third set, something just kind of clicked and we started getting good passes, good sets, and it’s really fun when you get a good set because then you get kills and get to celebrate.”
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
The Indians sprinted out of the gates to start the match as Addy Brewster, Paisleigh Dobbins and Bailey Ison provided big plays throughout the opening set. It helped the Indians jump out to a 12-4 lead before the Titans appeared to wake up a bit.
Sophia Phillips, Jaysa Bryant and Maycee Ford helped the Titans (20-4) ease back into the set, cutting the deficit to 17-16. Western’s Mea Ison snuck a quick set over, following a kill from Camilla Banfi to give the Indians momentum once again.
And, even though the Titans eventually tied the set at 23-23, consecutive points for the Indians gave them the opener, highlighted by a kill by Dobbins to finish off the win.
The second was much more dominant for the Indians (13-11) throughout. They trailed 3-2 but once they took the lead, they led throughout the rest of the way.
Aubrey Penwell played outstanding defense while Brewster and Dobbins put down several big swings. A kill from Brewster late in the set all but put it away for the Indians at 25-19 as they went ahead 2-0, appearing to have full control.
But something clicked for the experienced Titans in between the second and third sets.
Ford, Phillips and Bryant started off hot at the net with Laney Strickland making a massive difference at the net as well. Defensively, you could tell a difference in the back row play as they kept more balls alive once their backs were against the wall.
PHOTOS: Images from Notre Dame’s district title win over Western
“I constantly told them, ‘We don’t want this to be our last game, especially as a senior.’ You don’t want to go out that way,” ND’s Lyndsey Schaefer said. “We kept fighting back and I’m so proud of us. Just all of the effort that each one of us put into that game.”
The Titans’ lead grew to as much as 12-7 before a run from Western cut the lead to 13-12. Consecutive kills from Ford then forced a timeout, leading to a runaway win as the Titans closed out with an ace from Kailee Ogier to get their first set victory of the afternoon.
The fourth started with a bit of back-and-forth before the Titans started to impose their will with swings from Phillips, along with an ace from Ford, that forced a timeout at 15-10.
Notre Dame slowly extended that edge with an ace from Bella Rush and more impressive work at the net from Phillips and Ford to even up the match at 2-2, forcing a race to 15.
With their season on the line, the Titans knew they had something in their back pocket that not a lot of other teams have — experience on the biggest stage. With the state-championship pedigree running throughout the program, each player was more than ready to step up in the key moments as the game grew tighter.
“It feels easier,” Ford said. “We know what we are capable of and we can do hard things. I think [Rush and Ogier] only progressed as the game went on. We started off slow, but they just kept getting more passes up. I think our defense really started working in the third set.”
Each team made huge plays in the early going of the final set, including an acrobatic dig from Ogier and a massive kill from Ryan for the Indians.
There were six ties within the first 18 serves but, with the match even at 9-9, the Titans made their final run.
Strickland started the push with a kill, before two aces from Schaefer helped push the lead to 14-11. A final kill from Ford gave the win to the Titans for a second consecutive district championship, ending an outstanding effort from Western for the second straight year in five sets.
“It really means a lot,” Schaefer said. “We knew from the jump that Western was going to come in with lots of energy and fans, but we wanted to bring that back, too. It’s awesome to know that we can rely on each of our hitters that they will put it down, especially in those big moments knowing that you can switch it up to whoever is at the net.”
While the Indians’ season comes to an end, Notre Dame advances to a Division VII regional semifinal at 8 p.m., Thursday at Zanesville High School. There, the Titans will face Shekinah Christian, a 3-1 winner over Madison Christian to advance.
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