Notre Dame volleyball team wins SEMO Conference tournament championship

The Notre Dame volleyball team hoists its trophy after winning the SEMO Conference tournament on Thursday at Scott City High School.

Fred Lynch

The Notre Dame and Jackson volleyball teams had met twice this season and split the meetings right down the middle. So when the two conference rivals crossed paths again Thursday night in the SEMO Conference tournament championship, was there any doubt there would be little separating the sides?

After splitting the first two sets, the Bulldogs recovered from a massive collapse early in the third to get past the Indians 2-1 (25-20, 23-25, 25-20) at Scott City High School and earn a tournament championship to go along with their regular-season title.

"It's a good thing," Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup said. "The conference was very competitive this year. ... We came pretty close in the other two tournaments we were in, but we didn't win one this year. So it was nice to finish our regular season with a win and win this tournament."

Notre Dame's Sam Brennan spikes the ball past Jackson's Montana Stoner and Olivia Wendel during the first set of the championship game in the SEMO Conference tournament Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016 in Scott City.

Fred Lynch

It was a night of celebration for Notre Dame (25-7-4). Not only did the Bulldogs advance to and win a dramatic finale, the title game victory gave Stroup career win No. 400. That came after senior setter Maddie McClintock had set the school's single-season assist record in a semifinal sweep of Sikeston.

The previous record was set a year ago by Sam Feeney at 744. Following the tournament, McClintock now sits on 793.

"I'm very excited," McClintock said. "I'm really proud, but I also know I couldn't do it without my team, so I'm super proud of our team. And Coach got her 400th win tonight, so it was a big night for us."

It was never a sure thing against Jackson (23-8-1), which didn't appear too fazed after having to battle through a potentially draining three-set victory over Poplar Bluff in the semifinal just about 15 minutes earlier.

"I thought they were amazing," Jackson coach Tracy Robinson said. "I couldn't ask for anything more. You've got to love the fight and drive and the heart they gave.

"[Notre Dame is] good. I can't take anything away from them. They're good. We just made a few too many errors in a row.

"We were fighting point for point for point, and we did some incredible things. ... I'm so proud of them. I'm not going to complain about anything."

The Indians got off to a good start in the first set, going up 8-2 before Notre Dame charged back to take a 15-13 advantage. The Bulldogs led the rest of the way but were clinging to a three-point lead late until some self-inflicted damage by Jackson let Notre Dame survive, 25-20.

Set No. 2 again saw the Indians off to a fast start, up 6-1, but a a 7-0 swing behind the service of Lexi Welter again pushed Notre Dame ahead, 9-7.

This time, though, it was the Bulldogs that misfired and were unable to pull away, and the Indians went up 15-14 on a big hit from Olivia Hallet.

The two sides traded blows until Notre Dame sat on a 22-19 lead. That was when Jackson siezed momentum, as strong net play by Hallet, Deanna Mirly and Olivia Wendel led to a 6-1 run and a 25-23 set victory.

Notre Dame reversed the start trend by jumping out to a 6-0 advantage to begin the decisive set, but then collapsed and dropped nine straight points, including a pair of aces from Jackson's Hannah Hunt, to fall behind 9-6.

Jackson players celebrate a point against Notre Dame during the first set of the championship game in the SEMO Conference tournament Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016 in Scott City.

Fred Lynch

"It's really frustrating because we just weren't swinging," Stroup said. "We have girls that can put it to the floor, and they got blocked or they miscued a little bit. And we lost a little confidence or something. I don't know what happened because they were trying to roll it and tip it.

"It was frustrating because I thought Marianna Below had a great game on the back row. Our defense was doing its job."

Senior Sam Brennan was the spark the Bulldogs needed, and back-to-back kills from the outside hitter drew the Bulldogs back even at 11. Another three kills in four points moments later kept Notre Dame going, and it took the lead for good, 16-15, when Jackson sent a serve long.

"I said, 'You've got to hit it,'" Stroup said. "Thank God when Sam got back up to the front, she started swinging because that's what we needed.

"She's a bulldog. She just goes after it and plays hard. She's a really competitive person. A lot of the girls are competitive people, too, but she's got the confidence to say, 'Give me the ball,' when it's game point. 'I might not get a kill but I'm going to go down swinging.' She's got the confidence to want the ball when the game's on the line, and that's what we needed."

The Bulldogs built their biggest lead since the set's opening run when a McClintock pass and Brennan kill put them up 21-16, and that duo fittingly connected again to polish off the championship minutes later, 25-20.

Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup encourages her team during the championship game with Jackson in the SEMO Conference tournament Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016 in Scott City.

Fred Lynch

Brennan posted a double-double with 21 kills and 17 digs, while Below had 17 digs, McClintock had 32 assists and Alyson Jansen added eight kills.

The Indians were paced by Hunt's 11 kills and 28 digs. Wendel compiled eight kills, Hallet had seven, Malary Burger had 17 assists and Lainey Broussard had 10 assists.

Jackson now gets set to open the Class 4 District 1 tournament on Monday as the second seed facing the winner of Poplar Bluff and Cape Central in Sikeston, Missouri.

"Maybe tonight wasn't the outcome we wanted, but we've got to carry momentum over into [districts] because we're going to play Farmington, who is just like Notre Dame," Robinson said.

Notre Dame will face sixth-seeded Kennett -- which the Bulldogs swept in Thursday's tournament bracket -- to begin the Class 3 District 1 tournament on Monday at the Dexter Bearcat Event Center.

SEMIFINALS

Notre Dame 25 25, Sikeston 11 17

The Bulldogs had little trouble with Sikeston in one of the semifinals.

Already up one game to none, ND opened up a 5-1 lead early in the second set.

Sikeston rallied to pull within three points midway through, but a big hit from Brennan stopped the bleeding for Notre Dame, which got aces from Lexi Welter, McClintock and Lauren Boswell to take advantage of Sikeston's trouble with serve receive.

The most noteworthy moment in the match came when McClintock set Notre Dame's single-season assist record.

"I didn't think I'd come close to beating a record at all," McClintock said. "Coach said seven games ago, 'Oh, you might be close,' but I didn't think I'd get it. Nobody told me I was close. All of my team knew, but none of them told me until Coach called a timeout in the Sikeston game. And she said, 'You just tied the school record. You get one more and you break it.' So it was pretty exciting."

In her first year as a starter, McClintock has been the Bulldogs' setter in every game this season.

"She's had a big load on her shoulders this year," Stroup said. "You have to get used to getting thrown out there and you have to play. She's done a good job.

"She's pretty competitive, too, and she's smart about where she puts the ball. So I've got a lot of confidence in her."

Jackson 20 25 25, Poplar Bluff 25 22 15

It took a big effort for the Indians to even reach the championship game, as they dropped the first set of their semifinal to the Mules and had to rally to move on.

The match was very much about early momentum, as Poplar Bluff jumped out 4-0 in the first set before Jackson cut the deficit to 10-8.

But the effort needed to dig out of the hole was too much, and the Indians couldn't pull any closer.

In the second set, Jackson trailed as late as 20-19, but with its tournament on the line, it took six of the final nine points to force a decisive set.

The Indians took all the early energy in that one, leaping out to a 5-0 edge and never trailed.

Jackson may face Poplar Bluff again Monday in the second round of the Class 4 District 1 tournament.

"I can't take anything away from Poplar Bluff," Robinson said. "They are a team that will come and fight you hard, and they did that. I think it gives us more confidence, and we're just going to have to know what we have to do against them to win because they're a tough team."