Saxony Lutheran wins fourth consecutive district title over Notre Dame

The Saxony Lutheran volleyball team celebrates winning the Class 3 District 1 championship after defeating Notre Dame in straight sets on Tuesday in Dexter.

Jacob Blassingame ~ Special to the Southeast Missourian

Two of the top teams in the area battled for the Class 3 District 1 championship on Tuesday in Dexter.

In the end, it was the Saxony Lutheran Crusaders prevailing with a 3-0 win over the Notre Dame Bulldogs.

The win was the fourth-consecutive district title for the Crusaders as they have seen a plethora of success with the seniors class of Annie Adams, Clara Brune, Leah Fritsche, Landre Hoehne, Callie King, Grace Ozark, Paige Seibel and Katie Swain.

“It’s definitely something we have all been looking forward to, to be able to say we are four-time district champions,” Ozark said. “We have such a great team and we work so hard together and that’s why we’ve been district champions for the last four years.”

Crusaders coach Stephanie Brown had high praise for her senior class following the win.

“They are such a fun group of girls and they are true leaders,” Brown said. “They work well together, they gel together and they’re epitome of a team. They want to represent Saxony well and I couldn’t be more proud of the way they carry themselves and the things they’ve accomplished.”

The Crusaders won the first set 26-24, the second set 25-17 and the final set 25-18.

Brown said her team has been focused in practice leading up to every match.

“We work a lot on every aspect,” Brown said. “If we know a certain opponent is coming up then we work on something regarding them. We work on all of our fundamentals and we get a lot of touches in practice and that’s one of our main goals.”

Looking ahead now for the Crusaders they will open Class 3 State Tournament play at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 26 against the Valle Catholic Warriors.

“We just want to finish each game as hard as we can,” Seibel said. “We want to play really hard and try and make it to the final four.”

Brown said a trip to the final four is the ultimate goal and it would serve as a testament to the hard work her group has put in this season.

“When you work day in and day out and you see the time and effort they put in, especially tonight when they come out and dominate and win in three sets it was just like something I’ve never seen,” Brown said. “I’m just so proud of them and I just hope they keep building and continue doing what they do.”