‘We stepped on the gas’: Notre Dame captures back-to-back 9th Region volleyball titles

Notre Dame head coach Leslie Litmer called a timeout with the Pandas trailing 15-9 to St. Henry in the first set of the Ninth Region volleyball championship game. She and co-head coach Jenna Leistner challenged the team; they wanted to see what the girls were made of.

“We all just knew our job was to deal with the pressure and work our way back up,” junior Julia Grace said.

The Notre Dame Pandas are the KHSAA Region Nine girls volleyball championship champions at Cooper High School, Oct. 26, 2023.

Behind four kills from Riley McCloskey and six blocks as a team, the Pandas rallied to win the first set, 27-25. That set the tone for a three-set sweep of the Crusaders and back-to-back Ninth Region titles for the Pandas.

“We were expecting this match to go to five and be a really close game, but we stepped on the gas. We would not let up, like, we did not let them in at all” senior Ava Erpebneck said.

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The match was the third battle this season between the two top-10 teams in the state. Notre Dame came out on top for the third time, a feat that wasn’t easy, but was made possible by what they learned in the previous two games.

“We knew that we couldn’t let up on them because they’re a really strong team, they have really strong players,” McCloskey said.

The Pandas of Notre Dame charge the court after winning the title in the KHSAA Region Nine girls volleyball championship at Cooper High School, Oct. 26, 2023.

It was a total team effort, too. McCloskey, Ella Goetz and Audrey Dyas all registered five blocks. Goetz, Erpenbeck and McCloskey each had 10 kills. Tournament MVP Julia Grace dug 27 attacks, turning a potent St. Henry offense around and making them play defense against a just-as-powerful Panda squad.

As the lone senior on a team one year after the Pandas won the state championship with six seniors, Erpenbeck is proud of what this team has done and looks forward to one final challenge.

Notre Dame junior libero Julia Grace (right) had 46 digs in three games to take home Ninth Region Most Valuable Player honors.

“I’m so excited. At the beginning of the season, everyone looked at Notre Dame as being the underdog because we lost six seniors and two All-Americans, but I mean this year, we’ve literally come out and proven everyone wrong,” Erpenbeck said.

Turning point/ key sequence

A win would’ve been difficult had the Pandas dropped the first set, but they almost let themselves down in the second set.

Notre Dame raced out to leads of 13-8 and 21-11 behind kills from six different players. St. Henry closed the gap to 24-23 after two Panda attacking errors, but an Ava Tilden kill gave Notre Dame a second-straight two-point set win and paved the way for the sweep.

“They did not give up. They did not let down when we were down big in that first set. They still found it in them to find that fight and that fire,” Leistner said.

Senior shoutout

St. Henry’s six-member senior class of Anna Guard, Macy Lentz, Audrey Leonhard, Mia Ryan, Alivia Skidmore and Elizabeth Tabeling went 92-25 in three years together. Guard, Skidmore and Tabeling have signed letters of intent to play volleyball at the Division I level in college.

The St. Henry Crusaders sport their region runners-up trophy after the KHSAA Region Nine girls volleyball championship at Cooper High School, Oct. 26, 2023.

“They’re each individual great players, but as a team, they are so great,” Leistner said.

The group’s greatest accomplishment was winning the 2021 state championship as sophomores, the first trophy to come back to St. Henry since 1981.

What’s next?

Notre Dame enters the state tournament as the defending champion and will travel to Campbell County for a first-round game against the Camels on Monday, Oct. 30. The time is to be determined.

Ava Erpenbeck (4) hoists the championship trophy for Notre Dame after the Pandas captured the region volleyball title in three straight sets in the KHSAA Region Nine girls volleyball championship at Cooper High School, Oct. 26, 2023.

Simon Kenton loses in 8th Region final

One day after a reverse sweep of North Oldham, the Pioneers entered the Eighth Region final at Eminence High School looking for their first-ever region title.

SK got off to a good start, winning the first set 25-21. However, the fatigue and excitement from the previous day started to show as Oldham County won the next three sets 25-15, 25-16, and 26-24 to qualify for the state tournament.

The Pioneers finish the season 30-8, a marked improvement from their 16-20 record in 2022 and their most wins in a season since they went 29-9 in 2018.

Campbell County wins 10th Region

The Camels ran into a familiar foe in the 10th Region title game, facing off against Scott for the fourth time this season and the second time in a week after the two met in the 37th District championship.

Their two previous matches went the full five sets. The winner-take-all version was no exception.

Following the same path as their battles on Sept. 27 and Oct. 19, Scott took a 2-1 lead after three sets. Campbell County won the fourth set to tie the match. In a twist of fate from last week’s district final, the Camels won the fifth and decisive set by a score of 15-13, the same score Scott used to win the district title.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kentucky high school volleyball: Notre Dame set to defend state title