Bernie earns split with Notre Dame

BERNIE -- Notre Dame has made a believer out of Bernie volleyball coach Jeff Rodgers.

Bernie could do little to match up with the state-ranked Lady Bulldogs of Notre Dame Regional High School in Cape Girardeau and the results were a 25-11, 25-17 loss at home Tuesday.

"They have a lot of talent," Rodgers commented after the game. "I think they are ranked third in the state in Class 3 and they're a bad match up for us. We may not play a better team all year.

"If we are ever going to play with teams like this, we're going to have to hit much better as a team and our blockers have to step up," he added.

Lyndsey Stone led the Lady Mules with six kills, while Rachel Vernon charted a team-high 16 digs.

The night started on a promising note as the jayvee Lady Mules pulled out an exciting, 25-23, 28-26 win for the home fans.

"That was one of the best JV games I've seen in quite awhile," Rodgers noted. "We played extremely well. Chelsea Wagner played the best game I've ever seen her play. Paige Mays played a flawless game defensively. The entire team played well.

"We didn't get a lot of kills, but this team wins with good serving and great defense," he pointed out. "When their pumped up like they were tonight (Tuesday), they are fun to coach. Big win."

Wagner finished with six kills, six solo blocks and five aces. Mays was nearly unstoppable at the net with 24 kills.

The varsity Lady Mules slipped to 1-1 on the season while the jayvee squad improved to 6-1 overall.

The varsity Lady Mules will next be in action Thursday at Bell City for a varsity only matchup with the Lady Cubs.