Notre Dame defeats Dexter... again!

McKenzie Mitchel stretches for a dig in the championship game against Notre Dame Regional High School Tuesday during Class 3, District 1 tournament action at Dexter High School. Notre Dame defeated Dexter for the title.

The win by the Lady Bulldogs made it seven Class 3 District 1 titles in the past eight years since Notre Dame was moved up from 2A in 2002.

Kennett kept it from being eight consecutive titles when they defeated the Lady Bulldogs in 2005.

Dexter sophomore Lauren Ward (No. 4) and junior Elisha Flanigan both go for the ball in the Lady 'Cats game with Fredericktown

Kennett, the No. 4 seed, wasn't so lucky this year as Notre Dame beat the Lady Indians, 25-11, 25-11, in the first semifinal of the evening. Dexter, seeded No. 2, looked impressive against No. 3 Fredericktown in the other semifinal match, a 25-19, 25-10, win to set the championship pairing.

"We played pretty clean," Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup said after the title game. "That's the thing, I've been reading about some other districts having some upsets. I told the girls tonight, last week doesn't matter at all. We come in here with the No. 1 seed and we've got a big old bulls eye on our back. Everybody is looking to upset the No. 1 seed, so I was glad we played clean. I was afraid that with the nerves and stuff we might mishit a lot, miss serve a lot, but it was good."

Notre Dame, state-ranked at No. 6 in Class 3, fought off a strong challenge from Dexter in Game 1, turning a slim 13-12 lead into a nine-point win with a 12-4 run to end the opener. The Lady Bulldogs looked to end it early when they jumped out to a 5-0 lead in Game 2 before Dexter got on the board.

After trading points Lindsay Strieker knocked down three of her eight kills in a 4-1 run that pushed the Lady Bulldogs out to a commanding 12-5 advantage. Dexter responded with a 4-point run that included two aces by Elisha Flanigan and a kill by Abbie Warren to make it a 12-9 Notre Dame advantage.

Shannon Brennan put a stop to Dexter's momentum with a kill. Meghan Dohogne then took charge and scored Notre Dames' next four points on three kills (9 for the game) and a clever dink shot around a kill by Warren to make it a 17-11 game.

Dexter again rebound and put three points together (17-14), but the Lady Bulldogs again stepped up their game and finished on a 8-3 run to nail down the title.

It was the second win by Notre Dame over Dexter in a week.

"I think it helped us to be able to be here in this gym with this environment and play the same people, they had one of their girls back that they didn't have last time," Stroup said, referring to a regular-season meeting of the two teams at Dexter on Oct. 16th. "It was also good to watch before the game and kind of see where they like to hit the ball and stuff. I think it was good for us. We like to have that game so close to districts."

Stroup, who set a milestone winning her 200th game at Notre Dame with the semifinal win over Kennett, singled out her two senior middle hitters after the win over Dexter.

"Those two seniors (Meghan Dohogne and Lindsay Strieker) played real well tonight," she said. "They stepped up and they played a good game. We can pretty much count on them on a regular basis.

"She (Dohogne) brings everything," Stroup added. "Last year, she and Lindsay, the other middle, didn't play back row. They both improved on their passing and serve receive. I mean, Megan, she's the vocal leader on the court, she's our captain. She does it all. She has been a very important player for three years on varsity."

For Dexter, it was another case of coming up short again.

"I'm proud of the way the girls came out focused and ready to play, we were on top of our game against Fredericktown," Dexter coach Kris Vandeven commented. "Things changed, however, against Notre Dame we seemed out of sort. With Notre Dame being such a powerhouse you have to be on top of your game. We wish Notre Dame luck at the next level."

The Lady Bearcats were paced offensively by Warren with 14 kills, eight against Fredericktown and six against Notre Dame. Brittany Bedford led the team defensively with 11 digs, seven against the Lady Blackcats and four against the Lady Bulldogs. It was the last game as Lady Bearcats for the two seniors.

" I would like to recognize our seniors," Vandeven said of Bedford and Warren. " I am proud of both girls performance this season. Abbie has been an outstanding offensive force for us. Brittany has been our key defensive player this year. They will definitely be missed next year."

Notre Dame will next be in action Saturday at DeSoto against the winner of Class 3, District 1.

Dexter ends the season 17-14.