Saturday at Grace Christian in Knoxville, Notre Dame defeated six-time defending state DII-A volleyball champion Knox Webb before falling to King’s Academy in the East region finals.
The Lady Irish defeated the Lady Spartans 3-2 (25-16, 20-25, 17-25, 25-19, 15-9), but then lost to the lady Lions in straight sets, 13-25, 16-25, 12-25.
Junior outside hitter McKenna Brown was ferocious on the net with 30 kills in the two matches. Brown also added 24 digs, three aces and block.
Libero Gwen Jimenez, another talented junior, chipped in with 40 digs and two kills.
Mary Fillauer, a sophomore setter, aided the Notre Dame effort with 71 total assists, along with 17 digs and two aces.
The Lady Irish (32-10) will next travel to Nashville Christian on Tuesday for a state first round contest. . Match time is to be determined.
Individual combined stats:
Jazzmyne Watkins: 16 kills, 11 digs, 4 aces
McKenna Brown: 30 kills, 24 digs, 1 block, 3 aces
Gwen Jimenez: 40 digs, 2 kills,
Regan Wolf: 11 kills, 1.5 blocks,
Lindsay Burns: 11 kills, 3.5 blocks, 6 digs, 1 ace, 2 aces
Mary Fillauer: 17 digs, 2 aces, 71 assists