The 2021 state volleyball tournament got started on the right foot for teams from Notre Dame and East Hamilton as they both won their first match and advanced in their respective divisions.
Notre Dame, hoping to improve on last year’s runner-up finish, got off to a slow start against Concord Christian, dropping the first set by a 25-21 score, but the Lady Fighting Irish got back on track and won the last three sets by scores of 25-17, 25-20 and 25-23 at Middle Tennessee Christian School.
Notre Dame improved to 29-5 with Tuesday’s win, the winning streak now a dozen matches in a row.
Notre Dame will now face BGA after the Lady Wildcats beat Northpoint Christian in four sets, BGA winning by scores of 26-24, 22-25, 25-11 and 25-23.
Notre Dame coach Dan Clotfelter wasn’t the happiest guy in town during that first set, but he was all smiles by the time the match ended a little later.
“We didn’t exactly start off on the right foot, but we eventually got there,” he said later.
“Concord came out and played great defense at the start as we were somewhat flat. We played better after that and got things turned around. It’s always to learn from your mistakes when you lose, but we have to do the same when we win.
“There are four really good teams in our division and any of them can win on any given day, so we can’t afford to make the same mistakes. We have to be ready to play from the beginning, but a win at the state tournament is always a nice thing and we beat a really good team today,” Clotfelter added.
Regan Wolf led the way for Notre Dame with 17 kills while teammate Maggie Fillauer also had an outstanding match with 16 kills and 22 digs. Mary Fillauer was equally as good with 40 assists and 21 digs. Riley McCormick finished the day with 31 digs.
East Hamilton also advanced by a 3-1 margin over Lexington at Rockvale High School and improves to 29-5 with Tuesday’s win.
Unlike Notre Dame, the Lady Hurricanes won the first two sets by scores of 25-20 and 25-23 before dropping the third, 25-21. It didn’t take long as East Hamilton won the match with a convincing 25-13 win in the deciding set.
“We won, but there are no easy matches as this is the state tournament,” said East Hamilton coach Antonela Suzuki after her team’s victory.
“We believe we belong here and we worked mighty hard to get to this point. I thought we did well as we stayed present and focused on one point at a time. There is no magic here, but we found a way to win.
“I feel like we can play better, but we can be a joy to watch when we’re playing our game. There is a lot of excitement as this is a big stage. We’re just pushing hard to see how good we can be and we just hope we can play our best when it matters most,” she added.
Madison Allen had 18 kills and 10 digs for the Lady Canes while Laila Ankar had 18 digs. McKenna Hayes finished with eight kills, 12 digs and five aces while Amya Sutton also had five aces in addition to six kills, two blocks and 10 digs. Tristan Sutton was credited with 27 assists among other things while Georgia Dobson had six blocks.
East Hamilton will face Anderson County in Wednesday’s first Class AA semifinal at Rockvale High School.
NOTRE DAME STATS:
Regan Wolf – 17 kills, 1 block, 1 dig
Madeline Solis – 11 digs, 2 aces
Riley McCormick – 31 digs, 2 aces, 2 assists
Lindsay Burns – 9 digs, 2 aces, 1 block
Samantha Brown – 9 kills, 1 dig, 1 block
Maggie Fillauer – 16 kills, 22 digs, ½ block
Sam Crisp – 6 kills, 2 digs, 1 block
Mary Fillauer – 40 assists, 21 digs, 6 kills, 1 block, 3 aces
Maggie Clotfelter – 2 digs, 2 aces.
EAST HAMILTON STATS:
McKenna Hayes – 8 kills, 12 digs, 5 aces
Laila Ankar – 18 digs, 1 kill, 2 aces
Hana Suzuki – 1 dig
Georgia Dobson – 6 kills, 6 blocks, 1 dig
Amya Sutton – 6 kills, 2 blocks, 10 digs, 5 aces
Tristin Sutton – 6 kills, 2 blocks, 27 assists, 8 digs, 1 ace
Morgan Bone – 2 blocks, 1 dig
Madison Allen – 18 kills, 1 block, 10 digs, 1 ace.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)