Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — Near the end of Saturday’s third set, Notre Dame appeared to be well on its way to a district title.
The Titans held four match points, looking to put away Western and advance.
But a monumental comeback effort from the Indians forced ND to enter a dogfight, delaying the celebration.
What looked to be a sweep turned into a five-set thriller. But thankfully for the Titans, they were able to escape and dodge the scare, coming out on top of a 25-18, 25-20, 24-26, 16-25, 15-11 final and winning their first district title since 2019.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Through the first two-plus sets, Notre Dame (21-3) rode a swarming defense alongside an outstanding attack at the net behind Bree Hicks, Sophia Phillips and Maycee Ford.
The trio combined for 24 kills in the opening two sets, along with timely aces from Hicks, Lyndsey Schaefer and Aleza Smith, to give the Titans a 2-0 match lead.
In the third, Western (15-9) began to find its footing as Addy Brewster, Kerrigan Marhoover and Breleigh Tackett started to cook on the attack, along with Chelsey Ryan playing high-level defense at the net.
Late in the set, the Titans began to pull away after an ace from Schaefer kills from Ford and Hicks forcing the last timeout for the Indians at 24-20.
But with their season on the line and facing four match points, the Indians battled all the way back to take the set with a 6-0 run, winning 26-24, following an ace from Marhoover and a kill from Ryan that grabbed every bit of momentum.
“Western is a phenomenal program and they’re well-coached,” Notre Dame coach Katie Dettwiller said. “One thing I told my girls was that Western never quits. They never quit, they’re going to play scrappy and they’re going to fight you all the way to the end. You can never let up. They play out of their minds today. It was unbelievable to watch. They’re always a tough matchup.”
The Indians got out to a quick start in the fourth with a pair of aces from Aubrey Penwell to force an early ND timeout. Eventually, the Titans came back even at 6-6, but after eight consecutive points from Western, the Indians ran away with a win.
Brewster, Marhoover and Tackett combined for 10 kills in the fourth, helping the Indians force a race to 15 to determine the district champion.
With it appearing that Western had all of the momentum heading into the final set, the Titans had to come together to remind themselves why they were in the position they were in.
“In that fifth set, I just told the girls that they had to play the hardest 15 points of their lives,” Dettwiller said. “That’s what I say every time we go to a fifth set. You just have to give it your all and leave everything out there. I also reminded them to be confident. They know what they’re doing, they know how to play and they’re here for a reason. So they just needed to show that.”
Dettwiller’s group listened and jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the fifth with an ace from Schaefer, plus kills from Hicks and Jaysa Bryant.
However, following an absurd dig from Brewster, Marhoover was able to finish off a kill to grab some momentum back for Western. Marhoover then served up consecutive aces before a kill from Brewster gave the Indians a 6-4 lead.
The teams then traded points before Hicks put down consecutive kills for the Titans to force a timeout with Notre Dame leading 11-10.
“We’re very lucky to have so many talented players in our program, no matter the age,” Dettwiller said. “Everybody knows their role, they know when to step up and we know that when someone needs to do something, they’re not going to play above their head and they know exactly what they’re supposed to do.”
A service error tied the match at 11-11, but back-to-back kills from Ford gave the Titans the last lead change of the match, eventually leading to a connection from setter Maddie Entler to Bryant for the final point of the night — and a district championship for the Titans.
The five-set classic marks the Titans’ first district championship since the 2019 season, helping the team’s seniors — Maddie Entler, Hicks and Aleza Smith — to put their stamp on Notre Dame’s historic legacy.
“Not every year do you have senior leadership,” Dettwiller said. “Sometimes, seniors step up and sometimes, they don’t. I’m lucky to have our three. They’ve bought into the program, they’re having fun and they’re bringing the other girls along with them. They’re leaders.”
In her final career match, Western’s Kerrigan Marhoover recorded her 1,000th career dig. Marhoover, along with Tackett, Kenna Allen and Arieanna Teed will graduate with 45 wins over the past three seasons, helping change the culture in Latham for a program that won only 15 matches in the two seasons prior.
Notre Dame now advances to a Division VII regional semifinal at 6 p.m. on Wednesday at Zanesville High School. There, the Titans will meet with Caldwell, a 3-0 winner over Conotton Valley.
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