The Notre Dame Pandas fought with everything they had, but fell to Assumption in the Kentucky High School Athletic Association state championship match, 19-25, 25-22, 25-19, 20-25 and 17-15.
It’s the second straight season the Pandas end the season with a five-set loss to Assumption. They end their season with a 31-8 record and now have a 1-8 record against Assumption in state title matches.
The first set started out as a back-and-forth affair with neither team holding more than a two-point led until Assumption went up 16-12.
But after Notre Dame closed out Bowling Green with a 13-1 run in Friday night’s quarterfinal, they knew they were capable of swinging the momentum. Led by five kills from Teagan Kondik and blocks from Katie Zwick and Audrey Dyas, the Pandas went on a 13-3 run to close out the first set. It was the first set Assumption had dropped since Oct. 9.
Assumption evened up the match in the second set behind eight kills from sophomore Brooke Codey, who finished with a match-high 23 kills. They pulled away with two 3-0 runs that gave them insurmountable leads of 9-6 and later 20-15.
The Rockets fully activated the launch codes in the third set, using three separate four-point runs to build a 13-5 lead. They sustained that cushion until it was 20-12. When the Pandas got within 22-18, Codey found the floor once again before a Notre Dame error ended the frame.
Notre Dame took the fourth set thanks to a .300 hitting percentage, the only time all night either team hit that well in a set. The Pandas went on scoring runs early and often to take a 19-11 lead. They were able to hold off the Rockets to send the match to a deciding set.
The Pandas parlayed that momentum to take a 12-7 lead in the fifth set but couldn’t hold on as Assumption closed their season with a 10-3 run. Notre Dame had three set points, including at 15-14 when Dyas’s swing off a slide came within millimeters of finding the floor for the win. Instead, Assumption blocked two attacks and claimed the trophy after a review determined the Pandas committed their 28th attacking error of the match.
While Codey and Taylor McKenzie were Assumption’s main hitters, the Pandas spread the love. Kondik (17), Dyas (13), Grace Portwood (11) and Katie Zwick (10) all finished with double-digit kills. Lizzy Larkins dished out 33 assists and sophomore Makayla Roose led the team with seven blocks.
Dyas, Kondik and Dara Jackson were named to the all-tournament team.
The Pandas say goodbye to four seniors: Dyas, Larkins, Portwood and Zwick. Dyas is committed to Toledo, Portwood is headed to the University of Indianapolis, and Larkins and Zwick are headed to Ohio Dominican University.
In their career, they went undefeated against Ninth Region opponents, winning four regional titles and the 2022 state championship. They had a four-year record of 121-23.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Notre Dame volleyball ends season as Kentucky state runner-up
