Bulldogs survive close volleyball match with Tigers

On Wednesday night, the Notre Dame Bulldogs girls volleyball team defeated the Cape Central Tigers three sets to one at Notre Dame Regional High School in Cape Girardeau.

The win brings the Bulldogs to an overall record of 19-7-1 and 8-2 in their last 10 games. Notre Dame head coach Meredith Brinkmeyer said her team’s positive attitude helps them continue to win games.

“If we can just play consistently, which in that second set we came out and dug ourselves a pretty big hole, but it’s just focusing on that energy that when we play with the energy and excitement, we can battle,” Brinkmeyer said. “We keep focused on our energy, not dwelling on our mistakes, but instead say, ‘Hey, that was my bad I got the next one.’ Just trying to keep that positive attitude throughout the game.”

The second set went in favor of the Tigers by a score of 25-15. In both the third and fourth sets, Cape Central held big leads of up to six points, but the Bulldogs continued to battle back.

Brinkmeyer said she told her team not to worry about the scoreboard and to take the game one point at a time.

“I always tell them to not focus on how many points we’re down by, but just focus on getting the next point, and then once we get that point, we’ll focus on the next one after that,” Brinkmeyer said. “Not necessarily looking at the big picture, but just kind of making small little comebacks here and there, and it tends to work out for us pretty well.”

District play is coming up for both the Tigers and Bulldogs in Class 4 District 1 and Class 3 District 1, respectively. Brinkmeyer said her team is ready to go into the postseason and try to win some games.

“We’re just focusing on what we’ve done well and, more importantly, focusing on those areas that we can improve on, and not settling,” Brinkmeyer said. “I think we’re playing well now but we can find things that we can fine-tune and continue to get better at.”