Notre Dame flexes its No. 1 muscles to visiting Advance

In what was supposed to be a meeting of two Southeast Missouri volleyball heavyweights, Notre Dame Regional High School showed visiting Advance why they're the No. 1 team in the SEMO top 10 volleyball poll, sweeping the Hornets 25-15, 25-14 Tuesday night.

"We've been working all season to get ready for these games," Notre Dame outside hitter Emily Buehrle said.

Despite the support of a strong following, the visiting Hornets, ranked No. 4 in the SEMO top 10 poll, fell behind 8-2 early in the first game.

"They had a little trouble picking up our serve," Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup said.

Advance did not fold due to its early struggles. With the help of a Nicole Tropf stuff block, followed up by a kill, the Hornets closed the gap to 11-10. That would be the closest Advance would get.

Notre Dame, with the help of a couple of missed serves and some strong hitting, eased back to a 21-15 lead. Ahead 24-15, the Bulldogs closed out the game on a Sommer McCauley kill.

In the second game, the Bulldogs once again jumped out to a big lead at 8-3. Buehrle came up with one big kill after another in the second game on her way to a team-high 10 kills.

"I was nervous, but after the first game I settled down," Buehrle said.

After a Buehrle kill made the score 10-5, Notre Dame went on a run for a 15-6 lead. The Hornets called a timeout but the damage was done.

"Emily has come on like crazy," Stroup said. "She'll make them pay for it if they leave her unguarded."

Advance's main threat, Dana Williams, was held down most of the match. Williams did not have a kill until late in the first game and even came out of the match for a stretch in the second game.

Stroup said she was surprised by Williams' quiet night.

"I told my middle blockers to watch her," she said.

Advance made a mini run out of the timeout, but a couple of Hornet missed serves helped the Bulldogs stretch their lead to 24-10. After four unsuccessful tries to close out the match, McCauley once again ended the game with a kill.

"We just played an exceptionally good game," Stroup said. "We were just on."

McCauley had a big game with six kills, five digs and 10 assists. Amanda Essner added four kills and Alison Essner had nine assists. Notre Dame got three aces apiece from Lauren Mehner and Kristen Boos.

Tropf led the Hornets with eight kills. Alicia Broshuis added eight digs and seven assists.

"My kids are in a slump right now," Advance coach Kimberly Aggertt said.

Notre Dame made it two-for-two this week after beating Park Hills on Monday.

"They were ready to go this week," Stroup said. "I love it when we come out here ready to play like we did."

Notre Dame does not have much time to celebrate with Jackson visiting the Bulldogs on Thursday.

Buehrle said she hopes her recent run of good play will carry over to the Jackson game.

"Hopefully I can keep doing this for the rest of the season," she said.

jjoffray@semissourian.com

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