VILLANOVA, PA- It was a match long anticipated between Inter-Ac rivals Academy of Notre Dame and Germantown Academy girls’ volleyball teams at host Notre Dame this past Friday.
The last time both teams squared off on the court was during one of the most intense matches of last season. A point-for-point battle for the PAISAA championship. That game ended in 3-5 victory title for the Irish.
Now, a new season, both teams arriving to this match with the same intensity and athleticism that they left on the courts last fall.
Academy of Notre Dame returning with 3 seniors after losing 7 strong players to graduation. Steering the squad this year for his 14th term is head coach Mike Sheridan accompanied by first year co-head coach Brenda Collins.
The Irish are led by captains, Emma Butler (setter), Allison Hendrick (middle blocker) and Marina Ruiz (setter).
Reigning Inter-Ac champs Germantown Academy is returning with 5 seniors having lost 5 key players also to graduation.
The Patriots are led by senior captains Emma Rapp (middle blocker), Abby Starzecky (middle blocker) and Katie Weiss (middle blocker).
Dan Sullivan or (coach Sully) as he is fondly referred to by his squad, is returning for his third year as head coach to the 5 year-young program.
With that being said, you would never know that GA’s young program or Notre Dame’s so called rebuilding year is any indication of what happens on the court.
Hence fast forward…to Friday afternoon.
Both teams started off strong with equal amounts of momentum and energy.
Notre Dame’s servicing was on point the entire game giving them a 25-19 victory in the first set and a 25-17 victory in the second.
But the Patriots were not about to give up without a fight.
NOTRE DAME vs. GERMANTOWN ACADEMY
Into the third set, GA came out strong leading by 3 points with a score of 11-14. The Irish tying the game at 14-14. Three more ties would ensue from a rigorous back-and-forth volley from both sides of the defensive net, leading to a 20-20 tie.
The Irish would then take the lead with 5 back-to-back points for a final 25-20 set and match win.
Intense third set
ND senior captain middle blocker Allison Hendrick talks about rally in the 3rd set
ND coach Mike Sheridan talks about the hard-fought 3rd set
ND senior captain setter Emma Butler comments on going forward
According to Sheridan, it’s all about maintaining energy, not only when facing a tough team such as GA but for all games going forward in order to have that winning combination.
“If we want to be a top team and we want to be competitive against all the best teams in the area, we have to learn to do this every single match,” said Sheridan.
Sheridan attributes his three captain seniors for helping maintain that winning energy throughout the game especially from senior setter Marina Ruiz, who did not play in this game but maintained her leadership role from the bench.
“The role she played with her enthusiasm getting all the players on the bench into the match from the start to the finish and that is a hard thing to do to maintain that enthusiasm and energy for over an hour and a half without getting on the court… if we can do that every match, we are always going to be a tough team to beat,” said Sheridan.
For coach Sully, he knows what his team has to work on going forward and looks forward to a rematch at home against the Irish.
GA senior captain middle blocker Emma Rapp talks about how her team prepared for this game against ND
GA head coach Dan Sullivan talks about the intensity of this game and going forward
Game Stats:
Notre Dame Academy
Allison Hendrick 10 kills
Riley Shaak 7 kills, 5 blocks
Elise Butler 16 digs, 7 kills
Emma Butler 26 assists
ND (7-2 overall, 2-0 Inter-Ac)
Game Stats:
Germantown Academy
Jenna Schumann 6 kills, 4 digs.
Alison Weber 4 kills, 4 aces, 5 digs
Cat Polisano 14 assists, 3 digs
Emma Rapp 2 kills, 7 digs.
Shannon Topley 9 digs
GA (6-2 overall, 1-1 Inter-Ac)
Both teams continue Inter-Ac league play today, as the Patriots face the Baldwin school at home. and Notre Dame will play host to Agnes Irwin.