Volleyball Recap: Notre Dame Academy Comes Up Short in High-Profile Contest with Skutt Catholic

Notre Dame Academy is ranked highly in their home state and on Saturday they took on another highly ranked team in the form of Skutt Catholic. The Pandas took a 2-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of the SkyHawks. The Pandas were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the SkyHawks apparently hadn't forgotten their defeat the last time these teams played back in October of 2024.

The 2-0 score doesn't really reflect how close the match was: every set was decided by exactly two points. The match finished with set scores of 30-28, 26-24.

Grace Portwood paced Notre Dame Academy's offense, picking up eight kills. Portwood got some help from Lizzy Larkins and her 16 assists. Audrey Dyas controlled things from the service line, finishing with two aces.

Skutt Catholic got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Mia Stevens out in front who had 18 assists and six digs. That's the most assists Stevens has posted over her last six matches. Another player making a difference was Maggie McMahon, who had 15 assists and two aces.

Notre Dame Academy dropped their record down to 20-6 with the loss, which was their third straight on the road. As for Skutt Catholic, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 18-7 record this season.

Notre Dame Academy has already played their next matchup, a 2-0 victory against Assumption on the 4th. As for Skutt Catholic, they also wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next match, a 2-1 defeat against Marist on the 4th.