Notre Dame senior Emma Kowalkowski is a finalist for Michigan’s Miss Volleyball.
Notre Dame Prep earned its third straight trip to the CHSL volleyball finals last night with a pair of wins over Divine Child and the second-seeded Mercy Marlins. The Irish improve to 40-7-4 on the season and will face the CHSL’s other Fighting Irish team, Fr. Gabriel Richard from Ann Arbor.
The opening match saw some long rallies and a much improved Divine Child team but when all was said and done, Notre Dame had too many weapons and the Irish defeated the Falcons, 25-21, 25-19, 25-18. Offensively, the Irish were led by a pair of freshman, Maddy Chinn, who hit .379 on the match with 14 kills and four blocks, and Natalie Risi, who served up nine points (two aces), hit .324 with 13 kills and had 13 digs. Sophomore Gabby Shilling was a force at the net by blocking five. Marisa Ciszewski had a team high 24 assists for the three-set match.
In addition, Emma Kowalkowski served seven points (two aces) and had a team-high 19 digs.
The Irish then advanced to the semifinal round where they faced Mercy, who advanced via a bye. The Marlins had defeated the Irish in three sets back in mid-September. The Irish jumped out to a 17-10 lead in the opening set and appeared to have the set in hand when Mercy took advantage of a few Irish miscues to get back into the game. The Marlins defense began to dig everything the Notre Dame sent over the net and they went on to win 27-25. The second set saw the Irish jump out to 6-1 lead. This time the Irish kept their foot on the gas and finished strong taking the set 25-15. The third set was more of the same as once again the Irish never trailed and went on to a convincing 25-13 win. With their backs to the wall in the final set, the Marlins battled hard and held the lead for most of the set. The Irish finally clawed their way back to a tie at 18 and then again at 19 and 20. A Chinn kill (assist to Ciszewski and dig to Kowalkowski) gave Notre Dame their first but short-lived lead. Mercy came back to tie and take a 22-21 lead. A hitting error by the Marlins tied it up again and a kill by Risi gave the Irish the lead that they did not relinquish on their way to a 25-23 win.
Miss Volleyball finalist Emma Kowalkowski played an outstanding match and showed why she is among the best players in the state. Kowalkowski was stellar on serve receive with 32 receptions without an error; she also had 37 digs, 25 sets, seven serving points, including three more aces.
Kennedy Dorantes played one of her best matches as she served up 10 points and 15 digs. Once again Risi (14 kills, 11 serving points and 24 digs)and Chinn (24 kills and four blocks) were great weapons for the green and gold. Gabby Shilling and Jacqueline Lopez each added six kills for the Irish, while Caitlin Fitzgerald had five.
Notre Dame will face Richard in the CHSL Finals match on Monday, October 26, at Madonna University.
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.