Dexter falls in 3 at home

For the second straight night the Dexter Lady Bearcats have found themselves on the wrong end of a three-game match.

After dropping a tight three-game match at Advance Monday night, Dexter was dealt a similar fate by Leopold, 25-20, 21-25, 25-21, Tuesday night at the Bearcat Event Center.

"We're having trouble getting over the hump," Dexter coach Carmen Morgan said after the game. "I just told them sometimes we determine what we're made of my how we handle adversity. This does not define who we are. It doesn't define us as a team. So we're going to keep pushing.

"They are going to keep playing and we're going to keep going after it," Morgan continued. "We're going to get back in the gym tomorrow (Wednesday) and work a little harder. Our passes are really hurting us right now. We're standing and watching a little. We know that. We've got to get our hitting going. The season is not over. It's not done."

Game 3 was as tightly contested as the first two. The deciding game was tied four time early before the Lady Wildcats strung three points together to take a 11-9 lead.

Dexter used three Leopold errors and a block by Hannah Noe and Paige Patterson to surge ahead, 13-11 before Leopold coach Sandy Davis called a timeout.

Leopold reeled off four straight points after the meeting in front of the bench to regain the lead, 15-13.

"I tell them they just have to relax," Davis said. "They get very tense. So when I call a timeout I tell them to just take a deep breath and play their game. Because when they play tense they are just going through the motions and not playing their game."

To Dexter's credit, the Lady 'Cats again regrouped and won six of the next eight points for a 19-17 lead that brought the home crowd alive.

Davis again called a timeout and again she worked her magic as the Lady Wildcats finished off the Lady 'Cats with a 8-2 run that featured some soliding hitting by Allison Woodfin (14 kills, 3 aces, 3 blocks), Denai Arnzen (11 kills, 20 digs) and Caitlin Petty (12 kills, 22 assists) who also delivered a service ace.

"I told them they are going to have to get up and play," Davis noted. "Dexter has a good team. They have a young team. They are all-around good and they've got a good coach.

"I think they came out the second set not as aggressive," Davis continued. "Came out flat. And against a good team like this you can't do that. You've got to be aggressive and we started to pick it up.

"But overall it was pretty good," she added. "We made mental mistakes, but Dexter is a good all-around team."

Leopold won four of the last five points to take the first game, 25-20. Dexter returned the favor by winning 7 of the last 10 points to take Game 2 25-21.

"We're wounded a little bit," Morgan said of her team, which is also very young and dealing with the loss of hitter Jessica Lindsey. "But we've been stepping it up. We've hit a little bump in the road right now. From time to time I think we're playing with a little fear involved and we've got to learn to not play with fear.

"We've got Sikeston Thursday," Morgan added. "We don't have time to lick our wounds. We've got to come right back and get ready to play. Leopold has a good team. Advance has a good team."

Statistically Dexter was led by Paige Patterson with 10 kills (2 blocks) and Hannah Noe with nine. Alyssa Spear charted a team-high 16 assists while Ashley Brown had eight digs to go along with teammates Shyann Jines and Noe, each with seven.

JV -- Dexter won 2-0.

Leopold (15-3-1) will next be in action at Oran Thursday.

Notre Dame slips past Advance

Notre Dame's volleyball team scored the final four points of the match as it rallied for a three-game road victory against Advance on Tuesday night.

Advance won the first game 25-23, before the Bulldogs posted a 25-19 win in the second game.

Notre Dame trailed 21-23 in the third game but saw senior Taylor Ward serve out the final four points for a 25-23 victory.

Amanda Fowler led Notre Dame (17-1-1) with 21 kills, while Kelsey Luster had 11 kills and Myriah Bernard had seven. Ward finished with 33 assists, and Karsen Powers led the defense with 14 digs. Taylor Rinda recorded eight service points.

Liza Gray had 12 kills to lead the Hornets (15-3). Haley Kennison added 10 kills and Aimie Simmers had six. Allie Below recorded 22 assists.

Saxony Lutheran

defeats Cape Central

Katie Williams had seven kills in the Tigers' 25-22, 25-10 loss at home.

Harlie Anderson had five aces for Central (6-12-1).

Farmington rallies past Jackson

Jackson won the first game but saw host Farmington rally for a three-game victory, 22-25, 25-18, 25-20.

Melinna Craft led the Indians (8-10-2) with 11 kills. Alexa Kelpe dished out 18 assists, while Chelsea Fowler led the defense with 10 digs. Allison Skaggs recorded four aces, and Miranda Craft had two blocks.

JERRY JARRELL-jjarrell@dailystatesman.com Lady Bearcat Julia Hahn digs a ball during action against Leopold Tuesday night at the Bearcat Event Center.

JV -- Farmington won 25-17, 25-15