DEXTER -- In a potential preview for the MSHSAA Class 3 District 1 championship game, the winning team was possibly the team that played worse.
Dexter, the top seed and defending district champion, beat Notre Dame 25-17, 21-25, 25-14 on Monday at the Bearcat Events Center.
"My message to them was, we don't want to step back," Dexter coach Carmen Morgan said. "We didn't seem to have the energy we needed, we didn't have the communication. That's stepping it back because those are all things we can control."
It was the second meeting between the schools this season, with Dexter sweeping the first match at the Notre Dame Volleyballfest in early September. With the win, Dexter has not lost since Aug. 28 at Farmington and has gone 20-0-1 during that stretch. The lone tie was to Woodland in pool play of the Stoddard County Activities Association Tournament.
"The first time we played them, they beat us in two. So even taking them to three gave us that little boost of confidence. We are looking forward to districts now and believe we have a chance to take it," Notre Dame coach Meridith Brinkmeyer said. "That second game gave us some insights how we need to go about to beat them."
Dexter (22-4-2) took a 5-1 lead in the opening set and never trailed. The Bearcats also closed with a 6-1 run that included kills from four different players.
"We are still getting some pretty good balanced hitting, that's a good thing, you need balanced hitting. I just wasn't happy with our passes, I wasn't happy with our lack of communication," Morgan said.
After trailing midway through the second set, Notre Dame (16-8-3) pushed ahead and won with six aces. Shelby Bauwens had three to take the lead, then Lexi Welter and Megan Heisserer each got one before the Bulldogs finished the set with one last ace.
"We definitely were hitting better, passing well, taking advantage of using their blocks to block us out of bounds," Brinkmeyer said. "We have been trying to serve aggressively this year, so I think that was a big part."
Dexter, though, controlled the third set in a similar manner to the first.
Hannah Thurmon opened play with one of her team-leading 13 kills and later she earned one of her six blocks to put Dexter ahead 12-6.
Notre Dame never got within four points the rest of the way and Dexter polished off the night with six unanswered points.
"Notre Dame has a good team. You can't let them catch fire because they have some good hitters," Morgan said. "When we take the floor, we have to be aggressive. We were not as aggressive tonight."
Addie Kruse had three aces for Dexter in its final run while Blair Rogers added a block and the last of her five kills. Maycie Martin finished with a season-high nine kills and Kruse got six.
"Maycie Martin stepped up and got some really good kills. Blair Rogers stepped up at the end for us and got some really good kills," Morgan said.
Alexa Clark led Notre Dame with 10 kills and scored the team's final three points, all unanswered, with two kills and a block. Welter added seven kills and Jill Ryan got six.
Dexter has its season finale Thursday against Perryville and gets a bye in the first round of the district tournament. The Bearcats will face the winner of Kennett and Fredericktown at 5 p.m. Oct. 17 at Kennett.
Notre Dame, which has the SEMO Conference Tournament starting today as its regular season finale, would need to beat Doniphan and then the winner of Perryville and New Madrid Central to face Dexter a third time in the district championship.