Notre Dame cruises into A/AA soccer semis

Class A/AA State QuarterfinalsNOTRE DAME 4, SPRING HILL 0Halftime: 2-0. Goals: Sofia Olenchek 2, Emma Higgins 2. Assists: Higgins, Ashley McMeen, Liz Ciabattone. Records: Notre Dame 11-5-4; Spring Hill 13-5-3.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Notre Dame soccer team built an early lead and cruised to the semifinals of the Class A/AA state tournament Wednesday, defeating ninth-ranked Spring Hill 4-0 at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex in Murfreesboro.

Juniors Sofia Olenchek continued her solid postseason with two more goals -- giving her nine in the past six matches -- while Emma Higgins also scored twice.

"I thought that overall we played well. I was really pleased with pretty much everything," Notre Dame coach Jim Schermerhorn said. "We defended well and we scored some really nice goals."

Higgins, Ashley McMeen and Liz Ciabattone had assists for the second-ranked Lady Irish (11-5-4), who are 6-0 in postseason play. They now advance to today's semifinal at 5 EDT against unranked Jackson Christian, who upset 2013 state runner-up and third-ranked Christian Academy of Knoxville 2-1.

Sonoraville volleyball loses

Westminster defeated Sonoraville 3-0 on Wednesday in a GHSA Class AAA volleyball state semifinal at Westminster in Atlanta. Set scores were 25-13, 25-13, 25-19.

Sonoraville coach Trace Vaughn, whose Lady Phoenix were making their first state-semifinal appearance in the program's nine-year history, said Westminster had three players on its team pledged to NCAA Division I colleges.

"We didn't back down," Vaughn said. "We battled. We played well. We just didn't have the horses."

Haley Ponder, the only senior in the Lady Phoenix's regular rotation, led the team with eight kills and three aces. Her four blocks were second only to the five by Emalie Hicks, who equaled Maris Irick with a team-high nine digs.

Hicks was also 9-for-9 serving with an ace. Savannah Wilbanks was the assists leader with seven.

"It was an incredible season," said Vaughn, whose team finished 35-17 and won the Area 6 championship. "I don't think anybody picked us to win the area. Certainly nobody thought we'd make the final four. It took a lot of hard work and dedication. I'm very proud of the girls' effort and attitude."

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