​LONDONDERRY — The old adage in sports is that it’s difficult to beat a team three times in one season.The Notre Dame Titans’ volleyball program and its players are most certainly well aware of that adage.But playing with a loose and carefree approach, the Lady Titans played the role of a group that showcased excellent preparation, to the point where the adage may as well have been as far away as the Ohio cornfields in the far Northwest District of the state.The result was one of Notre Dame’s most precise volleyball performances of the 2026 season, as the Lady Titans stormed to an impressive straight-set victory over a well-coached and talented South Webster Jeeps’ volleyball squad (25-15, 25-11, 25-18) on Tuesday evening in a OHSAA Division VII Southeast District Semifinal that was held at Chillicothe Southeastern High School.Two of Notre Dame’s players who have been part of the central pieces to the Lady Titans’ successes all season long — senior middle and outside hitter Jaysa Bryant and senior libero Bella Rush — were again dynamic throughout the evening.Bryant ultimately finished with a match-high 29 kills and raised her ever-increasing kill mark to nearly 430 for the season, while Rush eclipsed the 400-dig mark for her high school career as well in the process.Both players, along with the core rotation that is comprised of junior all-around player and OHSVCA Division VII District Player of the Year Sophie Phillips, senior setters Ryan Purcell and Rudy Webb, Lady Titan frontline talents in Tinleigh Coriell and Charlotte Wallace and rotation player Audrey Bach, played with a high-concentrated, loose-attitude style that Bryant and Rush said was a must in order to emerge victorious.”It feels really good to get this win,” Bryant said. “South Webster’s a great team. The last time we played them, we made tons of mistakes and we knew that we just couldn’t do that this time around. This match, with the stakes being win-or-go-home, was one we couldn’t afford to make those same errors in. We knew that we had to limit those mistakes and do good.””They say that it’s hard to beat a team three times, so coming into this match, we knew that we had to lock in, not only to beat South Webster for a third time, but because of how well-coached they are and how well-rounded they are as a team and the reputation that they have. We came in with a lot of energy and I’m so proud that we were able to carry that forward.”South Webster, who got two early kills from Ava Claxon as well as a spike from Kennedy Hamilton, held a a 4-2 lead to begin the opening set — but Bryant quickly changed the momentum.In what became a common theme throughout the evening, Bryant and Phillips quickly shifted momentum back to Notre Dame’s end.In the opening set alone, Bryant and Phillips combined for 15 kills, offsetting the six kills that Claxon finished with in the first frame as the Lady Titans took off on a 15-7 run to end the first set after leading 10-8 initially.Bryant credit