Cape Girardeau, Missouri - The Dexter Lady Cats are in hot pursuit of a back-to-back District Championship Title tonight as they cruised past Perryville in the semifinal action on Monday.  They defeated the Pirates 27-25, 25-18 in two exciting sets at Notre Dame High School.

Dexter came from behind 20-15 in the first set to eventually securing a 27-25 win in the first set.  The Lady Cats never trailed in the second set as they jumped out a an 8 point lead and rallied to a 25-18 victory.

“That was huge,” commented Dexter head volleyball coach Carmen Morgan.  “That’s what this team has been able to do a lot this year.  They come back and keep coming after their opponent.  I couldn’t tell you what happened at key points, but everybody started doing their job.  We started passing the ball and then our offense got going.”

Kirsten Garrison tallied a team-high13 kills, a team-high 15 assists, five digs, and two blocks.

Bailee Williams recorded 12 assists.  Brittany brown made 12 digs.  Lexie Barnes racked up six kills.

“Everyone came through with big hits for us tonight,” Morgan said.  “Lexie Barnes had some big hits for us and Addie Kruse hit some down the line right when we needed them.  What makes this team as good as they are is everyone can do their job.  Brittany Brown dug up a lot of balls defensively and so did some of the others.  We just came out and played hard and played to win.” 

Hannah Thurmon caused the Pirates some problems finishing with a team-high four blocks and recorded seven kills.

“Hannah has given people a lot of problems this year,” commented Morgan.  “Hannah has very long arms and very long legs, and there is nothing better for an athlete.  She can go over the top of people.  You have to block and she will still reach up and go over the top of you.  She has continued to improve the entire season.”

Perryville ends their 2015 season with a record of 22-12-3.  They graduate five Lady Pirates this year.

"This is the fourth time we've seen Notre Dame," Morgan said. "We will have to be ready. Our philosophy is they know what we do and we know what they do. We are just going to have to play hard, play to win and we will see what happens. I have no philosophy about it right now. We've just got to do what we do."

Dexter will now play Notre Dame at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday at Notre Dame High School for the Class 3, District 1 Championship.