Division 2 No. 1-ranked Pontiac Notre Dame Preparatory earned the second-straight Williamston Invitational championship on Saturday, Oct. 23, sweeping its opponents without dropping a set.

  Bianca Giglio had a monster day as she racked up 36 serving points including 15 aces, 39 kills (.565 kill percentage and a .436 kill efficiency) and four blocks to lead the Irish offense. Miss Volleyball finalist Josie Bloom anchored the defense with yet another outstanding tournament. Bloom finished with 19 points,five aces, 62 serve receptions in 64 attempts and 52 digs.

   Notre Dame opened the tournament with and impressive win against Haslett, 25-11, 25-14, 25-11. Giglio led the charge with nine kills, four aces, and four blocks. Sophia Sudzina also contributed nine kills while Sara Nouhan had seven and Grace Wenaas and Ally Berent each had five. Hanna Rutila and Elyssa Wallace served up 10 and nine points respectively and accounted for 11 digs.

   Notre Dame beat Eaton Rapids 25-8, 25-11 in the next match of pool play. Much of the damage was done by setter Margo Sudzina (19 assists) who scored 26 points from the line including 10 aces. Fellow setter Leah Greif added eight points, three aces and 12 assists to the Irish totals. Bloom was solid again with 13 receptions and 12 digs, as Berent added 11 digs. Sophia Sudzina had eight points, four aces and 11 kills, Giglio added 10 more kills and a pair of blocks.

   The third contest in pool play was canceled due to a team withdrawing.

   In the first match of bracket play, Notre Dame beat East Grand Rapids 25-17, 25-15. Giglio led the Irish attack with six kills, six points, four aces, and four blocks. Sophia Sudzina had five kills, while Berent, Nouhan and Wenaas each had three. Margo Sudzina with 15 assists to go with five points and two aces. Bloom kept the ball alive with 10 digs and 12 receptions.

   Notre Dame defeated Onsted in the semifinals 25-10, 25-11. The Irish served well collecting 12 aces and passed well 31 digs to secure the win. Giglio had 16 points including six more aces to go with four kills and six digs.  Berent had six kills while Wenaas (five) and Sophia Sudzina (four) also found the floor.  Margo Sudzina added 17 more assists to go with five points and two aces as Bloom dug up eight Onsted attacks and 10 serves.

   In the championship match Notre Dame used a balanced attack and stingy defense to defeat Division 2 No. 9-ranked Lansing Catholic 25-10, 25-19. Lansing Catholic came in with a 40-1 record.

  Giglio again led all attackers with 10 kills, Sophia Sudzina added eight, Abby Nellis with five and Berent and Wenaas with four.  Berent also added eight reception, five digs, six points and an ace. Margo Sudzina kicked in five points and 12 assists.  Bloom fortified the defense with 13 digs and 12 receptions. Wallace added five points and seven digs while Rutila played another strong game contributing five digs and five points.

   The Irish record now stands at 57-1 on the season. Their only loss coming to Division 1 No. 1 Bloomfield Hills Marian at the Beast of the East tournament.