The duo of Emily Noto and Kam Burns powered Penn past rival Mishawaka 3-1 Saturday night to win the Class 4A LaPorte Volleyball Sectional
LAPORTE — Noto and Burns.
Burns and Noto.
The combination sounds like a great name for a promising law firm.
The perfect pairing, in reality, was the duo that laid down the law Saturday night for the sectional champion Penn High School volleyball team.
Freshman Emily Noto and junior Kam Burns powered the Kingsmen past rival Mishawaka 3-1 in the title match of the Class 4A LaPorte Sectional.
Noto slammed down 18 kills and Burns added 16 as Penn won its 20th sectional title in program history and second straight with a 25-15, 23-25, 25-21, 25-15 win over the Cavemen.
Penn (23-6) advances to play Warsaw (28-4) in a one-match regional next Saturday at 7 p.m. at Culver Community High School. Warsaw beat Elkhart 3-0 Saturday night to win its own sectional title.
The Kingsmen beat Warsaw 3-2 on Aug. 27 and lost to the Tigers 2-1 on Aug. 30 in a pair of closely-contested matches.
Mishawaka, which was led by star senior Ellie Adams, finished at 25-8.
Noto, who ranks second on her team in kills, sparked Penn in the opening set. The 5-8 outside hitter slammed four kills in a 7-0 run that turned an early 7-4 deficit into an 11-7 lead for the Kingsmen. Penn closed out the opening set on a kill by Noto.
Adams, one of five Mishawaka seniors, sparked her team in the second set to even the match. Penn led 20-19 late in set two before a 4-0 Cavemen run made it 23-20. Penn got within 24-23, but after a Cavemen timeout Adams blasted a kill for the 25-23 win.
The Kingsmen won a very competitive third set to take the momentum back. A 7-2 run, sparked by standout junior Anna McCullough, turned a 7-7 deadlock into a 14-9 Penn advantage. Mishawaka rallied within 24-20 late, but McCullough got a key kill to help close the set.
Penn used a 6-0 run early in the fourth set to take command. The pivotal run came after a replay was called after the Cavemen were awarded a point that would have given them a 5-4 lead. The Kingsmen then rode the big swings of McCullough and Burns to pull away with Burns getting the final kill for match point to end the two hour and six minute contest.
Burns had 23 kills and Noto 13 back on Sept. 4 as Penn beat Mishawaka 3-2 at Mishawaka. The Cavemen trailed 2-0 on that night before rallying to tie the match and lead 12-10 in the final set before Penn rallied for a 15-12 win in the deciding fifth set.
"This is my seniors last year and I'm playing for them," said Burns, a 5-6 outside hitter who ranks third behind Noto and McCullough in kills this season. "We want to win so bad. Our motivation is to win every game. My mentality out there is to trust my teammates and listen to them out on the court. When I play with confidence, everything is good."
Noto shows a skill set that belies her youth. The 15-year old watched last season as older sister Sarah helped Penn win sectional and regional championships in a 25-6 season. Sarah now plays at Tennessee Tech.
"These girls have been so welcoming to me this season," said Noto. "They have allowed me to be my own person and be the best Emily I can be. My teammates have been so helpful. I want to play for my team and for the Lord, to glorify him."
Noto admitted that she did not expect to make such a huge impact right away.
"To be honest, no," responded Noto. "There is so much talent on this team. I just came in this season with the intention to help the team. We can accomplish so much because there is so much talent on our team."
Penn had defeated South Bend Adams 3-0 in the first semifinal earlier Saturday. Mishawaka, which lost 3-1 to Penn in the sectional first round in 2024, had to outlast host LaPorte 3-2 in the second semifinal.
The Penn defense, as it has been all season, was excellent. Senior libero Abby Lane had 15 digs and McCullough 11. McCullough, who leads her team in kills, had 12 Saturday night.
"I thought we did a really good job on defense and we passed well, moved the ball well and our kids were swinging aggressively which was nice to see," said Penn coach Kaitlyn Hickey. "We knew Mishawaka had played five sets earlier and we wanted to make them play long rallies toight and tire them out."
Hickey, now in her third season, was a star player on back-to-back state title teams for Penn.
"Fearless," responded Hickey about the play of Noto and Burns. "That's both of them. I just love their mindset out there on the court."
Junior Carson Petty had 27 assists and Montana Swartz, one of four seniors, had 23 for Penn.
Mishawaka coach Randa Adams saw her team go 52-12 the past two seasons, led by her star daughter Ellie. Ellie had over 400 kills this season and also led her team in digs, going over 1,000 for her career in the first match versus Penn.
"It's a bittersweet good bye to these seniors because this group has been together for a long time," said coach Adams. "It's kind of like last year was for us. But all of these seniors will go on to bigger and better things.
"I thought my whole team played with heart and wanted it tonight. I thought everyone stepped up well. I had two JV girls out there at times tonight. We were definitely out of system more than we wanted to be tonight. But credit Penn. Their defense picks stuff up. They are scrappy."
Mishawaka will lose seniors Adams, Andie Shields, Alex Lowery, Cassie Creech and Soren Sculati. All five were starters Saturday night.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Penn volleyball wins second straight IHSAA sectional title
Category: General Sports
