In a Monday all-county volleyball match, Hamilton Southeastern held off Carmel in five sets, 25-15, 25-23, 22-25, 21-25, 15-10 in the opener for both teams.
Taylor Shelton had 18 kills and 17 digs to lead the Royals. Sophomore setter Olivia Phillips had 57 assists along with five kills. Sophomore middle hitter Delaney Garner had 11 kills and 3.5 blocks and sophomore Carly Mills had 24 digs.
“It was a great atmosphere to open the season,” said HSE coach Jason Young. “Carmel is an outstanding team and will continue to improve. Looking forward to seeing what we can do as a group this season.” Senior Zada Anderson and Junior Grace Hunter each had 10 kills. Junior Defensive Specialist Lillian Leiner had a solid night with 20 digs.
Elaina Brueggemann led the Greyhounds with 27 kills. Sophie Oliphant collected 27 digs, while Brueggemann, Lexi Brehl had 16 digs and Lauren Van Remotel got had 10 digs. Gabby Smith made four blocks, with Kelise Twyner and Yara Batista each making three. Van Remortel handed out 25 assists, while Anne Lesure dished out 22.
The Royals host New Castle at 7 p.m. tonight. Carmel plays at Roncalli, also at 7 p.m. tonight.
Another all-county meet took place on Tuesday, with Guerin Catholic beating Hamilton Heights 25-12, 25-12, 25-21 in the Eagles Nest.
The Golden Eagles rebounded nicely after dropping their opener to Heritage Christian on Monday. Guerin Catholic coach Ashley Pertile credited several of her players with playing well, starting with senior outside hitter Jasmine Wolfgram.
“She came out and really hit the ball hard, stayed consistent,” said Pertile. The coach also said her sophomore outside hitter, Sydney Jachimowicz, was a strong server in the game “and we really needed her.”
“My middle hitter Izzy McGuinness came through in some pretty clutch times,” said Pertile. “My setter was pretty consistent.”
For the Huskies, Hannah Crist led the way with eight kills, six assists and two digs. Kennedy Lewis had seven hits, including a kill, five digs and three assists. Katie Mottweiler had nine digs and five hits.
Heights coach Steve Hawthorne has a young team, including four freshmen that played the match, so he said his team will be “a little up and down this year and it’s going to take us working hard, but it’s a good group of girls and I think as the season goes along, we’ll be much better.”
Guerin Catholic plays travels to New Palestine tonight for a 6:30 p.m. match. The Huskies also go on the road tonight, playing at 6 p.m. at Lebanon.
Noblesville got a win for its opener, beating North Central on the road 25-16, 25-27, 26-24, 25-20 on Tuesday.
Lexie Almodovar hit 23 kills to lead the Millers, with Ella Peter hitting eight kills. Braden Caswell collected 13 digs and Kayla Thompson had 11 digs and served eight aces. Ava Nichols dished out 50 assists along with serving five aces.
Noblesville’s next match is Thursday at Bishop Chatard.
Fishers swept past Lawrence Central 25-11, 25-10, 25-18 to win its season opener on Tuesday.
“The Tigers took balanced gameplay with them on the road, leading to 50 digs, 37 kills, 13 aces, and 4.0 blocks,” said Tigers coach Steven Peek.The offense was led by senior setter Rose Duffy’s 30 assists and sophomore middle hitter Jada Allen’s 11 kills. Junior outside Bryn Roberts added an efficient eight kills, and senior middle Haley Soper hit five kills on seven swings. Soper also hit four aces.Three sophomores also collected multiple aces. Outside hitter Emily Waldrop had three aces, while middle hitter Mikayla Christiansen’s topspin and defensive specialist Shelby Settles’ float each recorded two aces.Senior libero Emma Rosenberg led the back row with 11 digs. Duffy and sophomore opposite hitter Camryn Haworth dug 10 each, and Roberts was close behind with eight of her own.
Fishers goes back on the road tonight, traveling to McCutcheon for a 7:30 p.m. match.
Westfield opened its season by playing at Yorktown, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 3A.
The Tigers beat the Shamrocks 25-12, 25-10, 25-14. Westfield had a good showing in its serve reception game averaging a 2.00 as a team, with Bailey Mendler averaging a rating of 2.35. Mendler also racked up 20 digs on the night.
Westfield hosts Greenfield-Central at 6 p.m. tonight.
Sheridan dropped its opener to Clinton Central 25-24, 25-18, 25-8.
The Blackhawks next play on Thursday at Hamilton Heights.
Westfield outside hitter Kinsey McAfee (2) makes a spike during the Shamrocks’ season-opening match with Class 3A No. 1-ranked Yorktown on Monday. (Kirk Green)
Sheridan’s Maddie Zola makes a dig during the Blackhawks’ Tuesday match with Clinton Central. (Kirk Green)