By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – The Class 4A Sectional 8 volleyball tournament began Thursday at Hamilton Southeastern with a pair of four-set matches.
First, Fishers overcame the loss of the first set to get past Noblesville, 23-25, 25-13, 25-13, 25-18. In the second match of the night, Westfield emerged from a marathon third set to claim a victory over Carmel, 25-18, 21-25, 30-28, 25-17.
Both the Tigers and the Shamrocks advanced to Saturday morning’s semi-finals with their respective wins. Fishers will play Zionsville in the first semi-final, which is scheduled for 11 a.m., and that will be followed by the second semi-final between Westfield and the host Royals. Semi-final winners will play for the championship at 7 p.m.
TIGHT FIRST MATCH
The Tigers and the Millers played a relatively tight first set. Noblesville did go on a run to lead 18-13; Rose Crist helped out with three kills. But the Tigers came back to tie it up at 18-18. Olivia Lux hit an ace along the way, while Emily Waldrop spiked a kill. Neither team led by more than two points for the remainder of the set, which went to Noblesville 25-23.
“I think in that first set, the difference was we were on in every aspect of our game,” said Millers coach Annie Phillips. “We played as a team in every aspect of the game.”
“The reason they won the first set is they played better volleyball than we did,” said Tigers coach Steven Peek.
Fishers roared through the second set, at one point leading 21-6. Waldrop and Mikayla Christiansen both hit four kills during the run.
“After that, it was our turn to adapt and push through and be a great team in this sectional, and that’s what we did,” said Peek.
The Tigers also had firm control of the third set from the beginning, scoring five straight points to lead 9-3 in the early going. Camryn Haworth hit a kill and teamed with Grace Dunnuck to make a block. Fishers steadily increased its lead from there; Christiansen helped out with back-to-back kills to put the Tigers ahead 21-11.
“She can be everywhere,” said Peek of Christiansen. “She’s incredibly intuitive. She plays by feeling. She’s not necessarily the player that wants to study film for hours on end, not that many high schoolers do. But she is definitely the player who can get up and make a difference.”
The fourth set was a little tougher. Fishers led 5-1, but then it was the Millers’ turn to come back, which they did to lead 9-7. Ella Peter began the run with a kill, then Crist hit the first of what would be three kills during the run.
Jada Allen made a successful block to tie the set at 9-9, and her kill got Fishers the lead at 11-10. The set remained close until it got to 15-15, then Waldrop hit a kill that began a run of four straight points for the Tigers, to lead 19-15. Ava Vickers smacked a kill to get Fishers up 23-16, and Haworth eventually ended the match with her own kill.
Waldrop had an outstanding game with 20 kills, 14 digs and two aces. Christiansen added 14 kills, followed by Vickers with 11, Allen with nine and Haworth with five. Haworth handed out 48 assists to go with nine digs, four blocks and one ace. Samantha Perdue made 16 digs and also served three aces.
Crist hit several kills for the Millers, as did Peter and Bella Hines, who also served one ace each in the third and fourth sets. Stats for Noblesville were unavailable at press time.
DOMINANT AT NET
The Westfield-Carmel match was just as hard-fought as the opener. The Shamrocks quickly took control of the first set, going up 3-0. Katie Sweet hit a kill along the way.
Westfield then built its lead up to 15-5, with Sweet and Kenzie Daffinee both hitting two kills along the way. Macarty McQueen ended the run with her own kill, and that helped the Greyhounds work their way back, getting within 18-13 at one point.
But Mairin McAndrews hit a kill, then teamed with Sweet for a block, and the Shamrocks were able to hang on from there. Grace Stewart and Lauren Harvey made a block on set point to give Westfield the set, providing a good example of how dominant the ‘Rocks were at the net.
McAndrews made eight blocks total for the game, while Sweet had seven. Daffinee and Stewart both had four blocks and Harvey had two.
It was Carmel’s turn in the second set. The Greyhounds broke out of a 6-6 tie by winning 12 of the next 15 points to take an 18-9 lead. Lexi Brehl served an ace, then Caroline Yuska and Lauren Evans each smacked a kill. Another Yuska kill put Carmel up 14-8, and Evans added to that with an ace.
Emily Waddell’s block gave the ‘Hounds their 18-9 advantage. Westfield scored three straight points after that, with Sweet spiking a kill, then teaming with McAndrews to make consecutive blocks. Back-to-back Sweet kills got the ‘Rocks within 23-19, but Carmel held on to take the set.
“Honestly, we had some moments of greatness, some moments of really good defense and adjustments, showing the passion that these girls have for the game,” said Greyhounds coach Kristine Deem.
Westfield bolted out to a 13-7 lead in the third set, with Sweet making another kill. The Greyhounds came racing back, scoring eight straight points to lead 15-13, with McQueen hitting a pair of kills.
The Shamrocks took control back, leading 21-18 before Carmel won three straight points. Again, Westfield responded, grabbing a 23-21 lead, but the ‘Hounds tied it up at 23-23. Neither team led by more than one point for the next several minutes, and both had multiple set points.
McQueen hit three kills during the extended sequence, including one that gave Carmel a 27-26 lead. Westfield won the next two points to get to 28-27, and after a Savanna Rogers kill tied the set up one more time, the ‘Rocks won the next two points to take the set.
“I felt like we had the momentum there at the end of the set, and we talked to them about starting off the fourth set with that same momentum and realizing that we had it,” said Shamrocks coach Sandra Burks.
With the momentum on its side, Westfield jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the fourth set. The Greyhounds continued to battle, at one point tying the score up at 10-10. But the Shamrocks won six of the next seven points to lead 16-11. Sweet hit a kill and Stewart made another block. Westfield slowly increased its advantage from there until it had the set and the match.
Sweet finished the match with 12 kills, followed by Daffinee with 11. Sarah Weglarz dished out 28 assists, while Logan Mapes handed out 12. Ellary Detamore and Abby Dodson both served two aces.
On defense, Peighton Isley collected 17 digs, followed by Detamore with 14.
“Our passing was great tonight, so we were able to keep everybody involved,” said Burks.
McQueen hit 20 kills for Carmel, which ended its season 20-10. Evans spiked 10 kills. Ella Bostic handed out 43 assists, while Evans and Brehl both served two aces.
Brehl had a tremendous defensive game with 30 digs, followed by Rogers with 16 and Evans with 11. Waddell made three blocks and McQueen had two.