By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – The Hamilton Southeastern boys volleyball team won its second all-county match in as many days on Thursday, coming back to beat host Carmel in five sets.
The final score was 14-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-16, 15-10. The Royals trailed in the fourth set, at one point getting down 9-4, before rallying to take the set. Southeastern was then able to grab a lead in the fifth set and hold off a comeback by the Greyhounds to win the match.
“We’re young,” said Royals coach Jon Harmon. “Our outsides are both first-year varsity players. Their experience level’s a little bit off, so our consistency’s not great. But when they’re on, they’re pretty good. And they’re going to get much, much better.
Carmel had the momentum in the early going, going up 8-0 right away in the first set. Jackson Leeper, the Greyhounds’ tall middle hitter, hit a kill and made two blocks. Southeastern was able to work its way back into the set, with Caden Marchione and Ethan Hendrick putting down kills and Noah Hanline serving an ace. But the ‘Hounds were able to secure the first set.
The Royals took the lead in the second set, going up 12-5, then withstood a push from Carmel late in the set. With HSE holding three set points at 24-21, Leeper hit a kill to save one, but Marchione responded with his own kill to give the Royals the set.
The third set turned out to be the tightest one of all. Southeastern led 7-2, with Marchione hitting an ace along the way. The Royals expanded that lead to 13-7 before the Greyhounds rallied, tying the set at 16-16; kills by James Marr and Ben Hastings pulled the set even.
Southeastern jumped ahead 19-16, but Carmel won four straight points to lead 20-19. The back-and-forth continued, with the Royals leading 22-21 after Drew Berry served an ace. But the ‘Hounds got back ahead, and Leeper’s kill finished the third set.
“Jackson Leeper’s an animal, their middle over there, 35, and so is James Marr,” said Harmon. “They’re just phenomenal players. “But we were making mistakes. Our left back and our right back were too far back behind our block, so as a result of that, Jackson was just getting a lot of kills because we were giving up the real estate. Once our players made the adjustments, got outside of the block, then they were able to get some digs.”
Carmel led 9-4 in the fourth set, but Hendrick’s kill started a huge run by the Royals. Southeastern would win 13 of the next 14 points to lead 17-10. The ‘Hounds cut it to 17-13, but the Royals were able to finish out the set with an 8-3 run. Ben Harris ended the set with a kill.
In the fifth set, Carmel led 4-2 early. Southeastern took over from there with a 10-2 run, giving the Royals a 12-6 lead. The Greyhounds made one last push, cutting the lead to 12-10, but HSE finished the match in style, with a kill by Marchione, an ace from Ethan Carmona and a kill by Berry.
The victory gave Southeastern a 4-1 record for the season. The Royals return home on Monday to host Franklin Central.
“If we can develop a little more consistency, a little more discipline, then I think we’re going to have a nice year,” said Harmon.
Leeper hit 14 kills and had four blocks for Carmel, with Marr collecting 13 digs and hitting 11 kills. Hastings made two blocks and Quinn Lewis had 17 digs.
“This is a really exciting team,” said Greyhounds coach Matthew Nance. “There’s a lot of dynamic play. With dynamic play means there’s ups and downs. We’re really going to battle from here on out to make sure those downs happen less often and the really great moments that we saw tonight happen over and over again.”
Carmel is 5-2 and plays at Guerin Catholic on Tuesday.