By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – The Carmel boys volleyball team got what it wanted out of the Greyhounds’ “Pack The House” night Wednesday.
The Westfield team celebrates after winning a point. (Richie Hall)
The Greyhounds swept county opponent Westfield, 25-17, 25-18, 25-13, to win its fourth consecutive match. Carmel also got a nice-sized crowd at the match: a total of 429 fans were present at Bill Shepherd Court at the Eric Clark Activity Center, which Hounds coach Andrew Fuller called “a really good attendance.”
“The crowd had a great energy,” said Fuller. “There was a great vibe with the match. It was fun to see our guys perform well, especially in the third set.”
Carmel took early leads in all three sets, which gave the Greyhounds the momentum they needed to win the match. Jack Kovac, a 6-foot-9 junior, put down nine kills and made two blocks.
Sophomore Eli Philistin-Lynch also had nine kills. Junior Thomas Kuehl hit six kills and cleared 500 kills for his career during the match.
“Our offense has to keep getting balanced,” said Fuller. “We rely so much on Eli right now. He’s a fun player to watch, got a great arm. If we want to make a legitimate run for the championship, we got to get more balanced offensively.”
Sophomore Dylan Kaiser made two blocks. Carmel’s two seniors also stepped up. Shepard Spidel dished out 33 assists, while Brice Hagaman collected seven digs. The Greyhounds improved to 12-3 after the win.
Westfield was playing its first match since Spring Break. The Shamrocks are 6-5, with coach Pat McAndrews calling the season “up and down so far.”
“We’ve got a really good schedule and we’re a young team,” said McAndrews. “A little disappointed by tonight and how we didn’t compete as well as I’d like for us to. So far, it’s been fine.”
Junior Aidyn Kuzma leads the Rocks in kills, with 108 coming into the Carmel match. (Stats from the Carmel match were unavailable at press time.)
“He’s got a high hitting percentage. He’s been great,” said McAndrews. The coach also spotlighted sophomore setter Michael Terbish, who has over 300 assists for the season, and senior right side hitter Graham France.
The Greyhounds are back on the court tonight when they play at Guerin Catholic. Westfield will host Hoosier Crossroads Conference opponent Brownsburg on Thursday, then both teams will compete in the Midwest Battle at Fishers this weekend.
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