By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
Thursday’s Mudsock volleyball match between Fishers and Hamilton Southeastern may go down in history as the most dramatic ever.
The Tigers were down two sets to none, but came back to stun the Royals in five sets. The final score was 22-25, 16-25, 25-15, 25-23, 15-5. Fishers not only won itself the Mudsock trophy, but it also helped the school out: The Tigers now lead 4-3 in the overall Mudsock standings, with football to be played tonight.
“The scoreboard reflected our play,” said Fishers coach Steven Peek. “We did not put forth enough effort in certain areas, came right back out in the third and started doing it, and I think that then that spurred us on forward.
Southeastern won a hard-fought first set, then had it a little easier in the second set. A key play was Meredith Phillips and Lark Jones teaming up for consecutive blocks to give HSE a 15-8 lead. The Royals won the last four points of the set, with Bria King hitting a kill and Grace Kane serving an ace that got Southeastern to set point.
The Tigers began to regroup in the third set. Fishers set the tone right away, with Elizabeth Weeks and Camryn Haworth making two blocks in a row for the first two points.
The Tigers built their lead progressively: A 5-1 advantage became 9-4, then 15-8, then 22-11. Mallory Hernandez helped out with timely kills, and Haley Soper hit the spike that got Fishers ahead 22-11. Rose Duffy tipped the ball over on set point to get the Tigers their first set.
The fourth set was a battle. The Royals led 4-1 after Taylor Shelton put down consecutive kills, and led by as much as 13-9.
But Fishers roared back to an 18-14 lead, taking nine of the next 10 points. Camryn Haworth started the run with a kill, Audrey Haworth helped out with an ace, and Weeks provided a tip kill along the way.
Southeastern came back to tie at 18-18, aided by a Shelton ace. The Tigers responded by winning three straight points – two Hernandez kills and a Duffy/Soper block. Fishers never trailed again, although the Royals fought off two set points before the Tigers finally grabbed the set.
“The fourth was tight, and I think that’s just because HSE’s a really good team,” said Peek.
After that, Fishers zoomed through the fifth set. Hernandez pounded down three kills while helping the Tigers take a 10-2 lead. Emma Rosenberg served an ace along the way. On match point, Soper made a net tip that secured the victory.
“Everyone was just so happy and getting excited after every point, so that’s kind of how we won,” said Hernandez.
Hernandez wound up with 27 of Fishers’ 61 kills.
“It was just really awesome having a great student section and a lot of people cheering,” said Hernandez.
Audrey Haworth served three aces. Weeks totaled three blocks, with Camryn Haworth making 2.5 blocks.
“Camryn Haworth has a great serving run at least twice every match,” said Peek. “And she absolutely was a big reason why we won the fifth set by such a margin.”
Rosenberg made 21 digs, with Duffy getting 16 digs, putting her over 100 in that category for the season. Duffy also handed out 50 assists.
Shelton hit 21 kills for the Royals, with King putting down 10. Kane scooped up 24 digs, with Olivia Phillips handing out 41 assists.
“Obviously was a heartbreaking finish,” said Southeastern coach Jason Young. “Three weeks ago we saw them, they beat us pretty handily in two. So we’ve made some improvements over the last few weeks.
“We had our chances, obviously, in set four. But we’re young and we’re learning how to win. It’s a process. It’s a process that’s going to take time.”
The Tigers are now 11-1 and travel to Yorktown on Tuesday. Southeastern is 7-7 and hosts its own Showcase event Saturday morning.
The Fishers volleyball team came from behind to win the Mudsock trophy over Hamilton Southeastern Thursday, dropping the first two sets before winning the next three for a five-set victory. The Tigers are shown here with Jeanne and Robert “Dub” Clark, whose family sponsors the Mudsock competitions. (Kirk Green)
Hamilton Southeastern’s Sarah Chastain (center) makes a defensive bump. At left is Grace Kane (1). (Kirk Green)