For the third time in four years, the Hamilton Southeastern volleyball team is headed to the regional.
The Royals are riding a 30-match win streak, and they are hoping to add a couple more matches to that streak when they play at The Mill in Noblesville Saturday for the Class 4A regional. Southeastern takes on Fort Wayne Carroll at 10 a.m. in the first semi-final match. McCutcheon takes on Homestead afterwards in the second semi-final, with the two winners playing for the championship at 6 p.m.
The Chargers will come into The Mill with a 31-2 record, having only lost to perennial powerhouse Yorktown and Angola. Carroll played in Sectional 5 at Fort Wayne Snider, and swept all three of its matches in straight sets. The Chargers beat Snider in the first round, Northrop in the semi-finals and DeKalb in the championship.
Senior Ellie Frey is Carroll’s offensive leader, with 344 season kills, or 3.2 per set. Junior Brenna Ginder has the most aces with 56. Another junior, Olivia Gisslen, has been dominant at the setter position with 1,026 assists, or 9.6 per set. Ginder leads the digs with 351, or 10.6 per match, and freshman Addi Shippey has made 54 blocks.
The Royals are 30-1 for the season, and hosted Sectional 8, taking care of business in straight sets all three rounds. Southeastern beat Carmel in the first round, Westfield in the semi-finals and Fishers in the championship.
Senior Avery Hobson has been dominant for the Royals, totaling 373 kills for the season, an average of 4.1 per set. Junior Lauren Harden is next in line with 285 kills, or 3.1 per set. Junior Macy Hinshaw has dished out 635 assists.
On defense, junior Breonna Goss leads the blocking with 99. Junior Sophie Ledbetter has collected 386 digs, an average of 12.9 per match.
The only team to beat Southeastern this season is McCutcheon, which the Mavericks did in both teams’ first match of the season. McCutcheon is 32-1, with its only loss of the season coming to Yorktown in an Aug. 27 tournament. The Mavericks hosted Sectional 7 and cruised through it, sweeping Marion, Kokomo and Harrison to win the championship.
The Mavericks’ offense goes through senior Chloe Chicoine, a Purdue commit. Chicoine has put down 499 kills for the season, a remarkable 5.8 per set average. Junior Isabella Humphrey has 57 aces to her credit, while junior Allie Shondell has dished out 866 assists, 10.7 per set. Senior Raegan Burns has 287 digs, 9.0 per match, and sophomore Reanna Lee has the most blocks with 45.
McCutcheon’s semi-final opponent is Homestead, which is 27-6 for the season. The Spartans won Sectional 6 at New Haven, with straight-set victories over New Haven in the semi-finals and Huntington North in the championship.
Sophomore Addy Tindall leads Homestead’s offense with 351 kills (3.9 per set), while senior Haley Biedenbach is on top of the assists with 615 and has served the most aces with 47. Senior Ellie Spang leads the defense with 350, averaging 11.2 per match, with junior Hannah Brown leading the blocks list with 40.
Inaugural regional for Guerin Catholic
The Guerin Catholic volleyball team travels to Monrovia on Saturday morning for its first-ever competition in a regional.
The Golden Eagles hosted Class 3A Sectional 27 last week and made history by winning their first sectional title. Guerin Catholic won all three matches in straight sets, beating Herron in the first round, Shortridge in the semi-finals and Hamilton Heights in the championship.
In that final match, junior Paige Mascari hit 13 kills, followed by 12 for senior Ela Murphy and 10 for senior Claire Castor. Murphy and senior Ally Downey both served two aces. Castor handed out 18 assists, while junior Hailey Lytle dished out 15.
The GC defense was solid, with senior Val Loso making three blocks. Downey collected 19 digs, followed by 14 for Murphy and 12 for Castor.
The Golden Eagles are 15-17, although they play a difficult schedule. Guerin has had consistent hitting, with 250 season kills for Murphy, 231 for Castor and 191 for Mascari. Castor also leads the aces with 59 and the assists with 419. Downey has 322 digs, 11.1 per match, while Castor has collected 270 digs, or 9.3 per match.
The Guerin Catholic volleyball team, shown here during a regular-season
match, will play in its first-ever regional Saturday at Monrovia. (Richie Hall/File photo)
Guerin Catholic will play Speedway in the semi-finals. The Sparkplugs are 16-14 and won Sectional 28 at Cardinal Ritter. Speedway won all three of its matches in straight sets, beating Christel House, the host Raiders and Beech Grove.
Taylor Ridge is the Sparkplugs’ leading hitter with 299 kills and 51 aces. Peyton Ridge is next in line with 50 aces, while Laney Jarrett has 612 assists. Taylor Ridge has 53 season blocks, while Peyton Ridge has made 450 digs, 15.0 per set. Jarrett has collected 310 digs, or 10.3 per set.
The Golden Eagles take on Speedway at noon, followed by the first semi-final at 10 a.m. between Western Boone and Northview.
The Stars are 24-6, and hosted Sectional 25 this year. WeBo swept Crawfordsville in the semi-finals and avenged a regular-season loss to Tri-West by beating the Bruins in four sets for the championship.
Sophomore Raegan Durbin is the offensive leader for the Stars with 411 kills (4.8 per set) and 89 aces. Sophomore Janie Ransom has 991 assists, dishing out 11.5 per set. Junior Alayna Christner has 80 blocks, with senior Elena Gubera leading the digs with 349, or 12.5 per set.
Northview is 28-5, and is the champion of Sectional 26 at Edgewood. The Knights swept Owen Valley in the first round, beat host Edgewood in a four-set semi-final, then scored a sweep of Indian Creek in the final.
Sophomore Keira Lucas is by far the hitting leader with 554 kills, or 6.2 per set. Junior Audrey Lee has served 108 aces, while freshman Karsyn Buck has dished out 431 assists. Junior Saylor Clark has 57 blocks, while sophomore Bradee McDonald leads in digs with 561, or 17.0 per match.