By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – Nearly three weeks into the IHSAA volleyball season, and Hamilton Southeastern is off to a perfect start.
The defending Class 4A state champion Royals are ranked No. 1 in Indiana and No. 3 in the country, according to the MaxPreps rankings. Southeastern is unbeaten so far in eight matches, continuing their run with a 25-11, 25-14, 25-16 victory over visiting Brebeuf Jesuit Tuesday at the Royals’ gymnasium.
Something that’s just as impressive is that Southeastern has yet to drop a set – all eight of its wins have been three-set sweeps. The closest a team has come was Aug. 14, when Carmel got to within 25-22 in the second set of that match.
“We’re pleased,” said HSE coach Jason Young. “Obviously, we see areas where we can get better and those are the things that we’re working on in practice.”
The Royals are not just an experienced team, but a very talented one as well. As of this moment, seven Southeastern volleyball players are committed to play at Division I colleges. That includes senior Lauren Harden, the 6-foot-3 outside hitter who is headed to the University of Florida next year.
“We’ve been playing together for a really long time, so we have a really deep and strong chemistry that goes a long way with our team,” said Harden.
The Royals are fierce competitors against other teams, but that also extends to their own practices. Harden said that in practices, “we’re always competing to get better between each other,” and she believes that’s a reason why HSE has yet to drop a set.
Harden
Southeastern’s eight wins have come across a group of historically strong teams. In order, the Royals have beaten McCutcheon, Warsaw, Carmel, Lawrence North, Brownsburg, Floyd Central, Providence and Brebeuf.
“We know a lot of these teams have good, solid players and everything like that,” said Harden. “We just know for every single game we just have to come out with the same intensity no matter what team it is, and just play our best game that we can and be aggressive and just do what we need to do to win.”
The other commitments so far among the senior class are from Sophie Ledbetter (Ball State), Macy Hinshaw (Santa Clara), Tiffany Snook (Memphis) and Breonna Goss (Duke). Juniors Lindsey Mangelson (Mississippi State) and Ava Hunter (Loyola Chicago) have also announced their commitments.
Defensive energy
The Royals put their defensive abilities on display against Brebeuf on Tuesday. Ledbetter collected 17 digs, while junior Kaylyn Christy had 13 digs. Harden made eight digs and Hunter had seven. Snook also totaled 3.5 blocks while senior Maddi Evett made three.
“We’re somewhat known for our attackers,” said Young. “But what we have stressed in our gym is, the defensive energy and the defensive effort, because when you put that together with the personnel we have up front, it can be tough to stop. That defensive energy is what propels the engine. And when we have that, I think we do some good things.”
Southeastern’s offense was also solid, of course. Harden put down 11 kills, with Mangelson hitting eight and Goss spiking six. Hinshaw served up three aces and Christy had two aces.
The biggest intangible with the group is its attitude. The Royals team had quite a bit of cheering and smiles as it was winning. The team is playing loose, but Young said that’s when good things happen – “we’re going to train them and trust them,” he said.
“We just believe they’re going to be able to figure things out on their own,” said Young. “They’re smart volleyball players. They’re going to a lot of different programs after Hamilton Southeastern where they’re going to be expected to do great things, so now it’s just an opportunity for them to kind of learn on the fly.”
“I feel like the only pressure that you’ll see is just ourselves being tough on each other,” said Harden. “Because we know what our standard is. We know the level that we need to play at, and if we’re not there, we’re going to push ourselves to get better and just work harder and everything like that.”
The Royals travel to Avon Thursday for a Hoosier Crossroads Conference match; Southeastern is 1-0 after their victory over Brownsburg. On Saturday, the Royals play two matches at Fort Wayne Carroll, taking on Bellmont at 10 a.m. and the Chargers at noon.