By RICHIE HALL
NOBLESVILLE – After her team missed eight serves in the first set of its match at Noblesville Wednesday night, Carmel volleyball coach Kristine Deem said there was a “little conversation” about just how vital serving is.
The Greyhounds got their service together, and by the fifth set of the hard-fought match, Carmel was dominating with its serve. The ‘Hounds served five aces in that final set, and they ran away with a 24-26, 25-10, 25-16, 20-25, 15-3 victory over the Millers.
Carmel opened that set with a kill by Emily Waddell, then eventually went up 3-0, including an ace by Ella Brooks. That was a sneak preview, however. After the Millers won a point to serve at 1-3, the Greyhounds ran off the next six points. The run concluded with four consecutive aces by Emmerson Evans, and that put Carmel up 9-1.
Noblesville won back-to-back points to get within 9-3, including a winning tip by Ava Harris. But the Greyhounds’ Caroline Yuska hit a kill, and that began a final run of six straight points that carried Carmel to the finish line.
“Right before that fifth set, we talked about winning the mini-games first,” said Deem. “A little bit at a time, instead of looking at the whole package, like, let’s take it one piece at a time so that we can stay confident and make sure that there’s no doubt in what we’re doing.”
Both teams engaged in several runs throughout the match. In the first set, Carmel led 23-20 before the Millers came back by winning six of the next seven points to take the set. Harris hit a kill to tie the match at 23-23, then Brooks put down a kill to give the Greyhounds set point at 24-23. Noblesville then won the next three points to clinch the set: Ella Peter hit a kill, Ava Rundle served an ace, and Anna Elkin blasted a kill.
Carmel responded by dominating the second set. An early 3-0 lead swelled to a 14-3 advantage for the ‘Hounds. Macarty McQueen smacked back-to-back kills, while Yuska made consecutive blocks. Carmel later led 19-9 and ran out the set by scoring six of the next seven points. Yuska started the run with back-to-back kills and Brooks finished the set with a kill.
The third set was close early, then the Greyhounds made a four-point run to lead 11-6. Savanna Rogers served an ace, then Brooks scored with a kill and a block. Brooks then served another ace late in the set, and Waddell finished it up with a successful block.
The fourth set also was a close one, but this time it was Noblesville’s turn to make the late run. The Millers trailed 19-16, then won nine of the next 10 points to take the set. Ella Peter and Aubrey Stitcher both hit kills, then Maddie Coates served three straight aces to get Noblesville ahead 21-19. Yuska and Rogers made a successful block, but the Millers finished by taking the next five points, closing it out on back-to-back blocks by Gabby Weihe. That sent the match to a fifth set, where Carmel took over.
Brooks smacked 14 kills for the match, followed by Waddell with 11, Yuska with 10 and McQueen with eight. Bostic had 47 assists, in addition to three kills.
Emmerson Evans totaled eight aces, followed by Brooks with six, and Lauren Evans, Rogers and Bostic with one each. Yuska totaled five blocks and Waddell had four. On defense, Brooks collected 16 digs, Lauren Evans had 15, Rogers and Bostic both had nine and McQueen made five digs.
Deem said that in the sets that Carmel won, “there was a lot of good, positive vibes and good flow and confidence on our side of the net.” The Greyhounds were fired up for set five, which they won easily.
Peter and Harris both put down eight kills for Noblesville, while Weihe had six and Stitcher hit four. Coates totaled four aces. Diana Cox collected eight digs and Weihe made three blocks.
“We dug into a hole that we couldn’t quite fight back out of in that fifth set,” said Millers coach Annie Phillips. “Mentally, we dug ourselves in a hole and we couldn’t answer. We talked about out there how we are right there. We have only lost in three twice, so we’re right there with everybody and we’re putting up a fight. But we tend to start late.”
Carmel is 16-5 and plays at Pike Monday to finish up Metropolitan Conference play. The Greyhounds are 6-0, so they are one match away from winning a MIC championship. Deem pointed out that “Center Grove has taken it for the last several seasons, so it’s a nice opportunity for our girls to enjoy their hard work and bring home a conference championship.”
Noblesville is 9-7 and plays another game at The Mill tonight, taking on Franklin Central in a Hoosier Crossroads Conference match.