The REPORTER
Two Hamilton County volleyball teams earned sectional championships last Saturday.
One team had a repeat performance, the other team broke a 15-year drought.
The repeating team was Hamilton Southeastern, which sailed through Sectional 8 at Zionsville to defend its trophy. The Royals beat the host Eagles 25-17, 25-16, 25-25 in the semifinals, and then defeated Noblesville 25-7, 25-9, 25-12 in the championship match.
Not long after that match ended, Hamilton Heights won the championship match at Class 3A Sectional 27 at Bishop Chatard. The Huskies needed four tough sets to beat county opponent Guerin Catholic, 23-25, 25-23, 25-12, 27-25 to win their first sectional title since 2008.
Fourth in five years
Southeastern won its fourth sectional title in five years, and also the seventh in program history. The Royals wrapped up their title in 62 minutes, led by 12 kills from Lauren Harden and another 10 kills from Lindsey Mangelson. Sophie Ledbetter served four aces, with Kaylyn Christy hitting three aces.
Macy Hinshaw handed out 23 assists. Ledbetter had 15 digs, with Hinshaw collecting 12 digs. Breonna Goss made four blocks, and Tiffany Snook had three blocks.
“We had a great week of practice,” said HSE coach Jason Young. “The kids were really dialed in. Zionsville obviously gave us a great test in the morning. We got to knock off some rust and then we just came in. We just were dialed in and ready to go from the minute they let us start playing. Let’s just keep our foot on the gas and roll with it.”
The Royals are now 29-0 for the season and advance to the Homestead regional, which takes place this Saturday. Southeastern takes on Harrison in the first semifinal, which begins at 10 a.m. Fort Wayne Carroll plays the host Spartans in the second semifinal. The championship match is set for 6 p.m.
Riley Resmer and Aubrey Stitcher both hit four kills for the Millers. Madison Brown had 12 assists and Maddie Coates made nine digs. Noblesville finished with a 27-8 record, its best season in over five years.
In the semifinals, the Millers defeated Carmel in straight sets, 25-14, 25-19, 26-24. The Greyhounds finished their season 14-17.
Championship rematch
The Huskies-Golden Eagles showdown was a rematch of last year’s Sectional 27 final. Guerin Catholic was the host that year, and defeated Heights to claim the school’s first-ever volleyball sectional.
The first two sets were tight. The Golden Eagles won the first set 25-23, then the Huskies came back to win the second set, coming from behind to take that set, also by a 25-23 margin.
Heights rammed through the third set, using a six-point run to lead 14-3. Emma Blanton, Macie Smith and Lauren Lewis all hit kills during the set, with Lewis and Sierra Bramel both serving one ace. Katie Brown started the run with a successful block, and Kennedy Cherry anticipated well, making several digs.
“Kennedy’s a Division I libero,” said Huskies coach Steve Ward. “So, she’s another captain out on the floor. She’s another coach on the floor. She can make adjustments on the fly and do what we need. It’s really crucial she’s out there.”
The Huskies led 21-5 during the third set. The Golden Eagles gave some resistance in the last points of that set, with Kat Diblasio, Leah Sheng, Eleanor Carlisle and Ella Henderzahs all teaming up for blocks. But a kill by Smith finished the set.
Guerin Catholic jumped in front during the fourth set. Natalie Laughon set the tone with an early ace, then Paige Mascari hit three kills in the early going. Hailey Lytle helped out with an ace, while Diblasio and Sheng both put down kills.
A Golden Eagles block gave them a 13-5 lead. At that point, the Huskies began to rally, with Smith hitting several kills during the middle part of the set. Heights was down 18-13, but a Smith kill started a 6-1 run that tied the match at 19-19.
Henderzahs smacked back-to-back kills to give Guerin a 21-19 lead, and the Golden Eagles later led 22-20. Heights came back to lead 24-23, match point. Guerin Catholic got through that, then Diblasio and Carlisle teamed up for a block to put GC ahead 25-24, set point.
Smith hit a kill to tie the game at 25-25, then Ellie Miller hit an ace to give the Huskies a second match point. Heights took the next point and soon had the sectional trophy.
“We thought if we stayed steady, that we’d have a chance,” said Ward. He credited his team with fighting all year and said Heights was having good practices leading up to the week.
“Guerin’s a great team and we just happened to come out on top,” said Ward.
The Golden Eagles advanced to the final by beating Shortridge in the first round last Thursday 25-9, 25-10, 25-15, then defeated Heritage Christian in the semifinals last Saturday 25-19, 25-17, 25-21. Guerin Catholic finished its season 13-20.
The Huskies are 23-6 and will play Saturday at the Monrovia regional, taking on Northview in the 10 a.m. first semifinal. Tri-West and Speedway will play in the second semifinal, with the championship match at 7 p.m.
Sheridan falls in semis
Sheridan hosted Class 2A Sectional 43 last week. The Blackhawks fell to Cascade last week in the semifinals 25-17, 25-11, 25-12, finishing their season at 15-13.