In one day, the Noblesville volleyball team went from under .500 to well above .500, and the Millers did it all on their home court.
Noblesville hosted its annual Invitational on Saturday and finished first by winning all four of its matches. In morning pool play, the Millers swept past Huntington North 25-16, 25-22 and Western Boone, the No. 5-ranked team in Class 2A, 25-10, 25-18.
Noblesville then took care of Franklin Central 25-21, 25-18 in the first match of bracket play. Finally, the Millers came back to beat a very tough Shelbyville team in three sets, 21-25, 25-18, 15-12.
“The girls were able to hold momentum and keep momentum,” said Noblesville coach Annie Phillips. The coach said her team has been working on making “runs of three” when serving, and then keep its opponents’ runs to less than three points.
“And they did a much, much better job of controlling our service line today,” said Phillips. “In turn, they were able to keep up their momentum and have a ‘one and done’ type mentality when the other team was serving.”
Gabby Weihe had 11 kills and three blocks for the Millers during their final match, and she also hit the winning kill on match point to clinch the victory against Shelbyville. Ella Peter added 10 kills. Riley Branch handed out 35 assists, while both Branch and Diana Cox collected six digs.
Phillips said that it was good to see different competitors than Noblesville plays during a normal season, “because we play a lot of the same teams around here.” Of course, the Millers will see Franklin Central again soon, as the Flashes are part of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference.
“We’re coming up on most of our conference matches, so it’s going to get tougher as we go,” said Phillips. “But if we can keep making these improvements and doing the things that we’re focusing in on, I have a lot of faith in this team.”
Noblesville is now 7-4 for the season. The Millers play their next match Tuesday at Hamilton Heights.
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Hamilton Southeastern, the No. 4 team in 4A, picked up two sweeps Saturday at its own Southeastern Showcase.
First, the Royals beat Martinsville 25-21, 25-11, 25-12. Avery Hobson blasted 16 kills, with Meghan Slaninka serving three aces. Lovie Wallace had seven block assists, while Macy Hinshaw collected 10 digs. Emily Weber dished out 21 assists and Hinshaw handed out 14 assists.
In its second match, Southeastern beat a tough Cathedral team 25-22, 25-22, 25-22. Wallace hit 10 kills, while Emi Robinson served three aces. Wallace made six block assists and Tiffany Snook had five block assists. Hinshaw had 16 assists and 10 digs, with Weber dishing out 15 assists.
The Royals are 11-2 and play at Pendleton Heights on Monday.
Carmel split a pair of matches Saturday at the Providence Round Robin tournament.
The Greyhounds swept Jasper 25-21, 25-18, 25-13, and dropped a narrow five-setter to Providence, 25-20, 21-25, 17-25, 25-20, 15-11.
Carmel is 11-5 and hosts Westfield on Monday.