By RICHIE HALL
Setting and hitting are good skills to have in volleyball. So is being able to go on scoring runs.
The latter skill helped Fishers to win season-opening match on Saturday. The Tigers beat Carmel 25-19, 25-17, 25-18 at the Eric Clark Activity Center. It was also the Greyhounds’ opener. The two teams played close with each other in the first set until Fishers broke away by winning the final five points of the set. The Tigers repeated that sequence again in the second and third sets, and that got them a 1-0 start to the season.
“Being able to score in bunches is a great skill,” said Fishers coach Steven Peek. “You don’t necessarily always want to have to rely on that because if you get in a hole and you score in bunches, now you’re tied. But when you’re neck and neck with really good teams, having that skill is really nice.”
Neither team led by more than two points in the first set until the Tigers made their run. Fishers was leading 20-18, then Lucy Kay hit a kill to start the run. Leslie Groff added another kill, then Margo Hernandez put down one more kill on set point to get the Tigers ahead.
Fishers used a run of six straight points to take a 21-13 advantage in the second set. Roberts and Groff started things off with back-to-back kills. Kay then got the last two points, making a net tip to put the Tigers up two sets to none.
In the third set, Fishers sprinted off to a 6-1 lead. Ava Vickers hit two kills, Groff had one, Bella Street made a block and Hernandez hit an ace.
Carmel began to work its way back into the set at the middle point, recovering from a 12-7 deficit to lead 16-15. Lauren Evans helped out with a kill and a net tip, Mackenzie Sheldon also hit a kill and Kiah Jackson made a block.
Vickers ended the Greyhounds’ run with a kill, and Fishers never trailed again. The Tigers went on a final run to clinch the match, with Kay hitting the winning kill.
Groff hit 15 kills for Fishers, followed by Kay with 11 kills and Roberts with nine. Vickers made four blocks and Groff had three. Hernandez dished out 35 assists and served two aces, with Adi Amirrezvari also serving up two aces. On defense, Groff collected 12 digs, followed by Natalie Lux with nine and Jules Kellogg with eight.
Evans hit 10 kills for Carmel and also had 17 digs. Emerson Evans handed out 24 assists. Lauren Dossey collected 10 digs and served one ace, Jessica Pickett had three blocks and Amanda Ailes hit one ace.
“There was a whole lot of fight in our girls,” said Greyhounds coach Kristine Deem. “We’ve got a lot of newcomers to the team this year.” The coach said the team is “figuring out what our team chemistry is and what’s going to work well for us.”
Carmel hosts Hamilton Southeastern on Monday, while Fishers plays its home opener on Tuesday, taking on Lawrence Central.
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Hamilton Heights started off its season brilliantly on Saturday, winning four matches to take the trophy at the first-ever Peru Invitational.
The Huskies began their march to the title by beating Huntington North in two very close sets, 27-25, 26-24. Heights then cruised past Hoosier Conference opponent Rensselaer Central 25-9, 25-9. The Huskies then toughed out a three-set win over LaVille, 25-13, 21-25, 15-4, to advance to the championship match.
Once in the final, Heights played North Miami and won in straight sets, 25-18, 25-12. The Huskies used good passing and hitting to get the victory, with seniors Callie Thomas and Kami Skiles leading their team to the win.
Heights plays its next match Tuesday at Guerin Catholic.
Hamilton Heights won four matches to claim the trophy at the first-ever Peru Invitational on Saturday, beating North Miami in the championship. (Photo provided)
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Westfield opened its season Saturday with a straight-set sweep of Lawrence North at CSI Gymnasium, giving first-year coach Emily Jackson her first-ever victory.
The Shamrocks won 25-16, 25-8, 25-21. Emma Dodson hit 11 kills, Mallory Weber collected 10 digs and three players – Kaylee Sutcliffe, Lilly Stanton and Izzy Jackson all served two aces.
Westfield travels to Yorktown Monday for its second match of the season.
Westfield’s Mallory Weber collected 10 digs during the Shamrocks’ season-opening win over Lawrence North on Saturday. (Kirk Green)
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Hamilton Southeastern got a tough assignment to open its season: Defending Class 4A state champion McCutcheon came to the Royals’ gym on Saturday morning.
The Mavericks prevailed in a close four-set match, 25-22, 25-21, 20-25, 25-22. Avery Hobson led the way for Southeastern by hitting 24 kills.
“It’s an interesting way to start the season,” said Royals coach Jason Young. “It’s a great way to start the season. First match out of the gate, you get the defending state champs, and they looked like the defending state champs. They just made bigger plays down the stretch than we did. We got a bunch of kids who have not been in that moment yet.”
Young said that “the beautiful thing about today is,” it allowed the Royals to see “where we are and what we need to do to catch them.”
Southeastern plays its next match Monday at Carmel.
Hamilton Southeastern’s Avery Hobson hit 24 kills for the Royals during their opening match against defending Class 4A state champion McCutcheon. Click here to see more photos from the match. (Kirk Green)