The Hamilton Southeastern volleyball team gave a large, loud Royals crowd something to cheer about on Saturday night at The Mill.
Southeastern won the Class 4A Noblesville regional, overcoming McCutcheon in four sets – 23-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-9 – to claim the program’s second regional trophy. The Royals won their first in 2015, and four years later, they are going back to the semi-state.
Southeastern will play Crown Point next Saturday in the 4A north semi-state at Frankfort. The match will start at 6 p.m., after the 1A north semi-state between Morgan Township and Cowan, which beings at 4 p.m.
Before they could start thinking about semi-state, the No. 3 Royals had to get past a tough No. 6 Mavericks team that was 32-1 coming into the regional final. McCutcheon edged out Southeastern for the first set, but the Royals turned the tables in the next two sets, then ran away with the fourth set.
“I think we just continued to steady out, and then we just got into our game, which is serving and swinging, and we just calmed down a little bit,” said HSE coach Jason Young. “I think that made the difference for us, and again, we’ve got some kids that have been in that environment before. I think that helps.”
The Royals indeed kept things swinging in the match: Delaney Garner and Abby Weber both hit 18 kills, while Grace Hunter put down 14 kills. Olivia Phillips handed out 24 assists, and Emily Weber dished out 20 assists. Abby Weber served three aces.
On defense, Carly Mills collected 30 digs, and in the process broke a school record for career digs. Abby Weber had 27 digs and Hunter picked up 19 digs. Garner had three blocks.
In the early afternoon semi-final match, Southeastern cruised past Homestead 25-7, 25-8, 25-15. The Royals wrapped up the match in less than an hour.
Abby Weber hit 13 kills, with Hunter putting down 10 and Garner hitting seven. Phillips handed out 18 assists, while Kyla Berg served three aces. Mills picked up 22 digs, with Lillian Leiner getting 12 and Abby Weber collecting 10. Garner had four blocks; Young credited her with being dominant at the net.
“I thought the kids came out with great focus,” said Young. “I thought our play at the net was really strong.”
Southeastern is 28-4 for the season.
Hamilton Southeastern won the Class 4A Noblesville volleyball regional on Saturday, beating McCutcheon in four sets in the championship match. The Royals will play Crown Point next Saturday at the Frankfort semi-state. (Kirk Green)
Carly Mills (in white jersey) celebrates with her team after a winning point. Mills had 30 digs in the championship match, during which she broke the school record for career digs. (Kirk Green)