By RICHIE HALL
After the Mudsock volleyball match was done, Hamilton Southeastern coach Jason Young said he was thrilled.
Why not? The Royals had gone into Fishers’ Tiger Den and came away with the Mudsock trophy. Southeastern won the match 25-17, 25-21, 25-18, a straight-set sweep to reclaim the trophy that Fishers had won the year before.
“We just took advantage of some things at the right time and obviously we’re thrilled to get the win on the road,” said Young. “It’s the first time I’ve ever won in three in this building. It’s a tough place to play. Their crowd was fantastic.”
It was a battle of two teams that are ranked in the top 10 of MaxPreps’ Class 4A volleyball rankings. Fishers is No. 5 and Southeastern is No. 6.
The Royals had control of the first set, leading 21-15 and eventually winning 25-17. Abby Weber ended the set with a kill.
The second set was tight at first, but Fishers began to take control in the middle stages, going from down 8-7 to leading 17-12. Jada Allen and Bryn Roberts both had one kill and one block during that run, with Camryn Haworth putting down a kill as well.
But Southeastern regrouped and won six of the next seven points to tie things up at 18-18. Taylor Shelton started the run with a kill, and would wind up hitting five kills in the remainder of the set. The score was tied at 21-21 when the Royals ran off the next four points, with Shelton putting down kills for the last two.
“I thought that was the turning point in the match,” said Young.
The Royals seized the momentum and jumped ahead 17-7 in the third set. The Tigers scored the next five points in one last run, but HSE held on to win. Carly Mills delivered an unreturnable serve to finish the match.
“That’s a great team over there and it’s one that we’re going to see again in October, because defensively, they’re too good,” said Young.
Shelton put down 12 kills, with Grace Hunter hitting nine, then Delaney Garner and Maddie Cole both had six. Mills finished with 21 digs, Olivia Phillips handed out 38 assists and Weber served two aces.
As for Fishers, Bryn Roberts had 10 kills and one block, with Allen putting down seven kills and making three blocks. Haworth had six kills and one block. Emma Rosenberg collected 17 digs, while Rose Duffy dished out 26 assists to go with 12 digs.
“We did not follow the game plan tonight and both of those things, combined with playing a talented opponent, usually mean you’re going to lose,” said Tigers coach Steven Peek.
This was only the second loss of the year for Fishers, making their record 10-2. The Tigers have another tough game coming up, as they host 4A No. 1 Yorktown on Tuesday.
“The schedule is designed for us to be challenged and tonight we got challenged beyond our depth,” said Peek. “So we’re going to have to learn from this or continue on our way. But our goal is to always learn from our losses.”
Meanwhile, the Royals are 10-4 and will host their own Southeastern Showcase on Saturday morning.
In another all-county match, Westfield beat Noblesville 25-13, 24-26, 25-16, 25-19 Thursday at The Rock.
Kenzie Daffinee hit 17 kills for the Shamrocks, with Kinsey McAfee putting down 13. Daffinee also served five aces. Anna Johnsey made six blocks, Bailey Mendler had 18 digs and Sarah Weglarz dished out 37 assists.
Noblesville stats were not available at press time.
University beat Shortridge 25-18, 25-12, 25-13 in a Thursday match.
Stats were not available at press time. The Trailblazers will play at Liberty Christian next Thursday.
Hamilton Heights battled undefeated Western to five sets on Thursday before losing 17-25, 25-13, 22-25, 25-17, 15-9.
Kelsey Smith had 18 set assists, 20 digs, and three blocks. Hannah Crist had a strong hitting game with 17 kills, six digs, and four blocks. Sydney Griffey collected 12 digs and made three blocks.
Sheridan fell to Carroll 25-18, 25-13, 25-16 on Thursday.
Olivia Raines and Josie Dickerson both collected seven digs. Cheyenne made six blocks and served three aces. Emma Went hit four kills, while Allie Delph put down four kills and also handed out three assists.
Carmel picked up two wins this week, sweeping Ben Davis on Tuesday, 25-7, 25-9, 25-8, then beating Zionsville 25-17, 23-25, 25-22, 25-16 on Wednesday.
Stats were not available. The Greyhounds are 1-1 in the Metropolitan Conference and 12-6 overall. Carmel will play in a round-robin tournament at Providence on Saturday.
The Hamilton Southeastern volleyball team won the Mudsock match Thursday at the Tiger Den. The Royals swept Fishers in three sets to reclaim the trophy. (Kirk Green)
Fishers’ Bryn Roberts finds a gap to thread the ball through and scores a point for the Tigers. Roberts had 10 kills in the match. (Kirk Green)