By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
FISHERS – A Senior Night contest is always going to amp up the home team and that alone can be a big part of what fuels the team to a win.
Hamilton Southeastern celebrated lone senior player in outside hitter Avery Hobson, along with two of their senior managers, Annika Knopfmeier and Sarah Penny. The Royals moved their record on their home court to 9-0 on the season with a 3-0 sweep of the visiting Noblesville Millers, 25-16, 25-12 and 25-14.
“Her and (Lauren) Harden have been our go-to’s all season long,” said Hamilton Southeastern head coach Jason Young on his senior Avery Hobson.
In the first set with a 1-1 tie, HSE caught fire with five points in a row, forcing Noblesville to burn a timeout, down 6-1.
“Ultimately, what it came down to is that they outserved us tonight,” stated Noblesville head coach Annie Poulson.
“Our passing is what got us in the hole. I told the girls that we can be the hardest working team with the most fight, but if we can’t take care of that first ball, it’s going to get us nowhere,” continued Poulson on what kept the Millers behind, trying to catch up in all three sets.
Southeastern took full advantage early and often up front and it showed with their frontline defensive attack that forced Noblesville to be on the defensive, even when they were on offense.
The lead out of the first timeout grew from 6-1 to 9-2 in no time flat, forcing Poulson to use her second timeout and it was still early.
The Royals grabbed three more points after the second Miller timeout and before they could blink, it was pushed to double digits at 17-7 and HSE had gained full control of the first set.
“She was exceptional tonight and she’s been exceptional all year,” Young continued on Hobson and the dominant impact Hobson has for the Royals.
The lead stayed above 10 points and Noblesville would only get it under double figures with senior Ava Harris serving for three points in a row for 22-13. Noblesville tacked on a few more, but it was a Madison Schicker ace that won the first set 25-16 for HSE.
The Millers started off the second set on a good foot. HSE had a net violation and then the blocking duo of Gabby Weihe and Reese Resmer aided a 2-0 start, but that didn’t last long.
Any time that Noblesville had some momentum, Hamilton Southeastern’s defensive prowess rose up and was able to land numerous kills right into the middle of the Miller defensive set.
“We put a lot of balls on the tape and they’re going to score their points. They’ve got a big front row that’s going to make those plays, so we have to make sure that if we see them again, that we execute that part better,” said Poulson on what her team needs to work on, if they were to face HSE again come sectional time.
Noblesville gave the Royals their best challenge in the second set, despite scoring their lowest of the three sets. The score was tight at 11-8 HSE, then the Royals went on a 14-4 run to take set number two, 25-12.
“Our front row has done a really good job. I think our blocking this year has been better than any other team I’ve ever had. So far, with how teams are hitting against us, we’ve done an outstanding job limiting other teams, hitting-wise,” stated Young on his team’s defensive presence all season long.
The third set became a matter of how Southeastern’s defense would play. They came up big and got the job done. The Millers gave the Royals the battle they expected, but HSE found a way once again to lengthen the lead after some troubled spots.
“We talked about being aggressive with the serve. Even serves we missed tonight, I thought were good misses,” said Young on the Royals’ serving efforts in this HCC battle.
The closest that Noblesville was able to keep the score in the third set was midway at 12-8. From that point on, It was Hobson and Harden that dominated the net en route to the Royals taking the third set, 25-14 for the three game sweep.
“This is our first loss in three (sets) this season,” said Poulson in the Millers’ fight throughout all three games.
“This week, we’ve been a little out of sorts and that caused a little bit of chaos on the court,” stated Poulson on Noblesville changing up the lineup in their two matches this week.
“What I like about what we’ve been doing is mixing up our serving game. If we can get teams out of their system, we will be in good shape,” stated Jason Young on HSE’s serving that helped propel them to the conference win on Senior Night.
Noblesville (17-5, 3-3 HCC) will play back at HSE on Saturday. They will first face Franklin Community Grizzly Cubs (17-7) at 10 a.m. and then battle Center Grove Trojans (13-12).
The top-ranked Royals (22-1, 6-0 HCC) get to stay home on Saturday and play an opposite schedule than the Millers do. They will first host Center Grove at 10 a.m. and Franklin Community after.