Lady Indian Volleyball Goes Undefeated in Season, Finishes 2nd in League Tournament
The lady Indians were at it again, facing tough opponents and knocking them down. Our first set of matches were on Sept. 1st against Attica and Norwich. First game jitters always take a little bit to warm up to lending the way to losing the first set against Attica by a few points. The girls warmed up and gained focus as they beat Attica in the next 2 sets, winning the match. Pumped and hungry for another victory, the Lady Indians easily took the lead right off the bat against Norwich Eagles, winning the first match 25-11. The second match presented a lesson in first game date endurance yielding a closer win of 25-20. The eloquence in skill for this team is something to admire. With a strong number of 8th graders as leaders, the team marvels in middle attacks, setting the ball up with almost every side touch, and numerous kills from the attack line. The jv team also lit the scoreboard up, beating Norwich in 3 sets and Attica with a timed game.
On September 8th, the Lady Indians traveled to Stafford. Both varsity and jv teams found another set of victories. Varsity score was 25-5 and 25-17. During the first set, Alexis Vineyard blew up the scoreboard with a 14 serve streak, followed by Destiny Baker who served 9 uninterrupted serves. The Lady Indians are a force to be reckoned with!
Here is our team, 8th graders: Destiny Baker, Sydney Boese, Cindy Derixson, Shelby Handlin, Aubreigh Haxton, Karrlea Hessman, Emma Huntley, Savannah Shively, Alexis Vineyard, 7th graders: Chelsea Coleman, Jadyn Gallardo, Alyssa Martin, Allie McCurley, Tori Sandoval, 6th graders: Brenna Booker, Abigail Harbin, Brooke Love, Elizabeth VanNatta.
The ladies continued the victory march, taking down South Barber, Cunningham, Central Christian, and Norwich. During Central Christian, Karrlea Hessman served an 11 uninterrupted serving run helping the ladies win in a 3 set match. They walked into our league tournament as the first seed in the West pool. A long day’s play showed a strong collection of wins against Oxford, Caldwell, and South Haven. Udall was their toughest opponent and through 3 sets our Lady Indians found their first defeat. It was a well matched game. We found a new strength in the front line with Aubreigh Haxton performing 3 stuffed blocks against Udall’s toughest attacker.
The Lady Indians advanced to the semi-finals in Flinthills where they faced undefeated #1 seeded Flinthills. Last year’s game didn’t go so well against this team, so the girls were extra motivated to show them what they’re made of. It was an electrifying game as our girls swept the floor winning in two sets.
They moved to the championship game to face, yet again, Udall. Facing a mental block against this team, our first set was unsuccessful and the ladies were down mentally and physically. Knowing that the next set could be their last game, the Lady Indians dug down deep and pulled off a smashing win showing an 85% attack percentage at the net, heading them into the 3rd set to figure out who was going to walk away with the championship. The third set was neck and neck, with little wiggle room. The gymnasium was alive as our team thundered away. The ladies played with all of their hearts and finished the tournament in 2nd place.
It was one of the most exciting seasons I have had the honor to coach! Thank you to all of the fans and parents for coming out to support us. I know these girls are going to do amazing things in the years ahead.
