Staff Report
INDIANAPOLIS — The New Palestine volleyball team dropped a thrilling 18-25, 25-16, 25-18, 24-26, 15-12 match to Lawrence North during Saturday morning’s Class 4A Sectional 10 semifinal at Cathedral.
The Dragons finished the season with a 23-8 record.
Lawrence North later lost to host Cathedral 3-0 in the sectional finals on Saturday night.
NP’s Kaelyn Armstrong had a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs against Lawrence North. She also tallied two blocks and three aces.
Jesi Hall had 16 kills and three blocks, while Liv Ellis had 12 kills and three blocks. Reagan Kleiman added seven kills.
Sarah Adam assisted on 39 successful attacks for the Dragons.
Grace Myers led the defense with 15 digs. Rachel Popp added eight and Trinity Oertel six.
“It’s hard to sum up this incredible season,” Dragons coach Kelli Gabehart said. “We battled through quarantines and everything (COVID-19) threw at us. We avenged several losses from last year and took big strides towards our goals. We won three tournaments and competed every single match.
“Today, we played so hard and gave everything we had. We left everything on the court and came up just short. LN is a very good team, who out sized us but that didn’t slow us down. As a coach, you have to be proud of how we played today. I wish it wasn’t the end for these seniors. They left a legacy that will carry on for years to come.”
Union County eliminates Royals
The Eastern Hancock volleyball team knotted up its Class 2A Sectional 41 semifinal match against Union County on Saturday, but the Patriots charged back to win 3-1.
Union County, the eventual Sectional 41 champion, won its first game against Eastern Hancock, 25-20, before the host Royals rallied back to tie the match with a 25-19 win in the second.
From there, Union County took control to prevail 25-9, 25-17. The Patriots moved on to defeat Centerville 3-1 in the sectional finals.
EH’s Lili Hunt led the attack against Union County with 10 kills, four total blocks and 12 digs. She added nine assists.
Sydney Hayes recorded 11 assists and 15 digs. Sydni Bednarski had 13 digs and three total blocks, followed by Megan Retherford with 12 digs.
Retherford also posted a team-high three aces and five kills. Emma Bolding had a pair. Alivia Coffin provided four kills.
The Royals finished the season 10-19.
Cougars fall to Marauders
The Greenfield-Central volleyball team lost to rival Mt. Vernon, 3-0, during Saturday morning’s Sectional 9 semifinals.
The Cougars lost the first set 25-16 before pushing the eventual sectional runner-up Marauders to a late 22-all tie in the second.
Greenfield-Central led 24-23 in the second, but the Marauders surged ahead to win the game 27-25. In the third, the Marauders distanced themselves to claim the match 25-15.
The Cougars finished the season 20-9.
