FORTVILLE — With her last name brings high expectations, or so many would assume.
The third Bulmahn sister to come through the Mt. Vernon volleyball program the last eight years, Cecilia can’t avoid the obvious, but she isn’t chasing the past either.
Her primarily focus is on making her own mark, and with 433 kills, 31 aces, 37 total blocks and 383 digs this season, the Marauders junior continues to prove it by being named the 2020 All-Hancock County Volleyball Player of the Year, as voted upon by the area coaches and Daily Reporter.
“I grew up watching (Jacyln and Victoria) play. I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t going to their tournaments and watching them. I basically learned everything I know from watching them play and from my parents coaching me. They’ve all taught me a lot,” Cecilia Bulmahn said. “I definitely took after (Jaclyn), but I try to add my own to the game.”
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryHer father, Eric Bulmahn, the head coach at Mt. Vernon, agrees.
Jaclyn, a four-year letterwinner at Mt. Vernon, was an IHSVCA second team all-state selection as an outside hitter her junior year, a member of the Indiana Junior All-Star Team and a two-time sectional champion.
Add in Jaclyn’s school-record career 1,601 kills, and Cecilia isn’t far behind her older sister.
Sitting at 1,152 career kills, Cecilia wouldn’t mind overtaking Jaclyn’s record in 2021, though she has no interest in surpassing Victoria’s career assists school mark of 2,371 as a four-year setter.
Her 15 assists and 29 over the past three years are a result of her versatility, but Cecilia’s game on the outside is a mixture of pure power and finesse.
Meanwhile, her All-Hoosier Heritage Conference and IHSVCA second team all-state selections are a statement of her dominance, which is part genetic with her father being a former collegiate player at Ball State and her mother, Monica, competing at IUPUI.
The rest stems from her ingrained competitive edge, which spills over as soon as the sisterhood trio engages.
“It’s all competitive at home. They’re always playing some kind of competitive game,” Eric Bulmahn joked. “I’ve tried to step out of it, and Monica has been a tremendous help for me, so I can step back a little more.”
Club volleyball with her father has harnessed Cecilia’s fire, playing up an age group a majority of her career, most notably the past few years at The Academy in Indianapolis where Eric instructs.
“I think it’s helped a lot (playing up) because I get to play with players that are usually at a higher skill set because they’ve played more, but it definitely prepared me, especially going into my freshman year in high school,” Cecilia said.
Having her parents coaching provides her the balance she needs, though she prides herself on adding to the family legacy, not relying on it.
“I don’t know anything different because it’s just been like this my whole life. I definitely like having people I can go to if I need help with something or sometimes we’ll just say that we’re going to go into the gym and workout or work on serve receive,” Cecilia said. “It’s really nice having that.”
For the first time in her high school career, however, she had to adjust, competing without Victoria, who moved on to Valparaiso University this past summer to join Jaclyn, now a senior at VU, on the Crusaders women’s volleyball team.
With Cecilia, however, no challenge is too daunting when she puts her mind to it.
“She’s always been the one that’s been drug along since she was 3 years old. Always wanted to have that next step, be able to do the next thing. I don’t think she feels any pressure, definitely not from us, most of it is internal on herself, if any,” Eric Bulmahn said.
“She definitely takes the intellectual part of the game from Victoria. One of the things she’s learned to do is she can hit any shot that you tell her is open. Wherever I tell her the hole is, she can hit that and I think she takes pride in having that kind of ball control. If she can do that, I think she feels like a complete player.”
In 2020, her hitting was nearly pinpoint, converting kills at 37.3 percent while breaking Jaclyn’s single-match kills record of 38 with 42 in a school-record 101 attempts against Heritage Christian on Aug. 20.
Cecilia reached 20 or more kills through 94 sets played and her offensive efficiency, partnered with senior standout Claire Ertel, a fellow All-HHC honoree, helped the Marauders post a 22-5 record and a trip to the sectional finals.
“I love hitting shots and figuring out the different places that are open and watching the other side and seeing how to score against each team because each team is different and the same things aren’t going to work against every team,” Cecilia said.
“I always go out to the court to win and to get better. I always have a positive attitude and know that I can win every match because I know our team can win every match we go out to play.”
The only match proven to be allusive for Cecilia is the sectional final in a highly-competitive field that has includes multi-state champions and HHC foes New Castle and Yorktown.
This season, the Marauders upended Anderson and rival Greenfield-Central, 3-0, to reach the sectional finals where Class 4A Yorktown won 3-0 en route to a perfect 28-0 run and a fifth state title overall.
Despite the odds, Cecilia and the Marauders aren’t giving up no matter how the sectional realignment goes moving forward. They are working hard to erase the program’s drought, which stretches back to 2016.
“Honestly, our team, we were more excited by (the sectional competition) rather than being intimidated because we know that we can play our hardest against any team and we have a chance against any team,” Cecilia said. “We were more excited than nervous or scared.”
With one more high school season ahead, and a strong junior class returning as senior leaders next fall, anything is possible for Cecilia and the Marauders.
“I think (in 2021) it’s definitely obtainable, and we’re just going to go in and work hard and focus and we just need to come into the sectional ready and focused to win. But, I think we can definitely do it,” Cecilia said. “I’m excited to have a team that’s older (in 2021). We have a lot of upperclassmen and we’re experienced. We know how this goes, so that’s exciting.”
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Cecilia Bulmahn, Mt. Vernon
Claire Ertel, Mt. Vernon
Ava Antic, Greenfield-Central
Rachel Campbell, Greenfield-Central
Jesi Hall, New Palestine
Grace Myers, New Palestine
Brooke Herrell, Greenfield-Central
Lili Hunt, Eastern Hancock
Coach of the Year: Eric Bulmahn, Mt. Vernon
Honorable Mentions: Mt. Vernon — Olivia Yeley, Rylee Ugen, Abby Herman, Macy Lyons, Delaney Bowser. Eastern Hancock — Sydni Bednarski, Sydney Hayes, Megan Retherford. New Palestine — Olivia Ellis, Sarah Adam, Kaelyn Armstrong. Greenfield-Central — Morgan Hornaday, Molly Schwartzkopf, Kenley Carpenter, Makayla Price, Ali Knecht.
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