Eastern Hancock’s Cami Knight serves against Greenfield-Central, Thursday, August 24, 2023.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter File Photo
FAIRLAND — In Saturday night’s IHSAA Class 2A Sectional 42 volleyball championship at Triton Central, Eastern Hancock knew it had a tough task ahead.
Facing a strong Indianapolis Scecina team led by one of the top hitters in Class 2A, the Royals lost in straight sets 3-0.
“We watched a lot of game film, and just didn’t execute our game plan,” Eastern Hancock head coach Cory Rainbolt said. “That happens sometimes in situations like a sectional championship.”
An important opening set was competitive to the end, and was the Royals best chance to gain momentum and an early lead.
A block from Ellie Meyer and a kill from Kaitlyn Lowes helped Eastern Hancock get off to a quick start and a 4-2 lead.
Eight of the next 11 points went to the Crusaders, and they later grew their lead to 18-11 behind a pair of Molly Welborn kills and a pair of Welborn aces.
A Lowes kill and a Cami Knight block cut the Royals deficit down to just three, 22-19, and forced a Crusaders timeout. A net interference brought the Royals within two points before two more Welborn kills sealed the first set 25-22.
“The first set is killer, especially when it’s a close set and then you lose it,” Rainbolt said. “It’s a huge momentum breaker.”
Welborn entered the match ranked third in 2A and 12th in the state in kills with 451 on the season. She finished the night with 18 and had six in the first set.
Olivia Anglemyer, the Crusaders other attacking threat, had five kills in the set and 12 on the night.
“We definitely scouted them and knew that those were their big hitters. They’re both very good hitters that can hit around the block,” Rainbolt said. “They’re able to execute each time based on what they see, and you just have to give them credit. They’re good hitters, can read things well and both have good swings.”
With momentum on the Crusaders side, the Royals showed flashes but struggled to put together complete games in the remaining two sets.
Two Hayden Collins aces and a Meyer kill sparked an early 8-5 Eastern Hancock lead in the second set, but three more Welborn kills put the Crusaders back in control 15-12.
They pushed the lead to 20-14, and a late Meyer block and Brooklyn Willis kill weren’t enough to complete a Royals comeback. A Zamiah Slack kill gave Scecina a 25-17 win.
“We just didn’t execute our game plan. We knew they had some areas of weakness, but we’d have a pass and then our set wouldn’t be there, or we’d have a set and our hit wouldn’t be there. We just weren’t connecting like we normally have during the season,” Rainbolt said. “We had a few connections and that’s a lot of fun to watch happen but overall we just weren’t in sync.”
Three Scecina kills and two aces led to an early 8-1 deficit for the Royals in the third set, and while they showed signs, once again, the deficit was too much to overcome.
A Lowes kill and ace trimmed the lead to 11-5, and back-to-back Meyer kills made things 12-7 before the Crusaders reeled off seven straight points behind three Anglemyer kills.
Knight and Willis added kills down the stretch for the Royals, but the Crusaders coasted to a 25-13 win.
Lowes led Eastern Hancock with eight kills and 16 digs, Meyer had six kills and two blocks, and Knight finished with four kills, four blocks, and an ace. Collins had 13 digs and three aces. Alana Eastridge had 15 digs. Willis totaled 10.
The Royals ended the season 20-9.
They got to Saturday’s championship match with a 3-0 semifinal win Saturday morning.
Against Riverside, Eastern Hancock won 25-8, 25-3, 25-10.
Meyer led in kills with 12. Lowes had seven and Lainee Parker had six.
Collins had eight of the Royals 22 service aces. Aubrey Smith had 11 assists and Eastridge recorded six digs.
