1A Preview: #9-12

<p>Continuing in our Indiana high school preview, we hit on #9-12 in class 1A. I want to mention that I got a little help from Zach McCrite, a fellow ref and volley dork that runs IndianaPrepVolleyball.com for us fellow nerds. If you’re at all interested in Indiana high school volleyball, this is your one-stop shop for all things Hoosier-related. In my rankings below, I’ll also mention each team’s MVR, or Most Valuable Returner. </p> <p><strong>#12: Northeast Dubois, 18-9</strong></p> <p>This is a tough one. A super small school down south that had a little controversy in the coaching ranks. The head coach abruptly resigned right before the sectional playoffs, and the interim got the Jeeps all the way to the sectional title. They even took a set off of perennial sectional power Springs Valley, whom we’ll cover later this month. There’s also not a ton of info on this program, simply because of the lack of information. The mystery isn’t if there’s going to be a program next fall. There are athletes all over campus. The REAL mystery is what is this program going to look like in 2020?</p> <p><strong>MVR: Hadley Fuhrman, ’22, 5-6, OH/DS, Prep Dig NR</strong></p> <p>Bringing back over three kills per set and the clear stud athlete on this team, Hadley is more known for her softball abilities. What might make this coming fall more eventful for the Jeeps is if there’s a supporting cast to help Miss Fuhrman out. Stay tuned.</p> <p><strong>#11: Rock Creek, 25-8</strong></p> <p>This coming fall is the Lions’ year. Their only graduation is <strong>Bailey Brown (5-4, S/DS, Kentucky Christian signee), </strong>who led Rock Creek in aces, digs and assists. But that’s it. Everyone else comes back, including the top three attackers. And in a tough five-set loss to Springs Valley in the regional final, SV’s depth and experience won out. I’m thinking that the Lions might keep that in mind to push them over the hump and make it to state. We’ll see.</p> <p><strong>MVR: [player_tooltip player_id="93746" first="Ligia" last="Williams"], ’21, 6-3, MB, Prep Dig #10, </strong><b>Cincinnati commit</b></p> <p>This is an obvious choice. Over four kills per set, a block per set, AND she hits over .500? Yep, this recent Bearcat commit is so physically far over (quite literally) the competition that it’s a no-brainer. She’s also jumping over 10 feet, so there’s that. Now add to the fact that this Union-trained kid is, inarguably, one of the nicest kids in this class I have ever had the pleasure of reffing, and you can easily see what Cincy is getting. If I’m allowed to root for someone as a ref, I’m rooting for Ligia. </p> <p><strong>#10: Bloomfield, 26-6</strong></p> <p>The Cardinals had an historic year. Made it all the way to semi-state, had the best record in almost forever, and even snagged some 4A wins along the way. Are they prepared to make the next step? Trinity Lutheran knocked them down a peg in the semi-state in about an hour. Keep in mind, those Cougars ALL play some sort of club ball, while very few at Bloomfield do the same. Unfortunately, if the Cardinals continue down that path, the result might not change any time soon. Let’s hope I’m wrong. I would love it if I were proven wrong in the fall of 2020.</p> <p><strong>MVR: Kylee Shelton, ’21, 5-10, OH, Prep Dig NR</strong></p> <p>When you graduate the best volleyball player in Bloomfield history in <strong>Elizabeth Combs (6-0, MB, Vincennes signee), </strong>you just watched the kid that was #1 in kills, #1 in blocks and #1 in aces walk out of the door. The good news for the Cardinals is that everyone else returns. Insert Miss Shelton. She was #2 in kills, #2 in blocks, #2 in aces and #1 in digs last season. Now, can anyone else duplicate what Miss Combs did? Probably not, but I would love to see them try.</p> <p><strong>#9: Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, 24-8</strong></p> <p>Up 2-0 in the sectional final, this was Blackhawk’s match to lose. Which they did. Not a bad upset, but a brutal loss all the same. Just a few years removed from a state championship (2016), the Braves now have to figure out how to replace EIGHT seniors from a squad that was supposed to compete for a state title in 2019. Now add that one of those seniors, <strong>Julia Nagy (DePaul commit) </strong>just took her over three kills per set to Chicago with her. Who will step up?</p> <p><strong>MVR: [player_tooltip player_id="101178" first="Cara" last="Cresse"], ’21, 6-5, MB, Louisville commit</strong></p> <p>Full disclosure; she’s not currently on the rankings because I have yet to see her play a full season. It doesn’t help that our club season was cut short in early March and that Miss Cresse played only 82 out of a possible 105 sets in the fall of 2019. That being said, she will be on the next set of rankings in August. Even in 20% less playing time last season than the rest of the starters, Cara still finished #2 in kills and #1 in blocks. Plus, the coaching staff at Louisville must know something I don’t. Hopefully, the rest of us will get to see it this fall, too.</p>