Top Five 1A Teams This Week: The Cream Rises

Kyp Harasymowycz September 28, 2022 @ 08:05 AM

<p>Less than two weeks remain in the regular season, and the usual suspects are jockeying for position in our top five rankings. The (blind) sectional draw comes next week, and some could argue that the regular season doesn't have as much weight. These ten players and five programs might differ with that assumption.</p>   <h2>#5: Blackhawk Christian (23-3, NR last week)</h2>   <p>The Braves return to our top five after a short respite. Last night's five-set loss to 4A power Carroll doesn't change our minds to include this squad, and their size should do them wonders in the postseason. Last night's results should prove that---<strong>Abbie Cresse ('24, 6-3 MB)</strong> went for 11 kills and 6 blocks, while fellow big <strong>Allie Boyer ('24, 6-2 OH)</strong> added 10 kills, 2 blocks and 6 digs in the loss.</p>   <h2>#4: South Newton (26-2, #4 last week)</h2>   <p>The Rebels keep their train running and, despite a loss to 3A power Benton Central, still have a ton of volleyball left in them moving forward. The Cripes showed out against Illiana Christian last night. <strong>Lexi Cripe ('23, 5-9 OH)</strong> earned a double-double with 22 kills and 10 digs while hitting north of .300, while little sister <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='161191' first='Taylor' last='Cripe'] ('25, 5-8 OH)</strong> added 17 kills of her own.</p>   <h2>#3: Trinity Lutheran (17-6, #2 last week)</h2>   <p>Losing last night to undefeated 3A power Greensburg was tough, but losing via the "reverse sweep" was even tougher. No matter---this is how the Cougars prep for the postseason, and it works. TL is regularly in the conversation to take home a title to Seymour, and this postseason should be no different. The two kids the Cougars should be leaning on are combining for an amazing stat line. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='104217' first='Bailey' last='Tabeling'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='157945' first='Carson' last='Bowling']</strong> have combined for 9 kills and over .300 hitting on the season. I've said this before, and I'll say it again---when everyone in the gym knows where the ball is going and you <em>still</em> can't stop them, they're doing great things on the court.</p>   <h2>#2: Springs Valley (23-4, #1 last week)</h2>   <p>The Blackhawks followed up a tough four-set loss to Tecumseh last week with wins over traditional 1A powers Indianapolis Lutheran, Wes-Del and Lafayette Central Catholic. Last night's four-set win over Loogootee, another southern Indiana volleyball school, highlighted where SV's strengths lie: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110507' first='Leigh' last='Carnes'] ('24, 5-9 S/RS)</strong> went for a triple-double with 15 kills, 12 digs and 22 assists while hitting almost .300, while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='209451' first='Maddie' last='Carnes'] ('26, 5-9 S/RS)</strong> brought her own triple-double producing 14 kills, 17 digs and 31 assists in their combined 6-2. Maddie also hit well over .400 in their win last night.</p>   <h2>#1: Tecumseh (23-2, #3 last week)</h2>   <p>By defeating the aforementioned Blackhawks last week, the Braves cemented their case for #1 in 1A this week. Tonight's road match against last year's 4A runner-up Castle (22-4) should prove to be a tough test and will be great to learn from moving into the postseason. A pair of juniors lead the way---<strong>Jenna Donohoo ('24, 5-10 OH/RS)</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='157434' first='Payge' last='Johnson'] ('24, 5-8 S/OH)</strong> have combined this season to go for over 5 kills per set, while adding 2 aces and 5 digs as well. They're also combining for a respectable hitting percentage of over .250 on the season.</p>

Less than two weeks remain in the regular season, and the usual suspects are jockeying for position in our top five rankings. The (blind) sectional draw comes next week, and some could argue that the regular season doesn't have as much weight. These ten players and five programs might differ with that assumption.