4A Regional: @ Bloomington North, October 22

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This morning, we've already previewed the first half of the south bracket of the IHSAA postseason. This article talks about the other half of the south bracket, which includes two top ten teams in 4A statewide. We know who the committed athletes are for these teams, so who are the primary players who are uncommitted who need to step up for this Saturday's battles? Here are the four teams involved at Bloomington North High School, their records and rankings, and a player to watch moving forward.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>11a: #6 Floyd Central (28-6) v Center Grove (19-15)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I will admit, I did not think Center Grove would make it this far. There's so much youth on the attack, and with their switch at setter a while ago, things have turned around nicely for the Trojans. That being said, the ball control from Floyd Central will be the best CG has seen this postseason. To handle a player like <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='85908' first='Caroline' last='Hilbrich'] ('23, 5-10 OH/DS), </strong>you have to maximize her errors (because she doesn't make many) and take advantage of their lack of size (where Center Grove has a slight advantage). Caroline is exceptional at both disciplines of this sport. Her indoor prowess is only superseded by her abilities on the sand, and has done nothing but win in both venues. If their passing is above average, Center Grove should take advantage and feed <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='173248' first='Reese' last='Dunkle'] ('25, 6-2 MB), </strong>by far the most college-ready kid on the Trojans' roster.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>1:30p: Columbus East (20-12) v #10 Castle (31-4)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Castle's inclusion on the 4A top ten puts five (!!!) total teams in the southern half of the draw from the top ten in 4A in the state. Not bad for a team that was 4A runner-up last fall and lost a lot to graduation. The Olympians should give the undersized Knights fits at the net, what with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='85903' first='Gabby' last='Dean'] ('23, 6-4 MB, Illinois commit)</strong> leading the way. But our focus will be on another senior, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='236668' first='Maddie' last='Cline'] ('23, 6-0 pin).</strong> She can hammer from anywhere with a heavy ball, does well on offense and defense, and uses her size and strength to her advantage. The Knights do have a three-year starter in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='236667' first='Katie' last='Kopshever'] ('24, 5-11 pin), </strong>whose whip of an arm and ability to be a six-rotation passer at the next level being keys for Castle to return to Worthen Arena. Hears to hoping that Katie's back feels better than it did in the sectional---she'll need it to carry this program to repeat success.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Vote for your winner of the Bloomington North 4A regional:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://poll.fm/11222530","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"crowdsignal","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-crowdsignal wp-block-embed-crowdsignal"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://poll.fm/11222530 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed -->