Former Indiana Preps In The D1 Tournament, Part 1

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The draw has been made, the teams are starting to travel to their respective sites, and the games start on Thursday. Here are a few of the teams that have Indiana-based athletes on them and whom they play in their opening round on Thursday. (Aside: each team's ranking is according to the AVCA poll dated November 28)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>#1 Texas (22-1), v Fairleigh Dickinson (17-15), Thursday @ 9pm EST</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The consensus, nearly-season-long #1 spot in the rankings has been the Longhorns. Aside from a blip against Iowa State (who's also in the tourney), Texas is the odds-on favorite to win it all. True freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='85811' first='Emma' last='Halter'] ('22 Roncalli, 5-5 DS/L)</strong> has seen a ton of playing time, and should continue her three-rotation run in this match.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Ball State (24-8), v #16 Marquette (27-3), Thursday @ 8pm EST</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With a heartbreaking loss in the MAC title match last week, this author thought that the Cardinals might have to settle for an NIVC bid instead of going to the big dance. Instead, Ball State gets to travel to Milwaukee to take on fourth-seeded and sixteenth-ranked Marquette. If there's anything that the Cardinals are known for, it's ball control. Senior <strong>Havyn Gates ('19 Wapahani, 5-6 DS/L) </strong>and junior <strong>Kate Vinson ('20 Yorktown, 5-6 DS/L)</strong> have seen plenty of playing time this fall, and should be x-factors in keeping up with Marquette's massive squad.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>#22 Western Kentucky (28-3), v Bowling Green (22-9), Thursday @ 4:45pm EST</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>An odd time to start, indeed, but I'm sure the Hilltoppers won't complain about their short trip to Lexington for their first round match against the MAC tournament champs. Sixth-seeded and 22nd-ranked, WKU lost in the Conference USA final to Rice, but still have an excellent RPI to earn their spot. Three former Indiana residents start for WKU, who are <strong>Lauren Matthews ('18 Lawrence North, 6-0 MB), Katie Isenbarger ('18 Zionsville, 6-0 MB)</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='85676' first='Kenadee' last='Coyle'] ('21 Bloomington South, 6-1 RS). </strong>All three are key cogs in the Hilltopper offense, and should do well against the Falcons.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>BONUS: #7 Nebraska (24-5), v Delaware State (24-6), Thursday @ 8pm EST</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is a bonus because I'm mentioning a kid who unfortunately had her career truncated by injury last week. <strong>Kenzie Knuckles ('19 Yorktown, 5-9 DS/L)</strong> has played multiple positions for the Huskers, from libero to part-time outside hitter to three-rotation DS in her career in Lincoln, and adding that to her state championships in high school PLUS her club career, it has been nothing but success for this Delaware County kid. Another run to the Final Four is not out of the scope of possibilities for her, and since it's located in Omaha this year, it would be a fitting end to an amazing career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->