Top Five 4A Teams This Week

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Mid-September is where the separation starts. Those that are ready for a deep run show up in our top five series, and those that aren't, don't. Here are the top five teams this week in Class 4A, with two major players for each along with their respective records as of today.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>(Rankings are from 9/11, and are based on the Z-Ranking system, which can be found on IndianaPrepVolleyball.com)</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#5: La Porte (17-1)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Representing northern Indiana well, the Slicers are looking like the cream of "the region". Aside from a tournament loss to volleyball blue-blood Carroll, La Porte looks ready for a stretch run that might not see its next loss until the state tournament. Senior outside hitters <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='236694' first='Emalee' last='Maesch'] ('24, 5-7 OH)</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='260989' first='Ava' last='Holtz'] ('24, 5-9 OH)</strong> are leading the way in their fast and athletic transition play, along with a host of others on this senior-heavy squad.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#4: Yorktown (13-3)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At the rate that these Tigers play, I don't foresee another loss for them in the regular season. Their hard-fought four-set loss to #1 HSE put the rest of the northern half on notice---that they plan on a rematch with those same Royals in November at Worthen. And can you blame them? They're primed for a deep run, and with the "Addis"---<strong>[player_tooltip player_id='155213' first='Addi' last='Applegate'] ('25, 5-5 DS/L)</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='154615' first='Addi' last='Rains'] ('24, 5-6 DS/L)</strong> as your primary passers, the Tigers are in good hands going forward.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#3: Cathedral (15-4)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I personally witnessed Cathedral's four-set win over Plainfield last night, and as long as their passing is on, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110377' first='Kamryn' last='Utley'] ('24, 5-7 S, Lehigh commit)</strong> and company will be just fine. They've got hitters at all three spots along the front row, making this offense even more balanced than it was just a couple of weeks ago. Also, with senior libero <strong>Addison Bakemeyer ('24, 5-5 DS/L)</strong> digging pretty much everything that goes into left back, the Fighting Irish will be fighting even deeper into October than last year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#2: Roncalli (15-2)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These Royals are in a sweet spot of play right now. Already owning a win over #4 Yorktown and #3 Cathedral, this squad has registered eight wins in a row, with a conference match against Brebeuf tonight being yet another tough test. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='152943' first='Logan' last='Bell'] ('25, 5-10 OH, Oregon commit)</strong> is the clear offensive leader for the Royals, but it's young and athletic setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='252404' first='Addie' last='Haberthy'] ('26, 5-11 S)</strong> that impresses me the most on this roster.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#1: Hamilton Southeastern (16-0)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Every team on this list has a primary attacker, an exceptional setter and a 'bro that can pass half the court at any time. But to have the best at <em>every</em> position is not something Indiana has seen in quite some time. We've talked about the usual suspects for a while, so let's focus on what the Royals bring that no one else on this list has---two fast, athletic and Division-1-ready middles. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='112085' first='Tiffany' last='Snook'] ('24, 6-2 MB, Memphis commit)</strong> transitions faster than middles of any size or class in Indiana this year, and she's usually the one that starts the scoring for HSE. Her opposite, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='153104' first='Breonna' last='Goss'] ('24, 6-0 MB, Duke commit), </strong>looks undersized, but is far from it---her springy nature has her getting to her max jump so fast that defending middles have no time to adjust. They both can defend from pin to pin with ease, and are keys to the Royals being ranked #3 nationally, according to MaxPreps.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->