Top Five Teams In 3A This Week: The More Things Change

<p>An epic weekend of volleyball among last week's top five in 3A shuffled the deck, so to speak, for this week's top five. All of this change, though, kept us thinking that 3A has its top four, while a new addition seems to peek into the room every week. Here are five teams, four of which have been here all season. We're also talking about the players that have also "been there, done that" this season.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#5: Concordia Lutheran (12-7)</h2>   <p>The Cadets were probably the toughest team to put here, but I dug a little deeper into their season. First off, they have one of the toughest schedules in all of Indiana (7th-toughest, according to IndianaPrepVolleyball.com). Second, they play that tough of a schedule because Angola shares their sectional. Why not prep for one of the toughest teams in 3A by playing the toughest possible schedule? Finally, they have the players to do it. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='161656' first='Jersey' last='Loyer'] ('24, 5-11 OH, Butler commit)</strong> is the physical leader, putting balls away from everywhere. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='282018' first='Cienna' last='Lapsley'] ('25, 6-0 MB/RS) </strong>has that size/strength combination to play multiple positions at the next level. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#4: Benton Central (20-0)</h2>   <p>New week, same undefeated record. The Bison keep rolling along with the Foster sisters, and other than McCutcheon (9/28) and Faith Christian (10/9), there might not be any other blemishes to their record going into the postseason. It's worth noting that <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='260994' first='Calista' last='Foster'] ('26, 5-10 OH)</strong> might have more kills, but older sis <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110506' first='Sienna' last='Foster'] ('24, 5-10 OH, Purdue commit)</strong> is the leader that this squad needs to go a bit further in the postseason than last fall. This dynamic duo <em>averages</em> the following stat line per set: 7k/4d/2a/.400.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#3: Providence (20-5)</h2>   <p>The more things change, the more the Pioneers earn another 20-win season. Ho hum.</p>   <p>***insert shrug emoji here***</p>   <p>I cannot stress the following enough: WILL SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY THERE ARE ZERO COLLEGE COMMITTED KIDS ON THIS ROSTER?!? These Pioneers were state champs last fall, there are multiple All-State honorees on this roster from last year, and they have an excellent chance to make another deep run in the postseason. The three-headed senior monster of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='143807' first='Makenzie' last='Wagner'] ('24, 5-10 RS), [player_tooltip player_id='210180' first='Lilly' last='Tappel'] ('24, 5-10 OH)</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='114355' first='Camila' last='Adams'] ('24, 5-9 DS/L)</strong> are once again taking on all opponents, playing the 4th-toughest schedule in the state, and still succeeding at an amazing level. Maybe I'm wrong and at least <em>one</em> of these kids have committed somewhere recently. If you're a school looking for kids who's all-around game is exceptional, look no further than these Pioneers.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#2: Bellmont (20-2)</h2>   <p>The Braves don't fall far after a tough loss to Angola over the weekend. Their other loss? Defending 4A champ HSE. (The Royals are ok, I guess.) To stick with the theme of this article, things did change for Bellmont, moving from #1 to #2. However, it's still the same pair of attackers running the show for this Fort Wayne-area program. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110518' first='Delaney' last='Lawson'] ('24, 6-1 OH, Utah State commit)</strong> has the size and physicality to take over a match, as she did against former-top-five NorthWood on Saturday (18k, 4b). <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='226809' first='MaryKate' last='Scheumann'] ('26, 5-10 OH)</strong> also has the ability to be the primary attacker, as her career-high of 26 kills was set against a big and strong Homestead squad just a couple of weeks ago. The stat line addition of senior attacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='157433' first='Jackie' last='Sutter'] ('24, 5-9 OH)</strong> adds yet another person to the offense that wasn't as apparent just a couple of weeks ago. She's steadily improved her attack percentage over the years (over .300 this season as of this writing), and should surpass 800 career kills by the end of the week.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#1: Angola (16-0)</h2>   <p>How do you get to #1? Beat two top-five opponents, back-to-back, on the same day. If anyone needed proof that the Hornets are ready for that deep run in the postseason, this past Saturday proved it. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110486' first='Morgan' last='Gaerte'] ('24, 6-4 OH, Notre Dame commit)</strong> is the big, physical and do-everything player that state champions require, but a supporting cast is needed too. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='110487' first='Mya' last='Ball'] ('24, 6-1 Pin, Central Florida commit)</strong> rips just as hard from the net as she does from behind the baseline. Morgan's opposite, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='237882' first='Maya' last='Harris'] ('26, 5-10 OH)</strong> is just as adept offensively. This three-headed attacking beast outdid their counterparts from Bellmont in a four-set win that wasn't as close as the final score indicated. What does all of this mean? It means that the northern half of the 3A draw is going to be a fun watch for any volleyball enthusiast.</p>

An epic weekend of volleyball among last week's top five in 3A shuffled the deck, so to speak, for this week's top five. All of this change, though, kept us thinking that 3A has its top four, while a new addition seems to peek into the room every week. Here are five teams, four of which have been here all season. We're also talking about the players that have also "been there, done that" this season.