You Pick The Day: Top Matches This Week
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What a week of volleyball we have planned for you! Five days of ranked teams going head-to-head, and there were even more that we left out of the schedule just because we can’t be in two places at once. Here…
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Continue ReadingWhat a week of volleyball we have planned for you! Five days of ranked teams going head-to-head, and there were even more that we left out of the schedule just because we can’t be in two places at once. Here are five matches, with the teams, records and rankings involved, where they are, and what day you can go watch. Have fun!
(All records are as of 9/17, all rankings come from the Z-Ratings at IndianaPrepVolleyball.com, as of 9/15)
Monday: 1A #3 Springs Valley (19-1) @ 1A #1 Tecumseh (19-3)
To think that this isn’t even the highest-ranked matchup of the week is a crazy way to start our week. The Blackhawks hit the road to battle the Braves in what looks to be a foreshadowing of a regional matchup. Neither team has lost to a 1A squad yet this season, and the combined losses are to the who’s who of 3A and 4A volleyball in Southern Indiana. Look for the Carnes sisters, Leigh Carnes Leigh Carnes 5'8" | OH Springs Valley | 2024 State IN (’24, 5-10 S/OH) and Maddie Carnes Maddie Carnes 5'11" | S Springs Valley | 2026 State IN (’26, 5-10 S/OH) to lead the way for the Blackhawks, while the senior-heavy Braves run out Jenna Donohoo Jenna Donohoo 5'10" | OH Tecumseh | 2024 State IN (’24, 5-10 Pin) and Payge Johnson Payge Johnson 5'8" | OH Tecumseh | 2024 State IN (’24, 5-8 S/OH). Bottom line—SV has won nineteen in a row, while Tecumseh wants to keep their #1 ranking. This should be an epic matchup.
Tuesday: 4A #2 Roncalli (17-2) @ 4A #1 Hamilton Southeastern (17-0)
A Royal battle (see what I did there?) will be the best match of the week, without question. No, you can’t change my mind, and that includes HSE’s match against Zionsville (18-1) on Thursday of this week. Roncalli has a ton of youth and talent on their squad, starting with Logan Bell Logan Bell 5'11" | OH Roncalli | 2025 State #24 Nation IN (’25, 5-10 OH, Oregon commit). Ball control will be needed against the Royals north of I-70, so insert Aly Kirkhoff Aly Kirkhoff 5'6" | DS/L Roncalli | 2024 State IN (’24, 5-5 DS/L, LSU commit) to pass half the court and take some pressure off of their serve receive. As for HSE, there aren’t enough superlatives to describe their season. They’ve dropped exactly two sets this fall, and shouldn’t be tested again until the postseason. Leading attackers Lauren Harden Lauren Harden 6'3" | OH Hamilton Southeastern | 2024 State #36 Nation IN (’24, 6-3 OH, Florida commit) and Lindsey Mangelson Lindsey Mangelson 6'2" | OH Hamilton Southeastern | 2025 State IN (’25, 6-2 OH, Mississippi State commit) will rain hammers down on the southern Royals from the left pin, with more to come from their supporting cast.
Wednesday: 2A #8 South Central (22-0) @ 1A #8 Marquette Catholic (12-4)
Experience versus youth. The battle of eighth-ranked teams from way up north will be worth the drive on Wednesday evening. The Satellites will send leading attacker Tatum Wade (’24, 5-10 OH) and her four-plus kills per set into the mix, with setter Hope Welsh (’24, 5-6 S) feeding her dimes the whole way. The Knights have some size for a school this small, and should give South Central some problems. Anne Marie Wadle Anne Marie Wadle 6'0" | MB Marquette Catholic | 2025 State IN (’25, 6-1 OH/MB) should get the majority of the attack attempts, while Elaina Balling (’25, 6-1 S) should be feeding her own lead attacker a ton for a chance to win this matchup.
Thursday: 3A #15 Western Boone (13-4) @ 2A #3 Lafayette Central Catholic (14-3)
What a matchup of youth we have in store for a Thursday evening. The Stars are looking to follow up their state runner-up run from last fall, while LCC had their season end at the regional against eventual state champ Wapahani. Both should make deep runs in the playoffs once again, and both should push each other this Thursday. The Stars have leading attacker Raegan Durbin Raegan Durbin 5'10" | OH Western Boone | 2025 State #89 Nation IN (’25, 5-10 OH, Middle Tennessee commit), who seemingly has an endless supply of energy and creativity in her attack. Janie Ransom Janie Ransom 5'5" | DS/L Western Boone | 2025 State IN (’25, 5-7 S) will set her star regularly, all with a defense first attitude. The Knights have their own lead-attacker-setter combination in Carley Barrett (’25, 5-7 OH) and Kaitlyn Kuckkan Kaitlyn Kuckkan 5'7" | S Lafayette Central Catholic | 2025 State IN (’25, 5-8 S). Both will need to be at the top of their respective games to knock off WeBo.
Saturday: 4A #9 Carroll (17-3) @ 4A #4 Yorktown (15-4)
Is this Fort Wayne versus Muncie? A battle of club styles? Who cares? What a great way to end our ranked matchup week than at Yorktown’s tournament, featuring a bunch of highly-ranked squads. This match looks to be the best of the bunch, and each squad has kids already committed to play at the next level. Bailey Sinish Bailey Sinish 5'11" | OH Carroll | 2026 State IN (’26, 5-11 OH) is the primary attacker for the Chargers, and will have a ton of opportunities to put balls away. Can’t have a primary attacker without a first contact queen, which appears in the form of Brenna Ginder Brenna Ginder 5'5" | DS/L Carroll Fort Wayne | 2024 State #137 Nation IN (’24, 5-5 DS/L, West Virginia commit). As for the Tigers, it’s Charlotte Vinson Charlotte Vinson 6'1" | OH Yorktown | 2025 State #21 Nation IN (’25, 6-1 OH, Indiana commit) left, right, middle and back row all day long. She’s got an even better libero in Addi Applegate Addi Applegate 5'5" | DS/L Yorktown | 2025 State #93 Nation IN (’25, 5-5 DS/L, Texas A&M commit) to make that first contact and take some serve receive pressure off of Miss Vinson.