1A Regional Preview: Bottom Half

Earlier today, we posted our preview of the top half of the 1A state tournament bracket. Here are the other eight teams, all part of the southern (or bottom) half of the bracket.   All records are as of 10/15. All rankings/ratings are as of 10/9. All matches will be played on 10/21.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#5 Trinity Lutheran (18-15) @ #8 Loogootee (22-7), 10a</h2>   This is the first of two rematches happening in this half of the 1A bracket. The Cougars swept the Lions on August 29, but I have a feeling these two teams have changed a bunch since that day. To start, Trinity Lutheran's records looks the way it does with their ridiculously hard schedule that they play. A pair of juniors do the majority of the heavy lifting on offense. [player_tooltip player_id='157945' first='Carson' last='Bowling'] ('25, 6-0 MB) and Madison Keith ('25, 5-10 MB) own the net both offensively and defensively, and use their size and club experience to get over, around and through their opponents. The Lions won't go away quietly, though. They'll need every bit of solid ball control from junior libero Breanna Courter to keep the ball in play, while senior middle Madison Ramsey will have to find a way to slow down TL's middles if they want to move on to the regional final.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#1 Tecumseh (29-4) v Lanesville (20-10), @ Loogootee following match #1</h2>   Holding on to the number one spot for us for quite some time in 1A have been the Braves, and for good reason. Returning First Team All-State honoree [player_tooltip player_id='157434' first='Payge' last='Johnson'] certainly helped this fall, as she's responsible for more than just attacking. [player_tooltip player_id='230530' first='Jenna' last='Donohoo'] puts away her fair share of attacks as well, as she and her fellow classmate Payge lead in multiple categories both on offense and defense for the Braves. The Eagles have a tall task in front of them, for sure. I'll use the same analogy I had above, where Lanesville will have to have solid ball control and a counter to the offense in front of them. Senior middle Karolynn Phillips might have to do more than asked on offense to advance to the final, while libero Ava Kerr might have to have a career night to keep the pair of Brave attackers listed above from going off.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Shakamak (17-10) v Indiana School for the Deaf (26-9-1) @ Edinburgh, 10a</h2>   Talk about a battle of unknowns. The Lakers and the Deaf Hoosiers have not played each other in recent memory, if ever, in volleyball. The winner of this match might be the one that makes the best adjustments mid-match. Both teams feature a primary attacker and solid ball control from their liberi. Kolette Slough ('24, 5-9 Pin) will be asked to shoulder the offense for the Lakers, with senior libero Emma Yeryar in charge of the defense. On the other side of the net, Sophia Wischer ('24, 5-7 MB) IS the offense for the Deaf Hoosiers, while Leokadia Saunders ('25, 5-5 DS/L) is a solid defender who receives serve at a high level. This might be the most intriguing match in class 1A, simply because of the unknowns.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#13 Greenwood Christian Academy (22-13) v #17 Oldenburg Academy (26-7), @ Edinburgh following match #1</h2>   The second of two rematches in this half of the tournament, GCA knocked off Oldenburg just a couple of weeks ago at the Lancer Invite in a sweep. All of this might seem eerily similar to both, as they return to the same school that hosted them back on October 7. The Cougars will have a well-balanced offense to throw at the Twisters, starting with [player_tooltip player_id='152942' first='Faith' last='Kresge']. She's a consistent pin attacker and can put balls away from anywhere. Milana Schundelmier is a broad-shouldered middle that defends from pin to pin and hit angles well from the middle. She'll need that net defense, however, against the bigger Twister squad. [player_tooltip player_id='403094' first='Kate' last='Weber'] ('24, 5-10 S/Pin) does a little of everything for OA, as she's not only a part of the 6-2 they run, but is just as adept on offense as she is defense. She leads in four statistical categories for the Twisters. Sophomore middle [player_tooltip player_id='403092' first='Rachel' last='Suttmann'] ('26, 5-11 MB) had an exceptional fall season, and will use her size and athleticism to her advantage on defense against the smaller Cougar squad.

Earlier today, we posted our preview of the top half of the 1A state tournament bracket. Here are the other eight teams, all part of the southern (or bottom) half of the bracket.