1A State Final Preview

We made it! Worthen Arena, on the campus of Ball State University, will host all four state championship matches this coming Saturday. We here at PrepDig will preview each match in chronological order. We'll include who they beat to get here, what their records are (according to MaxPreps), and what their state ratings are (according to IndianaPrepVolleyball.com). Each team will also have multiple athletes listed that made an impact in the semi-state AND who should be the x-factor to take home the big trophy. For added measure, we'll include a prediction for each match. First up is the 11a match between Southwood and Tecumseh. Here we go!   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#2 Southwood (31-4)</h2>   Ball State will host a new 1A champ this Saturday, with a first-serve time of 1100 hours. Both the Knights and the Braves won in sweeps, but it's clear that Southwood had the tougher match, as they had to knock off the defending 1A champ Blackhawk Christian to get here. The Knights were led by an incredible youth movement, starting with Shania Ramey ('27, 5-8 OH). Her double-double of 15 kills and 15 digs in only three sets against the "other" Braves last Saturday is only bested by the fact that she's a primary passing outside AND hit well over .300 while doing so. More youth was served (sorry, not sorry) with both Hali Pershing ('27, 5-8 OH) and [player_tooltip player_id='239310' first='Grace' last='Drake'] ('25, 6-0 S/RS) adding ten kills each. Hali found a rhythm hitting high hands regularly against the bigger BC block, and could put away both in-system and out-of-system balls well. Grace is listed as a setter, and nearly earned a triple double by adding 15 assists and 9 digs. Adi Deaton ('27, 5-6 S) is another young and talented player who locates the ball well for her hitters. The only senior seeing significant ball touches might be in the first contact with libero [player_tooltip player_id='239311' first='Allie' last='Haecker'] ('24, 5-6 DS/L), who has amassed over 1000 digs in her career at Southwood. A lot of ball control and a low amount of unforced errors kept this squad in the winning column more often than not.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#1 Tecumseh (32-4)</h2>   Last year's runners-up are back for a return trip, and were this close to winning two in a row, losing in five to Blackhawk Christian. In stark contrast to Southwood's youth, Tecumseh has a ton of experienced talent that understands the pressure of being on this big and bright of a stage. The Lady Braves are always in the title game in multiple sports, so the bright lights of Worthen won't bother them a bit. Insert [player_tooltip player_id='230530' first='Jenna' last='Donohoo'] ('24, 5-10 OH, Evansville softball commit), who continues to crush all competition throughout her career. In this balanced offense, Jenna is the main attacker, and is a primary passer for added measure. [player_tooltip player_id='157434' first='Payge' last='Johnson'] ('24, 5-8 S/OH) attacks in the front row while running a modified 5-2 in the back row. [player_tooltip player_id='192102' first='Ava' last='Kissel'] ('25, 5-9 MB/RS) might look undersized for her position, but she more than makes up for it in her athleticism. This three-headed monster of an offensive attack averages nearly nine kills per set while hitting over .300 while doing so. In short, the points can come from anywhere, and the Braves have leaned on each of those three this season to have the success they've had both this season and last. Lydia Wilson ('26, 5-5 DS/L) wears the special jersey, and takes a ton of balls in serve receive to take some pressure off of her teammates. Senior setter [player_tooltip player_id='241704' first='Emily' last='Hall'] ('24, 5-6 S) is the other part of this two-setter system, and between her and Payge, they've produced over 1000 assists this season. If they stick to their gameplan of efficiency and relentless offense, these Braves should hoist the trophy at the end of the match.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">PREDICTION: Tecumseh over Southwood in four.</h2>

We made it! Worthen Arena, on the campus of Ball State University, will host all four state championship matches this coming Saturday. We here at PrepDig will preview each match in chronological order. We'll include who they beat to get here, what their records are (according to MaxPreps), and what their state ratings are (according to IndianaPrepVolleyball.com). Each team will also have multiple athletes listed that made an impact in the semi-state AND who should be the x-factor to take home the big trophy. For added measure, we'll include a prediction for each match. First up is the 11a match between Southwood and Tecumseh. Here we go!