Top 4A Teams This Week: Balance?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're starting to glimpse the finish line, or at least the finishing run of schedules, with only three full weeks of regular season remaining. I put a question mark next to "balance" above because there is a need for distribution of statistics across all solid teams in 4A in any season, but there's a catch. One of the teams here is completely riding the talents of one Uber-athletic Charger, and there's no stopping her this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#1: Hamilton Southeastern (18-1)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This is a no-brainer. After losing to Brownsburg in ugly fashion in four sets just a couple of weeks ago, the Royals have rattled off 14 straight matches, dropping only one set in the process. Outsides <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='153107' first='Lindsey' last='Mangelson']</strong> (Mississippi State commit) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='261036' first='Madison' last='Miles']</strong> (Illinois commit) have been the pair of workhorses for this squad, and having them both on the court makes defending this squad a nightmare. The Battle Royale (sorry, not sorry) on September 24 at Roncalli is the must-see match of the regular season, and you can't convince me otherwise, as it will be a battle of #1s in both 4A and 3A.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#2: Yorktown (17-2)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As blue-blood and Delaware County as they come, the Tigers took that lone set off of HSE recently, and might be the only one to crack that code when the Royals are on. I'm a huge fan of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='152944' first='Charlotte' last='Vinson'] </strong>(Indiana commit), who seems to be fully back from her illness and is firing on all cylinders. What's even more impressive is the emergence of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='297945' first='Shanese' last='Williams']</strong> as a secondary offensive option. Teams can no longer camp on Miss Vinson to stop the Tigers, and should be a tougher out once October rolls around. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#3: Floyd Central (17-3)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'm putting the Highlanders here because of their revenge win over Brownstown Central, who's having their own special season this fall. Winners of 13 in a row, their defeat of Castle over the weekend solidified their spot in our top five, but still have some work to do to crack the top two. Floyd's balance comes on the defensive end, as DS's <strong>Kenzig </strong><b>McKinley</b> and <strong>Eva </strong><b>Castle</b> have both serve receive and floor defense on lockdown regularly. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#4: Carroll (Fort Wayne) (19-1)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Chargers' lone loss is to two-time defending state champ HSE, with a match at Yorktown on September 28 looming on the horizon. A win there would easily vault the Chargers into top two contention, and they're doing it without much offensive balance at all. A young athlete by the name of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='227184' first='Bailey' last='Sinish']</strong> has this squad playing its best ball in recent memory. She leads the team in kills, hitting percentage and aces, while being second in digs. As a six-rotation, primary-passing outside, she already owns the single-match record for kills (28) and holds a track record in the high jump (5'8", if memory serves). That's a lot of athlete in one kid, but stopping her is not an option. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#5: Castle (16-3)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With Brownsburg faltering, Center Grove showing inconsistencies and Westfield not <em>quite</em> there yet, Castle hangs on in our #5 spot, despite a tough weekend against top talent south of I-70. I still expect the Knights to be in a fight with Floyd Central and Evansville North for the southern representative in the state title match, but there's a long way to go before that happens. Look no further than the dynamic duo of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='272388' first='Emma' last='Bruggenschmidt']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='458189' first='Maya' last='Joska']</strong> (Arkansas State commit) to get the job done for the Knights. Emma's attacking can carry an offense, while Maya is known for her setting, but can pound some kills of her own, thankyouverymuch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->