Indiana 1A Preview: Western Trojan Pride?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Want $10 off of your registration to our Freshman or Stock Up Showcase on July 27? Use code KypDig2025 at checkout!</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For the team that finished #8 in the 1A rankings---according to indianaprepvolleyball.com---the Trojans of Covington are an enigma. Multiple athletes from this roster played upper-level club ball, and every once in a while, one or two athletes go off and play collegiate volleyball. Unfortunately, this program couldn't avoid getting upset by a team in their own conference that they beat earlier in the '24 season. In fact, these Trojans, as adept and volley-centric as they are, haven't won a sectional title since 2019. Does the outcome change this season? Let's take a look at Covington's future and our prediction for this coming fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Covington (22-10 in 2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With one of the toughest schedules in all of class 1A, it would be reasonable to assume that this team is playoff ready. Graduating <strong>Alex Sutherlin,</strong> whose future brings her to Ancilla, brought a ton of athleticism (the girl can JUMP) as well as an ability to fill up the stat sheet night in and night out. Replacing her will be tough, but the ones coming up are more than skilled in all aspects of the game as Boiler Juniors players. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='845274' first='Brooke' last='Rottmann'] </strong>is a six-rotation kid that has springs for legs and will play middle for the Gold and Black. She's second on the team in kills from a season ago, along with being third in digs as a middle. Rising senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='730164' first='Ashlyn' last='Alexander']</strong> is small, and listed as a libero/DS for her Boiler Juniors squad, but is a pass-to-attack specialist that can also jump well and terminate to all angles. She was tops in digs last fall and third in kills. Both Brooke and Ashlyn were all-conference players, and will need to average better than their career averages to make up for what Alex brought with her to northern Indiana. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='842375' first='Eliza' last='Wilderman']</strong> is a pin attacker with size that earned honorable mention all-conference as a freshman last fall, and will have to learn quickly to gain ground statistically on her fellow attackers. However, with their top attacker and setter graduating, plus having no "true" libero coming up on the roster, where does that leave the Trojans?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Prediction: IF they can get over the mental hump of the post season, they have the tools to win the sectional. </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I'm not sure what happens to this squad when mid October comes around. 20+ wins every season with a tougher-than-average schedule to prepare them, PLUS multiple athletes playing club ball <em>should</em> be enough to win a sectional. As long as Lafayette Central Catholic and Faith Christian---two programs who are used to being regionals-bound every season---are sharing a sectional with these ladies, however, the mental block remains. Now, add that your top attacker and only setter graduate, and that hill looks that much steeper.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->