Pick Your Date: Top Matches This Week Around Indiana

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're coming to the tail end of the regular season here in the Hoosier State, and this week's matches will feature some of the best talent in the Midwest, let alone in Indiana. We've taken the liberty of picking the best matches to attend each day, and even gave you a bonus match on Saturday to watch. Each of the teams listed are in the top 20 in their respective classes, according to indianaprepvolleyball.com, a huge resource produced by Zach McCrite that is the most complete high school volleyball rankings system in the state. There's a lot to unpack here, so let's get started.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>***EACH RECORD IS AS OF SEPTEMBER 28, AND EACH RANKING IS FROM THE Z-RATINGS***</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Monday: 4A #12 Zionsville (16-8) @ 3A #8 Tri-West (16-9)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What a way to start off the week! There's so much talent that will be featured all over the court tonight that it's hard to limit the attention to just two players per team. For the Eagles, future Division I players will be the focus of the offense in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='221478' first='Josie' last='Imes']</strong> (Alabama commit) and <strong>Ellie Strecker</strong> (Louisville commit). Josie is a six-rotation beast of an attacker that can carry a team offensively, as she's done so many times in high school and club over the years. Ellie is a long, lean and terminal middle that will fit right in with the stable of middles Louisville always seems to have. Tri-West is no slouch, and should be up to the task of the bigger and more experienced Eagles. Led by SMU commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='260995' first='Caroline' last='Ward'],</strong> this band of non-seniors should be good for the next couple of years. Caroline's ability to outjump and “outathletic” opponents has been her calling card for years. A surprise for the Bruins comes in the form of freshman outside <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='546217' first='Julia' last='Middleton'].</strong> She's a nice complement to Miss Ward, and will be much needed tonight to keep the Eagles from camping on their main attacker.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Tuesday: 4A #10 Chesterton (24-3) @ 4A #4 Crown Point (23-2)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wow! As if the matches couldn't get much better than Monday's, we get a major top-ten battle in the region. The Trojans bring plenty of Division I firepower from their pins, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='400680' first='Tenley' last='Davis']</strong> (Loyola Chicago commit) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='448138' first='Luca' last='Bombacino']</strong> (Michigan commit). Both have their own way of scoring points—-Tenley has her over-six-foot size and strength, while Luca's whip of a right arm can terminate at will if you let her. For the Bulldogs, Purdue commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='236692' first='Elle' last='Schara']</strong> is without question the entire of the offense for CP, and does everything from serve receive to attacking at an elite level. Her libero, Southern Illinois commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='801186' first='Bella' last='Del Real'],</strong> is the other main reason for Crown Point's success this season, and keeps the Bulldogs in system regularly.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Wednesday: 4A #15 Castle (22-3) @ 2A #3 Tecumseh (20-5)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>From one extreme part of the state to the other, Wednesday's featured matchup puts us closer to Evansville than any other this week. Castle's schedule isn't exactly the toughest, but when they DO play a top ten team, it's fun to be in attendance. The Knights are led offensively by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='730165' first='Gabby' last='Korba'],</strong> a kid that can hit a heavy ball and do most of the heavy lifting in most other skills of the game. She's accompanied by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='888207' first='Paige' last='Furbee'],</strong> a nice partner to have on the pin that can keep the Brave defense from committing to Gabby. As for the Braves, don't look for them to just roll over because they're playing a 4A school. They're more than prepared athletically and with a ton of volleyball acuity to compete. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='300205' first='Shae' last='Bailey']</strong> is my favorite attacker on this squad, and will be the focal point of this offense. A new name to pay attention to from Tecumseh is <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='890230' first='Adley' last='Staples']. </strong>She can attack and has solid ball control, and represents the future of the Braves beyond this season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Thursday: 2A #17 Seeger (17-4) @ 1A #8 Riverton Parke (18-3)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I don't often trek to western Indiana, but this seems to be the most likely place I'd be for a volleyball match this week. The Seeger Patriots are having one of their better seasons, and are led by do-everything attacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='260996' first='Chase' last='Lemming']</strong> (Butler commit). Her ability to take care of every contact, from pass to attack, is fluid and strong. To keep defenses honest, however, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='820544' first='Vivienne' last='Middleton']</strong> will have to try and take the pressure off of six-kills-per-set Chase. Any chance the Patriots have at a state title in 2A need to include a supporting cast, and Miss Middleton might be the x-factor to do exactly that. The Panthers are having their own resurgence with a pair of seniors. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='725609' first='Annie' last='Campbell']</strong> can terminate on in-system and out-of-system balls equally, and no defense should take a break when she's swinging in any situation. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='815295' first='Kenzie' last='Nowicki']</strong> is a nice partner to have on the offense, and will need to bring extra point-scoring opportunities to stay competitive with Seeger.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Saturday: 4A #1 Westfield (17-1) @ 4A #16 Plainfield (19-4)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For Saturday, why not see some big girl ball? This match features a tale of two teams—-one with a ton of Division I talent, and the other young and full of potential. The team with the D1 commitments is the Shamrocks, and are led offensively by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='261022' first='Georgia' last='Bresnahan']</strong> (SIUE commit) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='443848' first='Carsyn' last='Comer']</strong> (Louisville commit). Georgia is the six-rotation queen that looks and acts the part of Division I outside hitter. Carsyn is a long, springy and tough middle that does everything big-time middles are supposed to do at the next level. She might not fill up the stat sheet with attacking—-her receiving the ball is dependent on the serve receive behind her. But her blocking and efficiency are so well-trained that it's hard not to notice the talent. The Quakers are NOT last year's team, and the inclusion of two transfers has infused this squad with renewed life. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='481214' first='Marley' last='Vanwanzeele']</strong> is one of the aforementioned transfers (Mooresville), and is one of the top middles in her class. Slowing Carsyn will be her priority, as well as continuing her strong attacking style. Primary-passing, six-rotation outside <strong>Audey Utterback</strong> is easily one of the best in HER graduating class, and hits a heavy ball with pace and smarts to score points for the Quakers regularly. She can terminate from anywhere, and will probably be asked to do exactly that if Plainfield wants to score a late-season upset on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">BONUS MATCH SATURDAY!!!</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">4A #3 Hamilton Southeastern (23-2) v 4A #13 Center Grove (18-8)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>As part of the north-south mini-round-robin at Franklin Community, the Royals and Trojans will match up at about noon-ish. Two of the biggest schools in central Indiana, both volleyball blue-bloods, should feature a ton of talent up and down each roster. For HSE, the offense is clearly led by <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='261036' first='Madison' last='Miles']</strong> (Illinois commit) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='229027' first='Merritt' last='Sliwa']</strong> (Ball State commit). This pair of thumpers will dictate how this match will turn out, and a lot of it will dictate how well they can terminate in out-of-system play. Center Grove's season-long success has been largely due to their outsides carrying the offensive load—-neither of which is committed at the moment. Freshman <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='880811' first='Gabby' last='Gilliard']</strong> is a heavy-hitting pin attacker that is owning more and more responsibility all over the court, from attacking to defending. Junior outside <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='807987' first='Kaylen' last='Plunkard']</strong> is turning into an outstanding role player, doing a little of everything to keep this season successful. Yes, there are commitments on this squad in the form of attacker <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='261044' first='Natalie' last='Vance']</strong> (Southern Illinois commit) and setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='435850' first='Anabelle' last='Schembra']</strong> (Central Florida commit). But the play of the two outsides listed above might make or break the outcome of the Trojans' match on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->