2A Rankings Update: Future Semifinal?

Photo: Prep Dig, Josiah

Kyp Harasymowycz September 22, 2020 @ 08:08 AM

With less than three weeks remaining in Indiana’s high school season, we are starting to see possible regional-and-beyond pairings materialize. Our top four could easily represent the final four in the state tournament, with two from the North Region and two from the South Region. Our fifth is a newcomer that has never seen this level of success. We’d like to thank Zach McCrite for assistance in this ranking. He is the administrator of IndianaPrepVolleyball.com, and is the foremost expert for high school volleyball in Indiana. #5: Triton Central, 15-2 Last week: NR Welcome to the party, Tigers! A small school located just southeast of Indianapolis starts off our top five for 2A this week. Their two losses are to 3A Greensburg and defending 2A state champion Heritage Christian. But those losses were back in August, and we’ve played a few matches since then. Their biggest win was last night against 4A Shelbyville in what I consider to be a major upset. [player_tooltip player_id="108473" first="Madison" last="Beaver"] (Goshen commit) paces the Tigers with three kills per set, hitting .270, while also leading TC in blocks. Not bad for a 5-8 kid. #4: Andrean, 10-2 Last week: #4 The Fighting 59ers aren’t going anywhere. I could see this team matching up with Wapahani in the state semifinal, if they make it that far. Last week’s sweeps of Hobart and Highland didn’t help their strength of schedule for our rankings, but the wins keep piling up, with a match against Illiana Christian (15-5) being a great test for the remainder of the season. Marin Sanchez’s (’24, 5-9, OH) career highs of 16 kills and .520 against Lowell on 9/10 gives us a taste of what she’s capable of going forward. #3: Heritage Christian, 17-0 Last week: #3 SQUAWK! That’s the sound of an Eagle yelling at me for not moving HC closer to the top. They haven’t lost since the middle of the 2019 season, and don’t play anyone of consequence until next Monday against 4A Roncalli for what will be the conference title. I’ll reserve judgment until then. For now, The Eagles are becoming more balanced in their attack, and not just relying on Purdue commit [player_tooltip player_id="85670" first="Raven" last="Colvin"] to carry them. [player_tooltip player_id="85706" first="Elizabeth" last="Phillips"] (Arkansas State commit) averages nearly three kills per set, while seniors Kenzie Myers (’21, 5-10, OH) and [player_tooltip player_id="85841" first="Amaya" last="Lowry"] (’21, 5-9, RS) each bring two kills per set to the offense. #2: Wapahani, 12-1 Last week: #1 Please stop typing in all caps at me. Tenths of a point separate the Raiders from Barr-Reeve in this ranking, and it’s not Wapahani’s fault; they played three conference matches in a row, and the teams they played combine for an under-.500 record. I would love to see the rematch of Wapahani and Heritage Christian again. Legitimately, the Raiders’ last chance at losing might be their season-ending match against Bellmont, the 3A runner-up from last year. With [player_tooltip player_id="95742" first="Mallory" last="Summers"] (’21, 5-8, OH) and [player_tooltip player_id="85905" first="Chloe" last="Cook"] (’23, 5-9, OH) on the pins averaging nearly seven kills per set combined, the Raiders are in good hands. #1: Barr-Reeve, 18-2 Last week: #2 They haven’t lost in weeks. They’ve dropped exactly three sets since the beginning of the month, in wins over 1A #1 Trinity Lutheran and 4A volleyball powerhouse Floyd Central. [player_tooltip player_id="85713" first="Anna" last="Ballengee"] (Southern Indiana commit) and [player_tooltip player_id="101372" first="Addison" last="Ainscough"] (’21, 5-11, MB) are looking to add to their trophy case and legacies with one final run in the state tournament, and look more than determined to do so. The pair both hit over .350, combining for nearly NINE kills per set in the process. That semi state rematch against Heritage Christian should be fun to watch.