Castle, Tecumseh volleyball win regionals while Memorial, North Posey fall in openers
What a time to be a volleyball fan in Warrick County.
Both Castle and Tecumseh have experienced the bright lights of Worthen Arena over the past two seasons. While neither team took home a title, they remain one of the elite teams in Southwestern Indiana. And they're both one step closer to making it back to Muncie.
The Knights and the Braves are regional champions once again following victories against Center Grove and Trinity Lutheran, respectively, on Saturday evening. Class 4A No. 5 Castle swept the No. 8 Trojans 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-22) at Bloomington North while Class A No. 1 Tecumseh defeated the Cougars 3-1 (25-10, 25-23, 23-25, 25-12) at Loogootee.
IHSAA volleyball: Castle wins 41st sectional title behind a new lineup, balanced offense
Castle has dealt with its share of injuries during the postseason. Maya Joska did return to the lineup earlier in the regional against Franklin after dislocating her shoulder, but the team was initially unsure of Megan Harpenau's availability after she injured her knee in practice. Knights coach Daniel Watson even broke his daughter Emma's finger while she was blocking.
Still, the Knights found a way to persevere and get the victory.
Players stepped up time after time in critical moments, from Katie Kopshever and her team-high 15 kills to Joska and Emma Bruggenschmidt also putting balls down to the floor. And Addisen Gallentine essentially sealed the victory with two big plays toward the end of the match.
"Every point matters and every point counts," Gallentine said. "It was a great play, but we had so many others. Everybody showed up and showed out, so it was awesome."
"It was pure joy," Watson added. "Addi is such a gentle giant. She's just the most humble and selfless big you could ever imagine. To see her do such great things, I'm just so proud of her."
Castle (33-3) and Tecumseh (31-4) will be playing in the Jasper semistates next Saturday. The Braves, who swept Lanesville 3-0 (25-6, 25-16, 25-8) earlier in the afternoon, will face Greenwood Christian at 3 p.m. while the Knights' matchup with No. 3 Roncalli will be at approximately 4:30 p.m. All times are in CDT.
"It's really exciting to have two teams from Warrick County at semistate," Tecumseh coach Katie Johnson said. "That just shows how much talent there is in Southwestern Indiana."
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Memorial, North Posey fall in regional openers
There was high drama in both of the morning slates in Charlestown and Mitchell.
Two top 10 teams in Class 3A faced off against each other. And as expected, each set of the matchup between No. 2 Providence and No. 7 Memorial came down to the wire.
But it was the reigning state champion Pioneers who bested the Tigers in their opener, sweeping them 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-21).
Memorial coach Madison Aiton recalled the time when her team was down 7-1 in the first set to Providence. The Tigers weren't making service errors, but the Pioneers knocked down balls pretty quickly. Still, the Tigers found a way and clawed back into the set.
They refused to back down to the Pioneers for the rest of the match. Out of their five losses, only the Providence one was where Aiton felt the team played well.
"I cannot be more proud of them," she said. "And that's what I told them after the game. Although they lost, I was proud of how they played and I really hoped they were too."
Memorial (25-5) will need to replace production in many areas going into next season. Still, it's excited to have some key pieces back, like setter Reegan Buck, and a handful of juniors. The Tigers were also thrilled to play some of their best volleyball against another elite team in their class.
"We only play a handful of super-talented teams throughout the season," Aiton said. "Today they were just excited about the opportunity to play a really strong team. They came out and they gave it their all."
Meanwhile at Mitchell, Class 2A No. 2 Linton-Stockton defeated North Posey 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 25-15, 24-26, 15-6). While the state runner-up Miners have won 24 matches in a row, this was only their second five-setter of the year and the first since Aug. 31 against Northview.
While Vikings coach Natalie Macaulay admitted her team lost focus in the final set, she still commended the fight they showed throughout.
"That's the wonderful thing about that group of girls," Macaulay said. "They're never willing to give up on a point or on a set. Our mentality was to refocus and reset."
Addie Fullop, who is one of the top attackers in Class 2A, had a team-high 22 kills against Linton. She, Ashton Elpers, Sibyl Renshaw and Ashleigh Blankenship were all part of a special senior class that's won over 25 matches for three straight seasons. North Posey (28-7) has won three sectional titles and made it to semistate during that span.
"They brought a personality to the team where everybody was included and it was a team effort all the time," Macaulay said. "They were excited about volleyball. They're definitely going to be missed as far as leadership goes."
Courier & Press sports reporter Treasure Washington can be reached via her email, treasure.washington@courierpress.com, and on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Twashington490.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: IHSAA volleyball: Two Evansville-area teams win regional titles
