Hamilton Southeastern caps perfect season with 4A title: 'These seniors are a magical group'

MUNCIE — As his players continued celebrating amongst themselves and with their family members behind him, Hamilton Southeastern coach Jason Young reflected on his message to the players back before the season began: Make sure to enjoy the journey, because the destination is going to be bittersweet.

The Royals reached their destination Saturday night and as promised, the final moments of their 3-1 (25-18, 24-26, 25-20, 25-15) victory over Castle in the Class 4A state championship match conjured up a spectrum of emotions. There was pride and joy in becoming just the fourth undefeated 4A champion in state history, of course, but there was also a tinge of sadness as it sank in that they had just played their final match together as a team.

It's the 67th consecutive victory for the now two-time defending state champion Royals, whose title defense will be remembered among the most dominant runs in state history.

With a senior-driven lineup that featured Division I recruits at every position, they went 33-0 and dropped just five sets (won 95) against arguably the most difficult schedule in the state. Yorktown and Cathedral were the only teams to win a set off HSE during the regular season, and Homestead was the lone team to go the distance, falling to the eventual champs, 3-2, in the regional championship.

"We differentiate our offense and everything so much and I think some people wouldn't like that because the stats don't show, but I wouldn't trade this team in the world," senior Lauren Harden said. "This team is one of the best (ever)."

Insider: Perfection was the expectation for Hamilton Southeastern. It still raised the bar.

But even amidst their run of dominance — they swept their first 10 matches — Young was preparing his team to face adversity, building a schedule and putting them in situations that would have them ready to respond when punched in the mouth.

They got a taste in regionals after dropping the opening set to Homestead, but Castle posed the ultimate test, forcing the Royals to grind out a laborious four-set victory.

"It speaks to the seniors, to them not willing to get beat, them not willing to go out the wrong way," Young said, referring to his seven seniors. "That second set was rough. We had multiple opportunities to close it out and we didn't. That could have been a moment we got ourselves in trouble, but these kids and this group of players did an unbelievable job rallying and then taking care of business in the third and fourth sets."

Saturday's finale followed an eerily similar script to last year's championship match between HSE and Yorktown, only with the Royals facing a potential turning point in the second set when Castle rallied from a three-point deficit at set point with a 5-0 run to even the match and seize all momentum.

Following a lackluster first set, the Knights' defense settled in and began causing problems for the Royals, who hit .188 with nine errors.

"Their block was really good," senior hitter Tiffany Snook said. "We haven't really played any teams with as good a block as they do and their defense was really good, too."

"Their defensive energy was really good," senior libero Sophie Ledbetter added. "They were just getting everything up and I think it was frustrating our hitters."

After grinding out a victory in the third set, the Royals staved off a couple mini-runs in the fourth before taking full control and putting together a dominant finish to both the match and their season, out-scoring Castle 11-5 over the final stretch, with senior Memphis commit Tiffany Snook throwing down the final kill.

Snook, who was particularly brilliant in the first set, finished with 14 kills, while teammate Breonna Goss (she was excellent over the final couple sets) added 13 and Harden tallied 13. Lindsay Mangelson led the way with 17 kills and 51 total attacks.

"Our middles (Snook and Goss) did an unbelievable job today," Young said. "Breonna has been spectacular all year. She's going to Duke for a reason, and when it came to crunch time, we could rely on her. And I thought Snook was unbelievable. She had some key kills for us, as well, and slammed the door shut on any comeback chance Castle had."

Senior Macy Hinshaw (38) and junior Ava Hunter (20) combined for 58 assists.

Ledbetter, a Ball State commit, logged a team-high 17 digs, pushing her over the 1,000-dig mark for her career. Hinshaw had 16 digs, and sophomore Maye McConnell and Harden both had 11. Kaylyn Christy finished with six digs.

In addition to Ledbetter, Hinshaw, Snook, Harden and Goss, the Royals will also graduate defensive specialist Madison Schicker and outside hitter Madison Evett.

"This group of seniors is a magical group," Young said. "I'm proud of them and what they've done for the program, how they've left it. It's a group of young ladies that I'm proud to have around my daughter. They're role models. It's a beautiful group and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to coach them."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA volleyball: Hamilton Southeastern goes out 'the right way'