VOLLEYBALL: Cripe headlines All-Loganland team
Dec. 24—It might not be her main sport, but Hailey Cripe excels in volleyball.
She was the first Indiana Junior All-Star from Pioneer last year after she had a match-high 21 kills in the four-game win over Loogootee in the state championship match.
The Panthers had a young team this year but they still had a good season, going 22-12 and winning the Hoosier North Athletic Conference championship with a 7-0 record.
Cripe led the Panthers in kills (321) and aces (58) and was second in digs (267). And she is the Pharos-Tribune's 2021 Loganland Player of the Year.
"I definitely think it was a good season for us," Cripe said. "It was kind of an eye opener to be able to see how other groups of girls were going to work with each other. It was really tough because when I was a junior last year with last year's senior class, those classes were really close together. So it took awhile for our class to try to build something with the younger classes. I think overall this season was the best it possibly could have been and I think that they will continue to get better the more that they play with each other."
Cripe's main sport is softball and she is set to be a shortstop at the University of Kansas. Her ability to play softball at an elite level is rare, but another thing that makes her so special as an athlete is her ability to play three sports. She became Pioneer's all-time leading scorer in girls basketball last week when she eclipsed a total of 1,413 career points.
She was instrumental in Pioneer completing the unprecedented Triple Crown of winning state championships in volleyball, girls basketball and softball last school year.
Pioneer volleyball coach Rod Nies talked about Cripe's ability as a three-sport athlete.
"I've been the varsity coach for 15 years, I've been coaching in the system for going on 18 now. And I've never had a player like her and probably will never have another player like her. It's just one of those deals where I truly believe she could go D-I in either one of those three sports," Nies said.
At 5-foot-6, Cripe would likely have to make adjustments in volleyball at the college level.
"Obviously for volleyball she would have to probably be a DS or libero," said Nies, "but with her work ethic and if she put the time into volleyball that she puts into softball or put the time in to basketball that she does for softball, nothing would shock me with that young lady. She is the real deal, super athletic, super competitive. Great kid, comes from a great family, hard working, hard nosed, she's a coach's dream player to coach, she really is. I can't say enough about her."
As a softball player would say, Cripe's favorite part about volleyball is hitting. While she is a good passer and could learn to set, her favorite spot is as an outside hitter, so a future as a setter or DS in volleyball is not in Cripe's plans.
"I particularly don't like those spots too much, so volleyball is definitely not the path for me," she said. "I would say it's definitely just a second or third sport. I wouldn't clearly put it as my third sport because I'm hit or miss with basketball and I was kind of hit or miss with volleyball. They're just two sports that I play and I don't think I play one better than the other.
"If I focused on my other sports as much as I focus on softball, or at least just one of them, I could definitely be a higher skill level player."
Cripe is a generational athlete at Pioneer and happens to be related to another generational athlete from Pioneer, Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser. Both are from Royal Center.
"My dad's side is related to Jack's side of the family," Cripe said. "Jack would be like my second or third cousin. It's not like directly related on the bloodline but we are related down our bloodline."
Cripe was the HNAC MVP this year and was named first-team all-state by the volleyball coaches.
She finishes her Pioneer fourth in career kills with 901. She added 946 digs, 134 aces, 110 assists and 60 blocks.
"I've had some pretty good players come through here these last few years and she definitely could hold her own," Nies said.
The following are capsules of the rest of the All-Loganland volleyball team:
Mackenzie Robinson, Pioneer
Robinson, a 5-4 senior, led the Panthers in digs (448) and was fourth in aces (30).
"She picked up in the footsteps of her big sister [Alexis]. She's a great little libero/DS," Nies said. "She worked hard. She would also warm up with Hailey Cripe and you've got to want to really work hard if you're going to work out and pepper with Hailey Cripe, because she's going to push you. I think that really helped Robinson develop over the last few years as a player and made her tougher mentally and physically. And it really paid off for her. She had a nice senior year. She's going to be greatly missed."
Mandee Weisenburger, Pioneer
The 5-9 junior was second on the Panthers in kills (193).
"I've got her back for another year," Nies said. "I'm pretty excited about this club season. She's going to play down at Boiler Juniors down in Lafayette. She made their 18U elite team so she's going to be playing a lot of volleyball this winter and in the spring until mid June is when nationals are. She's only going to get better and better with the quality touches she's going to see down at Boiler Juniors. She's going to be one I'm going to lean on heavily next year to help pick up the slack for Hailey Cripe."
Brooklyn Borges, Pioneer
Borges, a 6-foot sophomore, was third on the Panthers in kills (162) and second in blocks (35).
"I had the privilege of coaching her in club in the sixth grade," Nies said. "I think she was about as tall as she is now, she was just a little lanky and a little uncoordinated. She's starting to come into her own and blossom. She is another one of those club kids that I'm pretty excited to see what I get back next summer. She's going to go up and play for my nephew Will Robbins up at Empowered. If she's willing to work for it, Will's going to turn her into a beast. She's got a good work ethic. I'm going to lean really heavy on her next year as well to help pick up the slack for Hailey Cripe. With what I'm looking at on paper with this team, I think next year we could have a pretty good season and I definitely think we can make a serious run at a state championship next year. But our sectionals and regionals will be super competitive."
Mackenzie Rogers, Pioneer
The 5-10 sophomore led the Panthers in assists (456) and was second in aces (56), third in digs (208) and blocks (26) and fourth in kills (101).
"She is mentally about like Hailey Cripe. She wants to work hard and get better. She's super competitive," Nies said. "She comes from Northwestern. They primarily used her as a hitter. This year I used her as a setter. She's going to be a great player for me. I truly believe that Borges and Rogers both could be D-I players if they put forth the effort and work hard at this. They definitely have the ability to do it and the mindset to do it. Rogers is going up to Empowered as well and is going to play for Will and she made their 16U elite team. So she's going to get lots of touches. She quit basketball so she can be on this team.
"She's super athletic. She kind of reminds build-wise of Olivia Brooke and nothing but great things came from Olivia Brooke so I'm expecting kind of the same thing from Mackenzie. She's another one I can't wait to see what I get back from after the club season. She's going to be a completely different player I hope."
Maddi Smith, Caston
Smith helped lead Caston to the best season in program history. The Comets went 21-11 and 6-1 in HNAC play. The ended the regular season with an 11-match winning streak. They posted their first winning season since 1992.
The 5-10 senior led the Comets in kills (335) and digs (360) and was second in aces (48).
"She was one of our strong leaders and has really worked to not only make herself better but make all her teammates better as well," Caston coach Melinda Shultz said.
Isabel Scales, Caston
The 5-8 sophomore led the Comets in aces (59) and was second in kills (195) and third in digs (323).
"Isabel Scales started off last year with a lot of athletic talent but has really worked to build her volleyball skills," Shultz said. "She went back and forth between middle blocker and outside hitter for us, but most often played outside opposite of Maddi Smith. This year she really worked on building her passing and hitting skills and proved to be a valuable asset to our team.
"These girls helped get us to the most wins in Caston volleyball history and have made us a competitive force."
Shultz recently resigned from her coaching post.
"In all, I've coached for 20 years at various levels and I'm hoping our winning record will attract a new coach who has more time to devote to continuing to build the program from youth to varsity," Shultz said.
Kendal Johnson, Cass
The 6-foot senior led the Kings in kills (234) and blocks (27) and was second in assists (232) and aces (40).
"Kendal is one of those lead-by-example players," Cass coach Katie Easter said. "She really grew into the leader we needed her to be this year. She's a beast at the net and a sweetheart off the court."
Cana Jones, Cass
The Kings' senior libero led them in digs (303) and was third aces (37).
"Cana was one of the hardest workers in the gym every day," Easter said. "When I came to Cass her sophomore until her senior year she proved every day she has what it takes to work hard and be a leader. She's a friend to all and such a great servant leader."
Easter added Jones and Johnson will be missed.
"They both have such bright futures and I wish I could keep them for many more years," she said.
Alyssa Villanueva, Winamac
Villanueva, a 5-8 senior middle hitter, led the Warriors in kills (168) and digs (186) and was second in blocks (23) and aces (26).
"She was my most consistent all-around player," Winamac coach Heather Kasten said. "Highly competitive, she pushed herself and her teammates to be their best. She's smart and consistent, definitely the one that would surprise you when she made a mistake because she was that consistent. She never did the big flashy things but did all the little things offensively and defensively that made the plays work."
2021 All-Loganland Volleyball
First team
Brooklyn Borges, Pioneer
Hailey Cripe, Pioneer
Kendal Johnson, Cass
Cana Jones, Cass
Mackenzie Robinson, Pioneer
Mackenzie Rogers, Pioneer
Isabel Scales, Caston
Maddi Smith, Caston
Alyssa Villanueva, Winamac
Mandee Weisenburger, Pioneer
Honorable mention: Cass — Maci Garland; Caston — Abby Williamson, Addison Zimpleman; Logansport — Ambria Gittings; Pioneer — Emma Novaski; Winamac — Kaya Campbell.
