Wes-Del picked up four consecutive wins to claim the crown at the Noblesville Invitational volleyball tournament on Saturday. It picked up wins against Plainfield, Frankfort and Huntington North to advance to the title game, then defeated Jay County 25-19, 25-15 to win the title.

“It’s a good day, because if we come out on top, it means that we’ve managed ourselves well through the day,” Wes-Del coach Biff Wilson said.

Alysa Sutton showcased her versatility for the Warriors (ranked No. 1 in Class A coaches poll and No. 3 in media poll), finishing the day with 37 kills, 18 aces and 29 digs.

“When she’s solid and everybody else is solid, we have the potential to be a really good team,” Wilson said. “And today we saw that.”

Chloe Kinsey had a team-high 39 digs for the Warriors, and teammate Kristen Lansing had 20 digs. Perrie Smalley and Megan Clark each had 16 kills for the day.

• Eagles pull through: Delta went undefeated at the invitational it hosted, grabbing wins against Fairfield, Fort Wayne Dwenger, LaPorte and Fort Wayne Snider. Audrey Woodin had a team-high 32 kills for the Eagles, and Teaghan Dishman had 45 digs for Delta (No. 1 Class 3A coaches poll, No. 2 media poll). The Eagles’ Kaylee Nichols had 31 kills and 21 digs.

• New Castle Invitational: New Castle went 2-1 in the tournament it hosted, defeating Pike and Penn before falling to Roncalli. Payton Anderson had 35 kills and 18 digs for the Trojans on the day. Brianna Heffernan had 36 digs.

Central finished third in the tournament, losing to Roncalli, beating Bellmont and stopping Penn. E’Laisah Young had 25 kills for the Bearcats, and Micah Leavell had 22.

VOLLEYBALL

Yorktown went 4-0 Saturday at the Delta Extravaganza, defeating Fairfield, Fort Wayne Snider, LaPorte and Bishop Dwenger. Carson Malapit and Karli Acree led the Tigers with 26 kills each.

GIRLS GOLF

Central finished fifth Saturday at the North Central Conference Tournament shooting 388. Lafayette Jeff won the event. Kacie Johnson earned all-conference honors after shooting a 93.

New Castle’s volleyball team won the nine-team Warren Central Invitational with a perfect record on Saturday.

New Castle defeated Lebanon 25-13, 25-27, Lawrence North 20-25, 25-22, 18-16, New Palestine 25-22, 25-20 and Hamilton Southeastern 20-25, 25-20, 15-9.

Payton Anderson had 60 kills for the day to lead the Trojans. Brianna Heffernan had 62 digs, and Kiley Lingenfelter had 97 assists.

• Wapahani wins: Class 3A No. 8 Wapahani defeated a persistent Class 2A No. 9 Southwood in five sets 23-25, 25-12, 15-25, 25-18, 15-11. Addie Reynolds led the Raiders with 16 kills. Skyler Van Note added 10 kills, and also had six blocks. Courtlinn Boggs served four aces for the Raiders. Hannah Smith had 24 digs.

• Burris breaks even: Burris went 2-2 at the Ben Davis Invitational. The Owls fought hard in their second match against East Central, but fell 25-20, 25-21. Burris came back to win against Jay County 25-12, 25-13, and Batesville 25-16, 25-19. Anna Bilello and Abby Ludwick each totaled 17 kills, with Ludwick adding 19 kills and Bilello posting 17 digs. Taylor Jackson served four aces. Isabel Gothard had 38 digs for the day.

• Cowan falls to Union County: Down two of its top players, the Blackhawks couldn’t stay close with the Patriots, falling 25-18, 25-18, 25-13. Diana Campbell had eight kills and three aces, while McKenzie Howell had five kills and 15 assists, but Cowan (10-5) couldn’t overcome the absence of middle hitter Mahalia Flick and setter Abby Huff.

Both missed the match with ankle injuries and though Cowan coach Pancho Alvarez said it probably didn’t affect the outcome, it did make and impact.

“Even with our two, it would have been a challenge,” Alvarez said. “They have a couple good middles. Their setter is very experienced.

“It made a difference in how competitive we were.”

Yorktown knocked off Class A No. 1 Wes-Del in straight sets Monday night, but Tigers coach Stephanie Bloom cautioned her players not to put too much stock in the volleyball victory with another match against the Warriors looming next week.

The Tigers, ranked No. 10 by the coaches association in its Class 4A poll this week, won 25-22, 25-20, 25-10 at home.

“Anytime you play somebody in the county you want to win and make a statement,” Bloom said of the victory. “I told my kids I was proud, but I want us to keep our heads in the right place.

“This is not an indication of what could happen in the county tournament. Mentally, we need to stay where we are.”

Yorktown and Wes-Del will play again on Oct. 2 in the first round of the Delaware County Tournament.

“We just didn’t play well, and they played very well; they’re a very good team,” Wes-Del coach Biff Wilson said. “We hope we learned something from this, and I guess we’ll find out in 10 days.”

Carson Malapit led the Tigers (14-4) with 10 kills. Kendall Murr had 13 digs.

Alysa Sutton had 10 kills and 10 digs for the Warriors (16-2). Chloe Kinsey had 15 digs.

• Cowan wins: The Blackhawks topped Liberty Christian 25-22, 25-7, 25-10 at home.

McKenzie Howell had 11 kills and four blocks for Cowan (11-5). Valorie Flick had 26 digs.

• Daleville falls: Alexandria rallied to win the final two sets and defeat the Broncos in five sets.

Hannah Huff had 17 kills, Lindsay Ingenito had 11 and Breanna Townsend 10 for Daleville. Hannah McKinney had 20 digs, and Erin Allen had 37 assists.

• Polls: Wes-Del maintained its No. 1 ranking in the coaches’ Class A poll this week after it defeated Class 3A No. 1 Delta last week.

Delta also remained No. 1 despite the loss. The Eagles dropped to No. 2, however, in the state media poll after tying for first last week with Brebeuf.

VOLLEYBALL

Wapahani defeated Blackford in straight sets, 25-11, 25-16, 25-13. Addie Reynolds led the team with 12 kills. Katie Foster served four aces and Shayna Webb added three aces.

New Castle improved to 5-0 in Hoosier Heritage Conference play by rallying to beat Pendleton Heights in the final two sets of a five-set match. Payton Anderson had 33 kills for the Trojans, and Kiley Lingenfelter had 55 assists.

Monroe Central defeated a tough Liberty Christian in five sets, 26-24, 24-26, 25-17, 26-28, 15-9. Katarina DiBiasio led the Golden Bears with 27 kills. She also had 21 digs. Zoee Kear added 18 digs. Olivia Smithson served 8 aces.

Winchester fell 25-9, 25-8, 25-12 to Connersville. Leah Malkey led the Falcons with three kills.

Heritage Hall swept Indiana Christian Academy 25-13, 25-21, 25-13. Hannah Johnson led the Patriots with 15 kills, and Carly Shaver had eight digs.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

Monroe Central defeated Cowan, Burris and Wes-Del with a score of 33. Jordan Grant placed second overall at 17:52. Fred Wilson follwed in third at 18:10.

Blue River placed 11th at the Connersville Invitational. Josh Berry finished 16th for the Vikings at 18:27. Zack Barkdull followed close behind coming in 21st.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

Monroe Central won against Cowan, Burris and Wes-Del with a score of 25. Aubrey Norris placed first overall with a time of 21:18. Abrea Gaddis came in third with 23:02.

Blue River finished 11th at the Connersville Invitational. Logan McRoberts led the team coming in 34th at 23:35.

BOYS SOCCER

Blackford picked up its first victory of the season 3-1 against Wapahani. Austin Moorman, Brodie Barnes and Zach Willman all scored for the Bruins (1-8).

Heritage Hall kept its record unblemished with a 15-0 win against Indiana Christian Academy. Brayden Karnes led the Patriots with five goals and Skyler Posey added three with four assists.

GIRLS SOCCER

Jay County topped Delta 5-0. Gabbie Mann led the way with three goals and two assists, while Catherine Dunn added the other two.

Yorktown defeated Wapahani 6-0. Katie Nixon led the Tigers with two goals. Lizzie Smith had two assists. Michelle Bess had one save to secure the shutout.

BOYS TENNIS

No. 9 Delta lost just one game in beating Jay County 5-0. No. 1 singles players Joe Wegener and No. 2 Alec Robillard, No. 1 doubles Jay Robillard and Nick Wilson and No. 2 doubles Matt Hapner and Nick Bantz all won 6-0, 6-0.

Alexandria defeated Blackford 5-0. No. 1 doubles team Stephen McGahey and Blake Thiery played hard in their first set, but fell in a tiebreaker 7-6.

Jay County beat Blackford 3-2 on Monday. The doubles teams of Stephen McGahey/Blake Thiery and Zach Tarr/Kerigan Reynard earned points.

MUNCIE – Delta’s volleyball team has played four five-set matches this season. Central coach Wes Lyon said he got the sense Delta wasn’t interested in playing a fifth such match on Tuesday night.

After a tight first two sets, Delta pulled away in the third set en route to a 25-21, 26-24, 25-16 sweep against Central at Delta. The Class 3A No. 1 Eagles (19-2) scored the first six points of the third set and 10 of the first 12. The Class 3A No. 4 Bearcats (8-7) mounted a late rally, but never fully recovered.

“The first four or five points were our problems,” Lyon said. “I thought the next 10 were just, they were on fire. And they’re a good team, their left sides just swing away. It’s fun watching them.”

Delta’s third-set lead reached 22-10 before Central scored six points in a row to make one last push. But the cushion the Eagles established early meant the Bearcats never got closer than six points.

“It was great, we focused really well,” Delta coach Heidi Zickgraf said of her team’s early lead in the third set. “Especially after them maybe coming back a little bit in Game 2, to come back and refocus like that, it says a lot about my young team.”

Zickgraf said closing out wins has a been a problem for her team at times this season.

“It’s really all with focus,” Zickgraf said. “Sometimes we don’t come out in matches focused, it’s all different times. Focus is just a big key for us.”

After being tied at 15 in the first set, Delta scored the next three points and held a slim lead the rest of the way to claim the set. Central held leads of 23-21 and 24-22 in the second set, but Delta then scored four straight points to take that one as well.

“We really competed, I thought we were right there both sets,” Lyon said. “We got to 20 points or so there, and just couldn’t win. We made a couple errors, they made a couple great plays.”

Audrey Woodin led Delta’s offensive charge with 16 kills. Libero Teaghan Dishman had 22 digs to lead Delta defensively, and teammate Gabby Zgunda had 16 digs.

Delta’s Audrey Woodin gets props from teammates Rebecka Vannatta (middle) and Allyson Buckner. Delta beat Central in three sets Tuesday night at Delta.

Central’s offense was led by Micah Leavell, who finished with 10 kills. Nikki Marshall had 13 digs for the Bearcats.

Delta and Central are both in the Delta Sectional, which also includes Wapahani, Blackford and Hamilton Heights.

“We’re going to see that team again, I would assume, here in the next month or so,” Zickgraf said. “Our schedule just heats up here in the next couple of weeks. So, to kind of see them and see that we can handle that, that’s a good test for my team.”

Central was playing without Kinkaid Padgett and Alexis Wright. Lyon said the two players are in the midst of a suspension and are expected to be back on the court next week.

Contact prep sports reporter Sam Wilson at (765) 213-5807. Follow him on Twitter @SamWilsonTSP.

Delta star Teaghan Dishman gets low for this shot. Delta beat Central in three sets Tuesday night at Delta.

VOLLEYBALL

Class 4A No. 10 Yorktown recovered after the first set to defeat Cowan 22-25, 25-13, 25-18, 25-22. Kendall Murr and Karli Acree each had double-doubles for the Tigers, with Murr logging 12 kills and 15 digs while Acree tallied 11 kills and 11 digs. Carson Malapit had a team-leading 16 kills, and Kate Avila had 15 digs to tie Murr for the team lead. Yorktown setter MiMi Arrington had 44 assists, 10 digs and a team-leading 1 ½ blocks. Cowan’s Valorie Flick had 29 digs, and teammate Abby Huff had 27 assists and 15 digs.

Class A No. 1 Wes-Del swept Frankton 25-19, 25-14, 25-9. Alysa Sutton had a team-leading 15 kills and Chloe Kinsey led the Warriors ith 16 digs. Kennedy Petro had 30 assists, and also had one block to lead Wes-Del in that category.

Burris fell to Westfield in four sets 25-12, 16-25, 25-14, 25-17. Alyssa Peters had 10 kills for the Owls, and Isabel Gothard had 14 digs. Emily Brinkman had 35 assists and 11 digs.

Daleville pushed it all the way to the end, but ultimately fell 25-19, 14-25, 25-13, 23-25, 15-11 to Shenandoah. Lindsay Ingenito had 18 kills, while Hannah Huff added 10 and seven blocks for the Broncos (3-9).

BOYS SOCCER

Burris defeated Centerville 5-2. Caelum Mroczek and Max Alvarado each scored two goals for the Owls, and Nate Grzesiek also scored a goal for Burris.

GIRLS SOCCER

Blackford picked up a 6-0 win against Peru on Tuesday. Allie Jennerjahn had two goals and an assist for the Bruins. Mallory Norris scored two goals, and Lauren Godfrey had the shutout in goal.

SELMA – Delta and Yorktown picked up wins in the semifinals of the Delaware County volleyball tournament on Saturday, setting up a matchup of the two arch-rivals in the tournament championship match. The Tigers and Eagles will square off at 7 p.m. Saturday at Wapahani, where each turned in semifinal wins earlier in the day.

Delta survived a four-set thriller, defeating Cowan 22-25, 25-16, 28-26, 25-22 to earn its place in the championship match.

“I talked to my team and right now we’re going to get everybody’s best,” Delta coach Heidi Zickgraf said. “And I believe we got Cowan’s best. They came after us, just like I told them that they would.”

Delta utilized a balanced offensive attack in its win. Audrey Woodin led the Eagles with 20 kills, but four other players recorded at least five. Allyson Buckner had 11 kills and Camryn Campbell logged 10. Kaylee Nichols netted seven kills and Rebecka Vannatta added five.

Teaghan Dishman led Delta defensively with 24 digs, and setter Kelsee Roe added 17 digs.

Mackenzie Howell guided Cowan’s offense with nine kills, and teammate Valorie Flick had 26 digs.

Yorktown picked up a 25-18, 25-8, 25-16 victory against Daleville in Saturday’s first semifinal.

The Broncos were competitive at times, but the Tigers always seemed to have an answer. Yorktown maintained a moderate lead in the first set, then used dominant stretches to build bigger advantages in the second and third sets.

“They showed glimpses of good focus and just a desire to get there,” Yorktown coach Stephanie Bloom said. “We talked about, ‘You don’t play in the championship unless you win the semifinals, so I really wanted to see us stay focused and win out.”

Karli Acree and Kendall Murr tied for Yorktown’s team lead with seven kills. Kate Avila led the Tigers with 12 digs.

Lindsay Ingenito led Daleville with seven kills, and the Broncos’ Zannah Weber had seven digs.

BOYS SOCCER

Burris finished its regular season with a 10-0 victory over Wapahani. Gabe Coleman had three goals for the Owls. Akrem Ahmed and Max Alvarado each added two goals. Caelum Mroczek had two assists for the team. Austin Applegate had three saves in goal.

GIRLS SOCCER

Burris defeated Wapahani 3-0. Bailey Windell had two goals for the Owls. Taylor Hunt was in goal for the team with four saves.

VOLLEYBALL

New Castle defeated Burris 25-19, 21-25, 25-15, 25-17. Peyton Anderson led the team with 22 kills. She added six aces. Brianna Heffernan had 32 digs. Anna Bilello led Burris with 17 kills. Isabel Gothard had 21 digs for the Owls. Emily Brinkman added 18 digs.

Jay County was undefeated at the Patriot Invitational at home. The Patriots defeated Frankton 25-12, 25-19; Carroll 25-11, 25-15; Union City 25-8, 25-13. Abby Barcus led the Patriots with 31 kills.

BOYS CROSS COUNTRY

Winchester placed fourth at the Tri-Eastern Conference meet with a score of 103. Randy Beer led the Golden Falcons coming in 11th. Jamesin Parker followed close behind coming in 12th.

GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY

Delta, New Castle and Yorktown all competed in the Hoosier Heritage Conference. Yorktown placed third with 81 points, New Castle took fifth with 144 and Delta came in seventh with 162. Madeline Aul placed sixth for the Tigers. Alaina Murali led New Castle coming in 16th. Brandy Tuttle placed 23rd for the Eagles.

Winchester competed in the Tri-Eastern Conference. They fielded an incomplete team. Kelly Graft led the team finishing 11th in the race. Sophia Wickersham followed, placing 12th.

SELMA – Carson Malapit was a freshman the last time Yorktown won a Delaware County volleyball title. She was a junior varsity player at the time, and despite not being on the top team, she remembers just how exciting it was for the entire program when her older teammates brought home the title.

Malapit got to experience that joy on a different level Saturday. She had 11 kills to help her team to a 25-20, 25-18, 25-20 win against Delta at Wapahani in the Delaware County Tournament championship match, bringing the Tigers their first crown since 2011.

“Even on JV, the energy of winning a county championship, just being a part of Yorktown volleyball was a great feeling,” Malapit said. “So you can imagine this is unbelievable.”

Yorktown won three titles in a row from 2009-11, but Wapahani broke up the streak by winning the next two. Malapit and Karli Acree, who was a little-used varsity player on the 2011 team, are the only two seniors on the 2014 roster, so most of the current roster was not part of the Tiger team that last won a county crown.

“It’s really fun,” Yorktown coach Stephanie Bloom said. “It’s just so neat to see their hard work pay off. And they just played great tonight, they’ve been really working hard, I knew that they really wanted this. And so to get to watch them win this, it was just neat for me to see.”

The Class 4A No. 9 Tigers (22-5) achieved their goal by executing their game plan and playing a match that fit their style. They utilized a defensive-minded strategy to slow down Delta’s multi-faceted offense, holding the Eagles (Class 3A No. 1 media poll/No. 2 coaches poll, 23-3) to 26 total kills. No Delta player had more than seven kills for the match.

“The thing we said before we started was they were going to spread out their offense,” Bloom said. “Obviously (Audrey Woodin) is a big hitter for them, but we talked about ‘Defense is always going to win out in the end.’ And so we can’t key in on one person, we’ve got to be ready for everybody.”

Bloom has long been known to emphasize defense. Malapit remembers defense being the focal point when she was a freshman in 2011, even with the presence of a powerful hitter like Emily Wolfert, who stands at 6-foot-2 and now plays outside hitter for Hillsdale College.

Yorktown’s Carson Malapit hits against Delta during their game at Wapahani High School Saturday evening. Yorktown defeated Delta 3-0.

This year’s team seems to be better suited for Bloom’s system. Acree is 5-9 and Malapit is 5-8, and they are counted on to provide much of the Tigers’ production in the front row. The Tigers do not have a large complement of tall hitters to utilize an offensive-based approach. Instead, Bloom’s strategy seems to fit well.

“It’s definitely a little bit of a challenge being a smaller team,” Malapit said. “But I think our defense makes up for that.”

Kendall Murr paced the Tigers defensively on Saturday night, finishing with 16 digs. Kate Avila provided nine digs. Acree guided the offense with 15 kills.

Woodin and Kaylee Nichols each netted seven kills for Delta. Teaghan Dishman had 10 digs for the Eagles and Gabby Zgunda added nine digs.

Delta jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first set Saturday, prompting Yorktown to take a timeout. The Tigers were quickly able to recover, using a run to tie the set at 9, then moved on to a sweep in which they led throughout the later portion of every set.

Yorktown will host Delta on Oct. 11, with the rematch potentially being a key match in the Hoosier Heritage Conference race.

Streaking winners

Champions from the past six Delaware County volleyball tourneys:

• 2014 – Yorktown

• 2013 – Wapahani

• 2012 – Wapahani

• 2011 – Yorktown

• 2010 – Yorktown

• 2009 – Yorktown

Yorktown’s Carson Malapit and Rhyen Neal jump for a block against Delta in Saturday’s Delaware County volleyball tournament title match at Wapahani.

FOOTBALL

Tickets for Central’s home sectional playoff game against New Palestine on Friday will be on sale for $6 at the gate. Season passes and all-sport passes are not valid for tournament games.

VOLLEYBALL

New Castle was eliminated from the Class 4A Greenfield-Central Sectional in the first round. Mount Vernon defeate the Trojans 21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 15-13. Payton Anderson led the Trojans with 26 kills and six aces. Kiley Lingenfelter added four aces. Brianna Hefernan led the defensive effort with 35 digs.

A matchup between two top-five teams highlights the slate as the IHSAA sectional volleyball tournament begins in earnest for East Central Indiana teams on Thursday.

Delta and Central will meet at 6 p.m. in the Class 3A Delta Sectional. The Eagles are ranked No. 3 in the class and the Bearcats check in at No. 5. The match is the only one to be played in that sectional’s opening round.

Class A No. 1 Wes-Del will begin its quest for a state title on Thursday as well. It will face Daleville at 6 p.m. in the opening round of the Class A Cowan Sectional, as coach Biff Wilson and his team seek the Warriors’ second state title in school history and first since 2011. It will be one of two Thursday matches at Cowan, with Cowan and Monroe Central facing off after the Warriors and Broncos. Cowan is receiving votes in the Class A poll.

Blue River will also play a Class A sectional match Thursday, taking on Seton Catholic at 7:15 p.m. at the Randolph Southern Sectional.

Class 4A No. 8 Yorktown will face Pendleton Heights at 6 p.m. Thursday in the Greenfield-Central Sectional, while Jay County will take on Homestead in the Class 4A Fort Wayne South Side Sectional at the same time.

Winchester will face Frankton in the opening round of the Class 2A Winchester Sectional at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Thursday’s ECI Sectional Volleyball Matchups

Class 4A Fort Wayne South Side Sectional

• Homestead vs. Jay County, 6 p.m.

Class 4A Greenfield-Central Sectional

• Pendleton Heights vs. Yorktown, 6 p.m.

Class 3A Delta Sectional

• Central vs. Delta, 6 p.m.

Class 2A Winchester Sectional

• Winchester vs. Frankton, 7 p.m.

Class A Cowan Sectional

• Wes-Del vs. Daleville, 6 p.m.

• Cowan vs. Monroe Central, 7:30 p.m.

Class A Randolph Southern Sectional

• Blue River vs. Seton Catholic, 7:15 p.m.

COWAN – Wes-Del volleyball coach Biff Wilson came away from Thursday with a certain kind of frankness.

Yes, his Class A No. 1 Warriors opened the Cowan Sectional with a win. Yes, it came via a 25-17, 25-20, 25-14 sweep against county rival Daleville.

But the match had the sense of just not being that clean.

“Honestly, I don’t really feel like either team played really well,” said Wilson, whose team is 29-3. “You’re happy with the win and you’re happy you beat a team as good as Daleville is. You just move on.”

Cowan swept Monroe Central in the night’s second match to secure its own semifinal spot.

The Warriors only had a 15-12 lead midway through the first set and 17-15 later in the second. Finally in the third, they locked in and opened up some withering firepower, racing out to an 18-4 lead before the Broncos (12-15) made a short-lived late push.

“Our passing needed to improve,” said senior Wes-Del Setter Kennedy Petro, who assisted 25 of her team’s 27 kills. “By the third set, it had picked up a bunch and we were ready to play.

“You’re going to have games that you’re not playing 100 percent, but we have to gut through and you have to find ways to get around it.”

Wilson added his team grew more aggressive defensively early in that third set, feeding offense that forced Daleville errors.

The Broncos were led by Lindsay Ingenito (eight kills) and Hannah McKinney (11 digs) and ended its season almost as it began. Back in August, the Broncos were swept by a total of 10 points, 14 fewer than Thursday night.

“No fear, that was kind of what we wanted to do,” Daleville coach Beth Etchison said. “We knew we could compete with them, they’re just strong all the way around.”

The match ended on a Wes-Del ace from Alysa Sutton (10 kills, three aces), which just barely landed within the sideline. She gave almost a sheepish grin to the bench as the refs made the call, all but saying she didn’t mean to put it there, but it worked out.

As for her coach, who led the Warriors to a state title in 2011, he was just pleased to keep the season going.

“It starts out hard, and it just gets harder every step of the way,” Wilson said. “You hope that everybody’s now in the right mentality and we can move forward.”

Cowan advances

Cowan punched its ticket for a rematch with the Warriors by sweeping Monroe Central 25-14, 25-20, 25-20. But Blackhawks coach Pancho Alvarez was stressed throughout, as Cowan (19-12) let a six-point lead slip one late in the second set and the Golden Bears actually led as late as 17-16 in Set 3.

Diana Campbell helped power the Blackhawks with 12 kills, while Makenzie Howell added six. Katarina DiBiasio did just about everything she could to keep Monroe Central (19-13) in it with 17 kills and seven aces.

Now the win means a third chance for Cowan against the No. 1 team in Class A.

“That’s been the whole focus since the Class A Showdown,” Alvarez said. “We’re going to have to pass a whole lot better. Biff is just as smart as everybody else. Keep the ball away from (Valorie Flick) and you can win.

“They’re the best team, certainly in this sectional. There’s no doubt about that. They’re maybe the best team in the northern half of the state. So the opportunity is what we’re looking forward to.”

Kennedy Petro

Diana Campbell

MUNCIE – Allyson Young was going for the ace. The Central senior outside hitter knew her team had just one chance at match point Thursday against Delta, and she wanted to capitalize on it. Young got she wanted.

She watched as the ball she served up hit the floor, then celebrated a 25-22, 25-18, 21-25, 25-23 volleyball victory against Delta in the first round of the Class 3A Delta Sectional.

“Oh my gosh, as soon as they called it in, emotions just went crazy,” Young said. “I knew that I had got it for my team and for myself and it was just a great, great feeling.”

The matchup pitted two top-five teams against each other, with Delta (27-6) ranked No. 3 in the class and Central (24-8) ranked fifth, and it was the fifth-ranked squad that was able to advance to Saturday.

Central coach Wes Lyon said his team spent considerable time working on blocking in preparation for the Delta matchup. The work didn’t show up on the stat sheet, with the Bearcats logging four total blocks (led by E’Laisah Young with 1 ½), but Central’s blocking did seem to slow down Delta’s offensive attack. Lyon said he had seen flashes of his team’s blocking prowess this season, but said Thursday was the first time he saw that performance throughout a match.

“We worked all week on getting in front of (Audrey) Woodin and (Kaylee) Nichols,” Lyon said. “And I thought we did a much better job than the last time and really blocked awfully well. I thought our middles got outside of the pin all the time. To control those guys at all is a victory.”

Delta coach Heidi Zickgraf said blocking wasn’t the area that stuck out to her in the defeat. Instead, she credited the Bearcats’ ball-control.

“Their ball-control was much, much better than ours,” Zickgraf said. “So I think that was the difference, was ball-control.”

Central led for the vast majority of the first and second sets, with Delta holding a few one-point edges early in the second set. The Bearcats put themselves in a position for the sweep, but the Eagles took the third set to ensure things would get more complicated.

The Bearcats then led 21-11 in the fourth set, but a 10-point Eagle run the tied the set, giving the Bearcats a narrow margin for error as they attempted to close out the match. As Central continues its tournament run, Lyon said working on closing out matches will be a priority.

“We’ve still got to figure that out,” Lyon said. “It’s a youth thing. It’s a pressure thing. And I was just telling them, ‘Delta’s not going to quit.’ And they proved that. They’re a veteran team, they understand the game. So we have to learn to just be able to put the game away when it counts. But the fact that we recovered was great.”

Micah Leavell led Central offensively with 21 kills, and E’Laisah Young had 19 kills. Nikki Marshall had 18 digs from the libero position for the Bearcats.

Camryn Campbell led Delta’s offense with 13 kills. Teaghan Dishman and Nichols each had 16 digs.

With the victory, Central advances to play Blackford at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. Wapahani and Hamilton Heights will meet at 11 a.m. Saturday in the sectional’s other semifinal, with the championship match at 7 p.m.

Contact prep sports reporter Sam Wilson at (765) 213-5807. Follow him on Twitter @SamWilsonTSP.

Central’s Allyson Young hits against Delta during their match Thursday.

VOLLEYBALL

Heritage Hall won three matches in pool play and advanced to the semifinals of the Indiana Association of Christian Schools state tournament at the Munciana Facility. The Patriots beat Indiana Christian Academy 25-10, 25-19, Suburban 25-8, 25-22 and Tabernacle 25-14, 25-10. Hannah Johnson had 31 kills in the three matches, Carly Shaver had 32 digs and 10 aces, and Lyndsey Eddleman had 52 assists. Heritage Hall will play Community of South Bend in a semifinal Saturday.

BOYS SOCCER

Heritage Hall advanced to the Indiana Association of Christian Schools state championship game by beating Crosspointe Christian 2-1 in the semifinals. Brandt Karnes had a goal and assist for the Patriots, and Brayden Karnes had a goal.

COWAN For the Wes-Del volleyball team, it’s important Perrie Smalley gets set properly. Smalley has the ability to jump high, and the ball needs to reach high enough to match her vertical leap. That didn’t seem to be a problem Saturday.

Smalley had 15 total kills for the day to help her team to a sectional championship. Class A No. 1 Wes-Del defeated Liberty Christian 25-13, 25-12, 25-16 in the championship match of the Cowan Sectional.

“A sectional win is always big,” Wes-Del coach Biff Wilson said. “It’s our goal. We just move forward from there. It’s a big deal. It means we’ve accomplished our initial goal.”

Earlier Saturday, Wes-Del defeated Cowan 25-20, 23-25, 25-17, 25-12 in the semifinals.

Smalley had eight kills in the semifinal victory, then added seven more in the championship match.

“We’ve practiced a lot, because we have a few girls who can jump pretty high,” Smalley said after the Cowan match. “And we have to adjust our sets to some of the girls who can get up there. And it’s just a different kind of thing for each hitter.”

Alysa Sutton led the way for Wes-Del offensively for the day, totaling 24 kills in the two matches. She is the unquestioned No. 1 option for the Warriors, but they were also able to keep other hitters like Smalley active on Saturday. Mariah Berry had 12 total kills for the day and Megan Clark had 10.

“The girls get excited when those other hitters get the big kills,” Wilson said after the Cowan match. “Mariah Berry is big. When she’s hitting balls well, she hits as well as anybody on the team. And it excites the girls. You expect a lot of those big shots out of Alysa.

“…So when other girls get those too, it really excites them. And I think it gives them confidence that we’re more than just one hitter.”

Chloe Kinsey led Wes-Del’s back row with 27 digs for the day, including 21 in the semifinal match against Cowan.

Central, Wapahani advance

Class 3A No. 5 Central defeated Blackford 25-7, 25-5, 25-10 in the semifinals of the Class 3A Delta Sectional. Class 3A No. 10 Wapahani defeated Hamilton Heights earlier Saturday, so the Bearcats and Raiders will meet in the sectional championship match at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Yorktown also a winner

Class 4A No. 8 Yorktown swept Greenfield-Central 25-23, 25-16, 25-23 in the Class 4A Greenfield-Central Sectional semifinals on Saturday.

The Tigers utilized a balanced approach, with only one player logging double-digit kills and no player finishing with double-digit digs. Karli Acree had 11 kills, and libero Kate Avila had eight digs.

With the victory, Yorktown will face Mt. Vernon in the sectional championship match at 7 p.m. Saturday. Mt. Vernon defeated Richmond earlier Saturday.

Burris to play tonight

Burris defeated Frankton on Saturday and will play in the championship match of the Class 2A Winchester Sectional at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Burris will face Shenandoah in the title match, as Shenandoah defeated Lapel in the sectional’s other semifinal Saturday.

Union advances

Union swept Tri 25-16, 25-16, 25-12 in the semifinals of the Class A Randolph Southern Sectional. Union will face Seton Catholic at 7 p.m. Saturday in the championship match. Seton Catholic swept Union City earlier Saturday.

Perrie Smalley

MUNCIE – Coach Wes Lyon said he had been thinking the Central volleyball team was capable of winning a sectional title for about a month. He saw his youthful team playing well at the tournament it was hosting, and things seemed to be coming together. A more purposeful approach followed, and the sectional title came to fruition on Saturday.

No. 5 Central defeated No. 10 Wapahani 25-11, 25-21, 26-28, 25-22 on Saturday in the championship match of the Class 3A Delta Sectional.

“We’re a lot more focused and our sense of purpose is greater for longer periods of time,” Lyon said.

Saturday’s win appeared that it might come easily for the Bearcats. Central dominated the first set, then led throughout the back half of the second set, though never by the resounding advantages it had in the first.

But Central has struggled to close out recent matches, and Saturday proved to be no exception. The Bearcats had three chances at match point in the third set, but couldn’t convert any of them.

Wapahani then took the set 28-26 to avoid the sweep. The fourth set was also dramatic, with Wapahani leading as late as 21-20. But Central was able to score five of the next six points and prevent a fifth set. Lyon said improving his team’s ability to close out matches remains a point of emphasis.

“I told them, ‘We’ve got to work on closing games,'” Lyon said. “I’m just as proud, though, that we didn’t collapse. We kept fighting and we earned a victory tonight. We did the same thing (Thursday) against Delta, so there’s something to be said for being able to still compete when you’re kind of having some problems.”

Central’s Micah Leavell hits against Wapahani during their game at Delta High School Saturday.

Micah Leavell led the charge for Central offensively, finishing with 17 kills. Several of her kills came at crucial points in the fourth set.

“She certainly was a dominating player,” Lyon said. “She’s learned to hit the cutback shot. Her blocking can be as good as anybody’s. And she’s growing up. That’s been the big thing, she’s learned to compete better for longer stretches.”

Alexis Wright had 16 kills to follow close behind Leavell. Libero Nikki Marshall led Central’s back-row effort with 15 digs.

Addie Reynolds shouldered a lot of the workload for Wapahani, producing 23 kills and 17 digs.

“That was huge for us,” Wapahani coach Jared Richardson said. “And I think she really stepped up and started helping blocking on their middles, which she knew she had to do. And she did everything she could on her part, and like I said, she played amazing today.”

Central and Wapahani advanced to the championship match with semifinal wins earlier Saturday. Central defeated Blackford 25-7, 25-5, 25-10. Wapahani took down Hamilton Heights 22-25, 25-19, 25-14, 25-15.

The sectional championship is Central’s first since 2010, when the Bearcats were in Class 4A. A new IHSAA classification cycle put Central in Class 3A the following year, but the Bearcats still faced a difficult sectional. Yorktown won the 2011 and 2012 titles en route to a state championship and state runner-up finish, and Delta won the sectional crown in 2013.

With the 2014 championship, Central advances to play Bellmont in a regional match on Tuesday. That match will be hosted by Central.

Contact prep sports reporter Sam Wilson at (765) 213-5807. Follow him on Twitter @SamWilsonTSP.

Regional Matchups

Standard start time: 7 p.m. Tuesday

Class 4A

• Yorktown at Cathedral

Class 3A

• Bellmont at Central

Class 2A

• Alexandria at Burris

Class A

• Wes-Del at Seton Catholic

Central coach Wes Lyon address his team during a timeout in Saturday’s sectional championship win against Wapahani.

After her team’s match Saturday night, Yorktown coach Stephanie Bloom informed her players they’d made history.

In knocking off Mount Vernon 25-21, 25-18, 26-24 in the finals of the Greenfield-Central Sectional, the Tigers laid claim to the first ever Class 4A sectional title for the school. Yorktown was moved up a class as part of the success factor system, so the 11th sectional in program history meant a little something more.

“It’s really neat,” Bloom said. “That’s what I told the girls afterward. They made history. It’s definitely exciting.”

The Tigers swept sectional host Greenfield-Central in the morning semifinal.

Mount Vernon opened the sectional with an upset of New Castle, but Bloom said her team was already on guard after facing the Marauders in Hoosier Heritage Conference play.

“They have really good outside (hitters),” Bloom said. “We knew that was going to the be the key.

“We kind of knew what we were getting into.”

In the finals, Karli Acree led the Tigers with 15 kills, and Carson Malapit chipped in eight with three blocks. Kendall Murr had a strong semifinal performance with eight kills and four aces.

The win pits the Tigers against No. 1 Cathedral, a powerful team with six Division I recruits, in Tuesday’s regional on the road.

“They’re big and so we’re going to have to spend some time preparing,” Bloom said. “We’re going to go in and do whatever we can.”

Burris takes title

Owls coach John Rodriguez could only call what his team pulled off an “incredible accomplishment.”

Despite coming into the sectional with a losing record, Burris topped Shenandoah 20-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-20 to claim the Class 2A Winchester Sectional a second consecutive season. It’s been a challenging season for the Owls (17-16) and taking the step was far from easy.

“It’s probably the most difficult win,” Rodriguez said of the Shenandoah match. “We had to fight really hard.

“Having a tough season made us really pull through to win a tough match.”

He added the defense was strong throughout and the passing improved as the match went along. His team got a boost from the return of Taylor Kring who missed most of the regular season. She had 22 kills against the Raiders, while Alyssa Peters had 24 between that match and the semifinal sweep of Frankton.

Burris will host Alexandria in regionals Tuesday.

Union falls in finals

The Rockets saw their season end with a 25-20, 25-19, 25-21 defeat at the hands of Seton Catholic in the title game of the Class A Randolph Southern Sectional. DeAnn Kauffman had 16 of the 31 kills for Union (21-12).

“We made too many errors,” Union coach Crystal Garrett said after a long meeting with her team. “We didn’t play as a team, and didn’t play as we had all season.

“This is what happens when you make those kinds of mistakes. But we have a very young team, and that showed tonight.”

The Rockets reached the final by sweeping Tri 25-16, 25-16, 25-12 in the morning semifinal.

The Richmond Palladium-Item contributed to this story.

BOYS SOCCER

Heritage Hall defeated Community Baptist 2-1 in the Indiana Association of Christian Schools state championship game at Yorktown Soccer Complex. Justin Hiltz and Grant Proctor scored goals on corner kicks for the Patriots (12-1-2). Hiltz joined teammates Brayden Karnes, Skyler Posey and Grant Prewitt on the all-state team. The state title was the first since 2000 for Heritage Hall.

VOLLEYBALL

Community Baptist defeated Heritage Hall 27-25, 25-13, 25-23 in the semifinals of the Indiana Association of Christian Schools State Tournament. Hannah Johnson had 17 kills and three blocks for the Patriots, and was named to the all-tournament team. Lyndsey Eddleman had 22 assists and also was picked to the all-tournament team.

VOLLEYBALL

Central Regional tickets will be on sale in the Athletic Office from 12:00-3:30 p.m. Monday and from 8:00-3:30 p.m. Tuesday. Tickets for the 7 p.m. match against Bellmont are $6. The Purple and White Booster Club meeting will meet in room 120 at the High School at 6:30 p.m. Monday. Members should enter door 11 on the west side of the building.