INDIANAPOLIS
For a time Saturday night, Center Grove didn’t look as if it would be part of a volleyball match that lasted in excess of two hours.
The Trojans lost the opening set to Franklin and were precariously close to dropping a second in the title match of the Class 4A Franklin Central Sectional.
At that point junior outside hitter Avery Holubar stepped up to deliver three of her 18 kills, helping Center Grove take the set and ultimately rally for a 16-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-22, 15-10 victory.
“I was ready. It was a challenge, for sure, but I was prepared and I feel like I stepped up,” Holubar said after helping the Trojans (21-10) qualify for the Bloomington North Regional, where they’ll face Evansville Reitz (25-4) in the 1 p.m. semifinal.
“We really believed we could (rally). In the fifth set, (libero Rylie McMahen) kept saying, ‘You have to believe,’ and we really did. Nobody was down. We all picked each other up and kept the energy high.”
Playing minus the services of junior hitter Katie Egenolf, who is expected back for regional, Center Grove needed spirited efforts from others. Holubar did her part, as did McMahen (25 digs, four service aces), senior Grace Boggess (23 kills), sophomore Taryn Kennedy (15 kills) and senior setter Jenna Otto (54 assists), among others.
All of it was needed to scrape past the pesky Grizzly Cubs.
“This is my senior year, and I realized I had to give it my all because this was my last chance,” Boggess said. “I just did my best and put the ball down. There were definitely some nerves. I wasn’t quite sure what was going to happen, but I just tried my best and tried to be as positive as possible.”
Franklin bounced back to win the third set and was ahead in the fourth, 19-18, when a Boggess kill, McMahen’s ace and Kennedy’s spike put Center Grove in control for good. The Trojans closed out the set, jumped to a 9-4 advantage in the fifth and never looked back.
“My hat’s off to Franklin. They played a heck of a match,” said Trojans coach Chris Due, who coached at Franklin from 2010-13. “They battled, and in that fourth set when they started taking that lead, I had doubts in my mind that we would come back because of the way they were playing.
“Ultimately, I think, we’re used to playing at this stage in big matches. I know from being on the other end how bad Franklin wants it. We didn’t step up and play the way we’re capable of playing until that fifth set. You could see we came in with confidence and kept building it.
“The biggest difference-maker was our first-ball contact. When we were passing well, we were able to get our offense going.”
Franklin, which finished the season 16-14 under first-year coach Jess Giles, received 20 kills from Cami Kelsay, one of seven seniors on the Cubs’ tournament roster. Freshman Scarlett Kimbrell, who added 11 kills, will help form the nucleus of next year’s squad along with returnees such as Jenna Hash, Paris Johnson and libero Chloe Hoy.
“(The seniors) are the heart and soul of the program,” Giles said. “I think they are wonderful role models and smart young women. I’m so fortunate to be able to coach them.”
Franklin advanced to the title match by defeating Whiteland in Saturday morning’s first semifinal, 25-15, 25-12, 25-14, while the Trojans downed the host Flashes in the other semi, 25-20, 25-20, 25-14.
