The resilience demonstrated by Center Grove’s volleyball team recently could serve it well at the Bloomington North Regional on Saturday.
Add the likely return of junior outside hitter Katie Egenolf and, well, anything is possible.
“Katie is making great strides that she’ll be back this weekend. It’s looking very promising,” said Trojans coach Chris Due, whose team clawed back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Franklin in the championship match of the Class 4A Franklin Central Sectional over the weekend.
“This team just has a great, never-give-up attitude. They know that whatever the score is, they have a chance to win. It comes down to the bonds they’ve developed during the season. The juniors and seniors lead that chemistry. They know that regardless of the circumstances that we can grind it out.”
Egenolf averaged 19 kills per match in her 22 regular-season outings, but hasn’t played since contributing 20 kills in a three-set sweep of Franklin for the county championship on Oct. 1. She sat out Center Grove’s final six regular-season matches, as well as the team’s sectional defeats of Greenwood, Whiteland and the Grizzly Cubs.
Egenolf’s return would put the Trojans back at full strength, with she and senior Grace Boggess combining for a formidable 1-2 punch at the net.
The junior would no doubt have to shake rust from her game, but it’s been done before.
In only Center Grove’s second match of the season, junior outside hitter Avery Holubar badly sprained an ankle and missed more than a month’s worth of matches. Holubar returned to help the Trojans eke out a five-set conference-clinching victory at Lawrence North on Sept. 22 and has been a factor ever since.
The play of Holubar, combined with the emergence of sophomore middle blocker Taryn Kennedy has been a tremendous boost during Egenelf’s absence. Equally as vital have been the consistency of Boggess, senior libero Rylie McMahen, setter Jenna Otto and soph Emily Eck.
“I thought Taryn Kennedy really stepped up in big moments, and that was Avery’s best offensive match of the year,” Due said of the sectional final.
On Saturday, Center Grove first attempts to eliminate a senior-laden Evansville Reitz squad that has won seven of its last eight matches. The Panthers are powered by junior hitter Kaleigh Merritt (324 kills for the season) and seniors Catherine Shane (756 assists), Evie Duncan (313 kills) and Lily Beyers (263 digs).
Reitz is riding high after getting past Castle for the first time in school history in a semifinal match at the Jasper Sectional. The five-set thriller ended Castle’s run of 26 consecutive sectional titles and pushed the Panthers into the championship match.
Coach Gene Cobbs’ squad kept the memorable week going by shutting out host Jasper in the final to secure Reitz’s first sectional championship.
Due knows his team has its work cut out for it.
“Evansville Reitz will be a very tough opponent. They have a couple of big outside hitters and a solid setter,” Due said. “For us, it will take a lot of serve pressure and playing solid defense.”
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Class 4A Bloomington North Regional
Saturday
Martinsville (20-9) vs. Providence (21-6), 11 a.m.
Center Grove (21-10) vs. Evansville Reitz (25-4), 1 p.m.
Championship, 7 p.m.
Admission: $7
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Scouting the regional
Players to watch: Center Grove — Grace Boggess, Emily Eck, Katie Egenolf, Avery Holubar, Taryn Kennedy, Rylie McMahen, Jenna Otto; Evansville Reitz — Lily Beyers, Evie Duncan, Katie Hunter, Kaleigh Merritt, Olivia Miles, Catherine Shane; Martinsville — Maci Dorsett, Mackenzie Martin, Grace Reynolds, Katie Thombleson, Molly Urban; Providence — Miranda Harley, Ali Hornung, Emma Kaelin, Anna Purichia, Grace Purichia, Lydia Rush
IndianaPrepVolleyball.com Z-Ratings: Providence 21.53 (8th in Class 4A), Evansville Reitz 20.51 (25th), Center Grove 20.38 (26th), Martinsville 19.66 (31st)
Outlook: The likely return of Egenolf to Center Grove’s lineup makes the Trojans a viable contender to repeat as regional champion, though Providence, led by Purdue-bound outside hitter Ali Hornung, comes in as the favorite. The Pioneers feature six outstanding seniors that form the nucleus of a team in search of its 15th regional title and ninth in the last 10 years. Reitz, which avenged two regular-season losses to Castle in a five-set sectional semifinal, has never won a regional; the Panthers had a midseason 16-match winning streak but have not played the same caliber schedule that the Trojans or Pioneers have.
