Ranked No. 1 in the state all season long, Roncalli’s boys volleyball team lived up to billing this spring.
The Royals capped off a dominant spring on Saturday with a 25-17, 25-20, 25-10 sweep of Hamilton Southeastern in the Indiana Boys Volleyball Coaches Association state championship match at Perry Meridian.
Roncalli finished the season with a 35-1 record; its lone blemish was a two-set tournament loss to nationally-ranked Glenbard West (Illinois) on April 30. The Royals lost just six sets all season long.
“This was a team of destiny,” Roncalli coach John Kesterson said. “These boys weren’t going to
lose, because they refused to lose.”
The road to the second state title in school history — the boys also claimed the crown in 2018 — had been paved by two more three-set victories, a 25-17, 25-22, 25-19 quarterfinal triumph over Perry Meridian on Friday and a 25-21, 25-18, 25-13 semifinal win against Cathedral earlier on Saturday.
Royals senior Brendan Louthain, a Johnson County native, was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Another local product, junior Alex Barkley, was named to the IBVCA’s all-tournament team alongside classmate Andrew Mayer.
Other county residents on the championship roster include Brent Hurrle, Jackson Straumins and Noah Witmer. Louthain, Barkley and Witmer were the team leaders in kills this season, with Barkley also pacing the Royals in service aces and Straumins second in assists.
