Edinburgh’s MacKenzie Bieker, right, tries to hit the ball past Indianapolis Lutheran blockers during Saturday’s regional championship match.
Rob Baker | For the Daily Journal
After winning its first sectional championship in 11 years, Edinburgh came into its Class A regional championship match Saturday night searching for its first such title ever. Indianapolis Lutheran failed to oblige, however, defeating the host Lancers in three sets, 25-19, 25-15, 25-10 to take the crown.
“We knew coming in that they were a good defensive team. We hit it at them, and they would hit it right back. As the match went on, we got gassed,” Edinburgh coach Kristi Allen said.
“When you only play six girls and no one subs out, it gets tiring. They were able to rotate players in, and that made a difference.”
Edinburgh (20-10) jumped out quickly in the opening set, scoring the first six points to take a 6-0 lead, but the Saints were not deterred. They chipped away, eventually knotting the score at 10 before later going on an eight-point run to take a commanding 22-14 lead. From there, Lutheran closed out set one to take the early advantage.
Much like set one, the Lancers jumped out to an early lead in set two, but again the Saints battled their way back, taking their first lead at 10-9. Edinburgh fought and scrapped right with Lutheran until the Saints began imposing their will up front. The hard-hitting duo of Hadleigh Filipovich and Brooklyn Ormsby powered Lutheran to a 25-15 second set win.
Lutheran continued to capitalize on its momentum in the third set and pounced on the Lancers early, not needing to battle back into the set as it had the previous two. To its credit, Edinburgh fought valiantly, but the Saints were just too much on this night.
“This team played with heart, left it all out on the court, and we have no regrets. I couldn’t be prouder of them,” Allen said. “We played with intensity and fire all season, and that is a change from seasons past. We played with confidence. We won a sectional. This group has been dedicated to getting better, and they improved in all areas.”
The future is bright, as the Lancers only lose one senior to graduation this year. But that one senior will leave a void — Gracie Crawhorn led the team in most categories this season, and she totaled 15 kills and 47 digs on Saturday.
“We will certainly miss Gracie,” Allen said. “She was a leader in all areas. But we have a strong group coming back.”
MacKenzie Bieker finished the day with 17 kills, six blocks and 32 digs, Kyah Streeval totaled 53 assists and Jessica Walsh had 42 digs and four aces.
In their morning semifinal, the Lancers rallied from a set down to get past Indiana Deaf 23-25, 25-8, 25-21, 25-11.
After Edinburgh dominated the second set to tie the match at one, it appeared that the Orioles were going to win the third set after going ahead 19-10. But the Lancers went on a 15-2 run to come back for the victory. From there, Edinburgh carried the momentum into the fourth set to close out the match.
