Rob Baker | For the Daily Journal
The big buzzword around Greenwood Christian volleyball this fall has been “fortitude.”
The Cougars managed to summon some exactly when they needed it most on Saturday at Edinburgh, winning every close set on the way to their first-ever Class A regional championship.
GCA (24-13) defeated Shakamak 26-24, 25-23, 25-21 in the title match just hours after winning its semifinal battle with Oldenburg Academy by a similar 25-22, 27-25, 25-17 score.
“For this team especially, the mental aspect has been very big for them over the last couple of years,” Greenwood Christian coach Grace Woolsey said. “They’ve finally been able to figure out how to manage and control their own side, and to navigate their own headspaces to play together — and to find ways to finish and to be confident as they’re entering those tight moments.”
The Cougars had faced the Twisters during the final weekend of the regular season, taking a two-set tournament victory. Woolsey said that she had expected Oldenburg to raise its intensity level a bit, but that her girls were able to adjust to it by upping their own.
In the final, GCA was up against a Lakers squad that it hadn’t had a chance to see until their morning semifinal against Indiana School for the Deaf — a match that Shakamak won relatively comfortably, 25-15, 25-11, 25-20.
“I think we were expecting less of a tough competition than what we got based off of what we saw this morning,” Woolsey said, “but I think that was part and parcel to the performance level of what both teams displayed. … We had to adjust to that intensity level quite a bit, but we were able to get into our rhythm and find ways to come out on top there.”
Woolsey credited sisters Faith and Aiva Kresge, as well as junior Addisyn Yoder, with spearheading the attack on Saturday, while Naomi Hillenburg led the way on the back row with her consistency in passing and serve receive.
“She’s just a stud,” Woolsey said of Hillenburg.
Having advanced out of the regional round for the first time, the Cougars will be rewarded with a trip to the Jasper Semistate to take on Tecumseh, the state runner-up a year ago and the current No. 1-ranked team in Class A.
Though a significant underdog on paper against the Braves (31-4), GCA isn’t going to concede anything.
“We’re going to be preparing to fight hard and fight for every single point, and I anticipate it will be a fight to the finish,” Woolsey said. “The way that these girls have been playing, and where their hearts and minds are at in this tournament, they’re not going to take anything laying down.”
