GREENWOOD â�?��?? A matchup between the No. 1 and
fourth-ranked volleyball teams in Class 4A provided all the excitement fans
could have expected Oct. 28 at the Center Grove Regional, and then some.

In fact, several
people in attendance remarked that top-ranked Indianapolis Cathedralâ�?��?�s four-game
championship win over No. 4 host Center Grove was of state-championship
caliber. After weathering the Trojansâ�?��?� storm, 25-20, 18-25, 25-22, 26-24, the Fighting
Irish (36-2) move on to a 4A state semifinals date Nov. 4 at North Central (Indianapolis) with second-ranked New Albany (36-2).

The winner
will face either fifth-ranked Muncie Central (32-6) or No. 10 Penn (31-7) in
the 4A state finals at 8:10 p.m. ET at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

â�?��?I love
matches like this,â�?� said Cathedral coach Jean Kesterson. â�?��?Good volleyball. It
gets the blood going, itâ�?��?�s so fun, itâ�?��?�s exciting â�?��?? itâ�?��?�s just a great game.â�?�

In the
championship match, Cathedral took Game 1 from Center Grove, 25-20, following
an early tussle for control. There were four lead changes before the Irish took
a 14-13 advantage and held off Center Grove in the race to 25.

Game 2 brought
the highest of highs and lowest of lows for each squad as Cathedral stormed out
of the gate, scoring the first five points and pushing it to a 7-1 game before
the Trojans found some steam. The teams nearly answered each other point for point
in reaching a 13-7 mark before Center Grove found some solutions.

After
allowing a Cathedral point to fall behind 14-7, the Trojans scored 15 of the
next 17 and 18 of the final 22 points to take the game at 25-18.

With
momentum shifting in the Trojansâ�?��?� favor, the Irish relied on their defensive
abilities and front-line height to battle back.

The teams
battled closely to start the third game, with the hosts pulling out to their
biggest margin of the game at 13-9 before the Irish yanked back control. Rallying
to score four straight to tie things at 13, the Irish continued their 8-1 run
to go up, 17-14. Center Grove would briefly regain the lead at 19-18, but
Cathedral scored seven of the final 10 points to take the game, 25-22, and a crucial
2-1 lead in the match.

Determined
to not go quietly, the Trojans showed more fight in the fourth game. After
opening the game 5-5, Cathedral used a surge to take a 16-10 lead. But an 8-2
Center Grove rally tied the score at 18, giving the hundreds of vocal Trojans
fans in attendance reason to go nuts.

With an
already fevered atmosphere now thoroughly jacked up, the teams delivered on an
expected tight finish. From 18-18 on, spectators witnessed five more ties, three
lead changes and, finally, extra points to determine the winner.

The drama
reached its highest level when, trailing 23-21, Center Grove used a timeout.
The Trojans refocused, then scored the next three points to take a 24-23 lead. But
Center Groveâ�?��?�s momentum hit a dead end when a serve went long.

That gave the
ball back to the Irish, who proceeded to score two straight and take the game
and match, 26-24.

â�?��?I thought
it was exciting volleyball â�?��?? I think it was good for high school sports,â�?�
Kesterson said. â�?��?Itâ�?��?�s an emotional game. You could feel from the stands â�?�¦

â�?��?Center
Grove had all those fans, and we could feel the emotion from all those people
over there (across the court).â�?�

Kesterson,
who has led the Irish to four previous state championships, felt her defense
provided a lift for the win.

â�?��?I think
we dominated the net a little bit, and we stopped the bleeding on our serve
receive,â�?� Kesterson said. â�?��?They got way too many aces, (so) I put our defensive
specialist (Emily Oâ�?��?�Connor) in all the time.

â�?��?She had
not been playing front row (but played because) Caroline Lemke rolled her ankle
in our morning match and was unable to play. Our serve receive broke down, and
Emily had a couple of digs that were the turning point in a couple of those
games.â�?�

Leading
the Irish in kills in the championship match was Oâ�?��?�Connor, the senior
frontliner, with 15, while sophomore Christiana Gray had 12. Senior Emily Burke
recorded 43 assists, while classmate Julie Sylvester had 19 digs and sophomore
Christina Barra was credited with 11 digs.

The championship
matchup was preceded by morning wins for both teams. Cathedral handled
Carmel 25-17, 25-16, 25-13, while Center Grove (29-4) fought
off Avon, 25-22, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23.

So
what do you think? Share your thoughts
in our Volleyball forum.

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