Patriots progress

NEW CASTLE — In the first three sets, the first point decided the winner.

Once one of the teams scored that first point, their lead never got stolen away. The opponent couldn’t even manage to tie.

The fourth set was different.

While Mya Kunkler secured the first kill for the Patriots, Akiyah Turner provided an answer for the Trojans for the first tie of the match at 1-1.

The Trojans went on to tie the Patriots two more times before taking control of the set, taking advantage of the only break in the pattern.

Despite Kunkler opening the fourth set with a kill, the host New Castle Trojans took down the Jay County High School volleyball team 25-19, 25-16, 20-25, 25-13 in the IHSAA Class 3A Sectional 24 championship to claim its second consecutive title on Saturday.

The Trojans beat Delta 25-22, 25-19, 25-13 in the second semifinal match of the morning to make the final. With the victory over Jay County (15-13), New Castle (24-9) moves on to play Heritage in the regional match at 4 p.m. on Oct. 26 at Norwell.

The Patriots took down Connersville 23-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-15 earlier in the day to make it back to the sectional final for the first time after missing out in 2023. While JCHS has made its second sectional championship appearance, it didn’t manage to end the 22-year title drought.

It did however, improve upon its regular season matchups with the Trojans. Jay County first saw New Castle on Sept. 14 in a 25-12, 25-15 tournament loss before falling 25-19, 25-15, 25-21 at home on Oct. 10.

“I’m super proud of them,” said JCHS coach Amy Dillon. “We played them at Noblesville and it was not good at all. When they came to our place, we inched a little closer and I thought we were even closer this time. I mean, I’m proud of them for taking a set.”

In the first three sets, the first team to score developed a lead that was never relinquished.

Marley Fraszier got a kill in the opening set before the Trojans rolled to a 4-0 lead. The second set started with a hitting error by Hallie Schwieterman into the net, giving New Castle the first of three consecutive points. Schwieterman came back in the third set to secure a kill off the tape before adding a second one for a 2-0 advantage.

Finally in the fourth set, Kunkler got a kill off of a New Castle blocker, indicating Jay County might swipe a second set and force a fifth. But instead of developing a lead, the match saw its first non 0-0 tie as NCHS freshman Turner notched a kill of her own.

The Patriots reclaimed the lead with a kill by Elizabeth Barnett, a block from Paisley Fugiett and Maria Hemmelgarn and a shot by Cadence Arnacost that the officials ruled a hitting error without a touch. The Trojans answered with their own run including an Arnacost kill, a Hemmelgarn error and an ace by Emily Grow for a second tie.

JCHS regained the lead when Paisley Fugiett sent a ball down at the net, but Arnacost once again tied the set up before an error by Kayla Jetmore gave New Castle its first lead. The Trojans never relinquished their lead to win their second consecutive sectional title.

“I think the girls were just too forward thinking,” said NCHS coach Victoria Pierson about dropping the third set before returning to form in the fourth. “I think they were thinking about the trophy and the police escort and not necessarily finishing the game. That’s just proof when you let off the gas too early then anything can happen.”

The Patriots struggled with their serve receive in the match, allowing 16 aces to fall in, including the one by Emily Grow to end the match. Four Trojans had three aces (Camryn Johnson, Arnacost, Elysah Williams and Grow), while Emma Harris led with four aces. Lauren Wilson was the only Trojan server to not record an ace, but she made up for it with 22 kills.

“They were really good servers,” said Brenna Bailey, a senior libero for Jay County. “There were a lot of float serves where it’s going one way and then it kind of turns in the air and you don’t know where it’s going to go.”

Supporting Wilson’s offensive effort, Turner added 10 kills for NCHS. Hemmelgarn and Schwieterman led Jay County with nine kills each. The pair combined for four kills and two blocks in the third set.

The Patriots got better as the match went on against Connersville in the semifinal. The first three sets were highly competitive. The first set had 12 ties and five lead changes before Connersville pulled it out 25-23.

Jay County got a late push in the second set and a run of six straight in the middle of the third to secure a 2-1 advantage.

The Patriots dominated play through the fourth, while Connersville struggled with errors.

Hemmelgarn again led Jay County with 10 kills, while Schwieterman and Kunkler provided nine each and Brenna Schmiesing added eight. Freshman Kendyl Bottomley led Connersville with 14 kills.

The Patriots will only lose two players from their roster, including Bailey. The rest of Dillon’s team is looking forward to next year to try and reverse Saturday’s result.

“They were already saying, ‘Next year we’ve got this. We’re so close,’” Dillon said. “We do not play an easy schedule. We have very few teams that hand us a win and I think this year has really brought about the knowledge piece. We’ve got the athletic piece, so I’m hoping we can take that knowledge piece and athletic piece next year and put it together.”