
Editor
Southport’s girls volleyball team achieved one of their early-season goals Saturday by winning the Cardinal Invite on the Southport Fieldhouse court.
The undefeated Cardinals (5-0) swept three opponents without losing a set to take the title trophy. Last year, they lost a tough thee-set match in the championship duel against East Central.
Coach Chelsea Hoffman’s chargers handled Scecina 25-22, 25-13 in the finale. Senior Lauren Cullison, 12 kills, and sophomore Aija Bowman, 11 kills, dominated the front line against the Crusaders. Senior Vanessa Miller recorded 22 assists and junior Rachel Campbell, 16 digs.
“We had our game plan and the girls stuck to it,” coach Hoffman said. “Once we won the first set, there was no stopping us. We jumped right out of the gate and kept pushing. We were hitting our zones, mixing up our shots, and playing as a team.”
The Cardinals defeated Centerville in the semi, 25-13, 25-19. Cullison had 10 kills and Miller had 15 assists. Seven Cardinals recorded digs. Southport opened the tourney by barely slipping past Tri-West (25-21, 25-22) in a crucial match-up. Miller had 17 assists and eight digs.
“The girls definitely knew they wanted to get back to that (championship) game to win it this year,’ Hoffman said. “We came out focused and determined. We were a little slow at first, but we were able to grind our way and win the (first) set. We made some adjustments that helped us win the second set.’
Lutheran (1-5) was fifth overall at Southport after defeating Centerville 25-23, 25-13 for the Saints first win of the new season. Lutheran fell to East Central (25-21, 25-9) and Scecina (25-16, 25-20) earlier.
The Cardinals faced visiting Franklin Central (4-1) Tuesday.
Center Grove (3-1) defeated Brownsburg, 3-1 Saturday. The Trojans’ leaders were MJ Hammill, 35 assists, seven kills, 11 digs; Grace Boggess 12 kills, six blocks; Ashley Eck 18 digs, one ace; and Averie Baker, 13 digs. The Trojans are now 3-1 on the season.
Roncalli (1-4) dropped the first set (25-21) against rival Bishop Chatard but won the final three sets (25-21, 25-23, 25-12) Saturday for its first win. The Rebels were led by Elizabeth Origer with 33 assists and 12 digs; Olivia Murphy with 12 kills, one block and three digs; and Emma Halter’s 43 digs. Roncalli travels Saturday to the Yorktown Invitational.
Greenwood Christian Academy (1-2) downed Bethesda Christian (25-18, 28-26, 25-18) with Izzy Reed leading the Cougars with nine kills: Perry Meridian (4-2) won three matches in the Plainfield tourney, losing only to Terre Haute South as Greenwood (3-4) earned a split in the same tourney by defeating Ben Davis and North Central.
Soccer
Beech Grove’s girls unbeaten soccer team notched their third win Saturday against visiting Cascade, 3-0 in an Indiana Crossroads Conference clash. Hannah Chandler scored two goals in the first period with an assist from Jillian Weidner on a perfectly placed free kick. Maddie Tucker iced the match with a goal from 20 yards away.
Southport’s boys team opened with four straight wins, including a 15-1 win Aug. 19 against Greenwood. The Cardinals followed up with a 6-2 triumph against neighborning Roncalli.
Perry Meridian’s boys team downed Mid-State foe Decatur Central, 7-2 Thursday.
Greenwood Christian Academy’s boys soccer team pounded Trinity Lutheran 10-0, Thursday in their season opener. Jon Amador scored the season’s first goal and added three more in the match. Freshman Sam Graves scored two goals. More goals were scored by Carson Dillard, Josue Mier, Griffin Peters and Ethan Rothrock. Senior goalie Gabe Vessely earned the shutout.