By Dennis Clark
JASPER — For the second time in the past three years, Sullivan advanced to the championship match of the Class 3A Jasper volleyball regional.
But just like two years ago, Sullivan failed to advance to the state finals, dropping a 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-23) decision to Silver Creek on Saturday. The Arrows have won 12 sectionals, but are still seeking their first regional championship.
Instead, Silver Creek (27-11) advanced to the next Saturday’s state finals at Muncie. The semifinals will be at Muncie Central High School starting at 9 a.m. The state championship match will follow at 6 p.m.inside Ball State University’s Worthern Arena. Sullivan (25-11) concluded its season.
After falling behind 2-0, Sullivan appeared poised to slice their 2-0 deficit in half, leading 23-20 in game three. Instead of moving on to game four, suddenly, the Dragons were celebrating their first regional title and Sullivan was vanquished in heartbreaking fashion.
“The offense went away because the passing went away,” Murdock explained her team’s late collapse. “Passing starts it all. We just weren’t able to stay consistent with the passing [against] a real good serving team.”
“We struggled with some errors in that third game,” Silver Creek coach Jeff Zimmerman explained. “All year long our mantra has been unfinished business. We were here last year and Owen Valley blew us out. That was our thing, we wanted to get to state. This is the first time in school history, so we’re pretty happy about the regional win.”
Silver Creek generated many more attack opportunities in the first game, owning an 11-3 advantage in kills at one point, before settling on a 14-7 advantage. The Dragons assumed the lead for keeps at 4-3 -- after two ties and a lead change -- on a kill by Shirley Jones.
Still, Sullivan took advantage of SC’s five service errors to keep within reach at 18-16. The Dragons ran off five unanswered points to shoot back up 23-16, before Brittany Rayborn’s kill at game point put them ahead 1-0.
Silver Creek reeled off five aces -- two each by Haley Garr and Rayborn -- and held a 8-4 lead in kills to start game two, but the Arrows still were able to battle back to a 17-17 deadlock. The Arrows stayed close via five return errors and three additional service errors.
“We had 13 service errors to 10 aces, and usually our ace-error ratio is about 1.5-1 … so it was down tonight,” Zimmerman said. “That’s what we focused on all week. If we served aggressive and served and received well, we’d have a shot at playing with these guys.”
A timeout at that point by SC settled things down, followed by three kills from Garr to key a 8-3 run to the wire to put the Dragons in the driver’s seat up 2-0.
In game three, the Arrows demonstrated its grit and guile. Battling fatigue of playing the second semifinal match earlier in the day, and playing four games to Silver Creek’s three, the Arrows assumed an early 8-5 lead. The Dragons tied it at 8-8 and 9-9, but four straight unforced errors put the Arrows back ahead 14-10, forcing yet another SC timeout.
The Arrows continued to lead 21-16 and 23-20, but SC was dominant down the stretch. The Dragons outscored the Arrows 9-2 the balance of the match, including the last five points, with libero LeAnn Osterhoudt serving match point, eluding the Arrows’ defense.
“We fought all night long,” Murdock stated. “It’s no consolation to say we didn’t get blown out. We fought. Never gave up. That’s been this team throughout the year. Makes it a fun team to have coached.”
Sullivan 18 20 23
Silver Creek 25 25 25
Highlights — For Sullivan, Mikaela Chagnon 3 points, 8 digs; Alexa Lankhaar 7 points, 3 aces, 1 block, 3 kills, 9 digs; Tiera Land 4 points, 6 digs; Jenna Lisman 3 kills, 7 digs; Kesley Lane 3 blocks, 5 kills; Rhagen Smith 1 block, 6 kills; Lauren Adams 9 points, 2 aces, 16 assists, 9 mdigs; Brekiesha Weszley 4 points, 5 kills, 12 digs.
Next — Silver Creek (27-11) advances to the Class 3A Muncie Central state finals on Nov. 7. Sullivan (25-11) concluded its season.
