Bloomington North's season of growth ends in volleyball sectional with Center Grove loss
It's a season for disguises, and Bloomington North came into its sectional final dressed up as a more experienced volleyball team.
The Cougars might not have been able to pull it off a couple months ago, but after a season of work, the sophomore heavy roster, rebuilt after a huge senior class graduated, played with a poise that belied their youth.
They matched Center Grove in many ways, but the Trojans also have a 6-2 sophomore sensation in Reese Dunkle, and they put away the Cougars, 25-16, 25-18, 25-17 in Saturday night's final of the Class 4A Bloomington South Sectional.
"I was really inspired by the play of our girls tonight," North coach Disney Bronnenberg said. "Yeah, you see some of the young kid jitters for like a second. But they never once looked like they were the underdogs. I don't think our hitters or our passers looked like they hadn't been here before. It was really nice to see them mature like that."
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It was a big day for a roster that will return most of its major players next year. Senior starting middle Leah Brown was out with an injury and 24 points into Set 1, backup Sydney Pitner went down with an ankle injury. But the Cougars continued to battle and build a solid resume they can take into next year.
"I feel like we all grew a lot over the whole season," sophomore outside Claire Hodson said. "We were all young coming into it, but I feel like really went far. We all worked really hard and improved a lot over the season."
Their biggest improvement? Team chemistry.
"In the beginning we were all individual people," Hodson said. "And then by the end, we were working together more as a team."
Block party
Dunkle, Julianna Weems and Ellen Zapp kept getting in the way of success for North at the net, piling up at least a dozen points on blocks. The Cougars had to figure out a way to hit around it or get the friendly ricochets it needed.
"I think they have a solid block and they're a really strong team," Bronnenberg said. "They're really aggressive at the net and caused us to have some jitters at first.
"But honestly I'm really proud of my hitters. I think they hit high hands. I think they did the things they needed to do over time and once we realized the block can be your best friend sometimes, it was different game."
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Ava Moore had 22 assists, getting 10 kills from Hodson, six from Sullivan, five from Morgan Barrow and four each from Mia Robbennolt and Raegan Deckard, who took over for Pitner.
"That was definitely a difficult block," Hodson said. "But I felt we were all working hard to cover that. It was a tough game, but we all played our hearts out."
Avery Freeman led the defense with 16 digs, keeping some of Center Grove's heaviest hits alive, while Moore and Ava Robbennolt had six each.
Two sets get away
After pulling away quickly in the first set, 14-8 and cruising, Center Grove (18-15) had to assert itself in the last half of the next two sets to complete the sweep.
North kept pace early in Set 2, tying it at 13. But a 7-1 run, capped by a block and kill from Dunkle, made it 20-14 Trojans, who scored five of the last six points, all on offense, to close it out.
"I think we had a lot of kids stepping into roles that were new or varied to them," Bronnenberg said. "And I started to see the leadership kind of spring up from each individual player. When we battled back and forth, sure Center Grove has some physicality, but that's the nature of the game. They kept the momentum when they had it."
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Set 3 saw North lead 4-0 after a Sullivan block coming out of a CG timeout. From there, the Trojans launched an 11-1 barrage, but the Cougars were undeterred, answering with an 8-3 run as Sullivan pushed a ball to the back corner to get North within 14-13.
"It was growing moments right up to the end and not in negative ways," Bronnenberg said. "I like that they stared it in the eyes and stepped up to a challenge."
It was 16-15 when Center Grove found its finishing kick and an ace that grazed the back line was a quiet ending for the Cougars and the beginning of what they hope is a bright future after a 21-win season.
"It was a good starting point for us," Hodson said. "making it all the way to a championship."
Semifinals
North rolled into the finals, taking down Mooresville 25-18, 25-19, 25-22, while Center Grove had its hands full getting past the host Panthers, 23-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-23.
South finished 8-17 in Melissa Smith's first year as head coach.
Mooresville (12-17) had actually won eight of its last nine coming in before running into the Cougars, who were the masters of the block against the Pioneers.
Moore had 31 assists (to go with eight digs), with nine kills each for Sullivan and Mia Robbennolt and eight from Barrow, while Hodson had seven kills. Mia Robbennolt had six block-assists, Hodson five and Pitner, Sullivan had four each. Freeman had 11 digs and two aces and Ava Robbennolt six digs and Reese Pendill five.
Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com or 812-331-4381 and follow on Twitter @JimGordillo.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington North loses to Center Grove in IHSAA volleyball sectionals
