HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL: Borden, Charlestown come together for special match
Sep. 28—BORDEN — Charlestown swept host Borden in a matchup of Clark County foes Tuesday night.
The outcome was almost an afterthought, though.
The match was played in honor of Elizabeth "Lizzie" Bennett, the mother of Borden freshman outside hitter/defensive specialist McKenna Mullen.
Bennett was shot and killed in her Sellersburg home in April. Her husband, Mac Lewis, is facing a murder charge in her death, as well as attempted murder and three criminal recklessness with a weapon charges.
Tuesday night, both the Braves and Pirates wore purple T-shirts with the "Lizzie Bennett Memorial Match" imprinted on them. Almost everyone in the crowd, including the Borden student section, wore the color purple as well.
"My mom's favorite color was purple, so after she passed away we decided that it would be a really good idea, or a way to present her almost, and contribute our thoughts about her," Mullen said.
Purple is also the color associated with Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which is October.
The match itself was the brainchild of Borden coach Parker Andres and Charlestown coach Hannah Joly, former IU Southeast teammates who coach together for the same club (Prodigy).
"Hannah Joly and Parker Andres, they worked together to come up with this match and decided that it would be a good idea to do it for my mom," Mullen said.
"McKenna Mullen was one of my club players last year and she has such a special place in my heart," Joly added. "As soon as everything happened Parker and I got together and we were like, 'We have to do this game for her.' She means the absolute world to us and I couldn't be more proud of her."
A ceremony honoring Bennett took place before the match, and during it money was collected for the Tony Bennett Memorial Foundation.
"It made me feel really happy," Mullen said. "I know how my grandpa talked about the community and I think that really, really represented us very, very well. It shows how close we are as just a little community."
The match was hotly-contested.
Charlestown took the first set 25-20 and came out on top in the second set too. In the third set the Pirates rallied late, behind the serving of Makenna Curtis, to pull out a 25-22 win.
"Most importantly, win or lose, it was for the Bennetts and for them to know that we were here and wanted everybody to know that all of this was for Lizzie," Andres said.
