Caston, Winamac volleyball teams fall in sectional play
Oct. 17—Like Pioneer, Caston's season came to an end at the hands of No. 10 Southwood on Saturday at the Class A Southwood volleyball sectional.
The Knights defeated the Comets in three games as well, 25-9, 25-13, 25-15, in the morning match of the sectional.
The Comets (21-11) saw their 11-match winning streak come to an end. The 21 wins are the most in program history.
"Our nerves got the better of us in the beginning and we started out the first set slow and tight," Caston coach Melinda Shultz said. "The second and third sets we were going point for point, then we struggled with serve reception and got down. Southwood did a nice job shutting down our hitters and we had to play out of system too much. We also struggled to score off our serves and that hasn't happened all year. I was proud that the team kept fighting and trying to find ways to score points up to the end."
The Comets will miss their two seniors, Maddi Smith and Abby Williamson.
"They will be missed. The program has grown from one varsity win their freshman year to 21 this year, the most in Caston history," Shultz said. "Abby Williamson became our leading middle blocker and really increased her hitting strength this year. Abby is also the one who is always focused on keeping the team upbeat and positive. Maddi Smith has been the leader in kills for the past three years and in passing for the last two as well."
RENSSELAER 3, WINAMAC 0
Winamac's season came to an end with a loss to Rensselaer in the afternoon match at the Class 2A Boone Grove Sectional, 25-18, 25-15, 25-17.
North Judson defeated Rensselaer 25-20, 27-25, 25-19 in the championship match.
The Warriors (4-24) didn't play their best match, coach Heather Kasten said.
"We had half the team afraid to make mistakes and looking at their teammates to make the play and the other half overcompensating and trying to play multiple positions," she said. "When things ran in system we were able to execute our game plan and pick apart Rensselaer's weak zone 1 and stack our block on the Ringin girl, but those runs were too few and far between."
Kasten said the Warriors will miss their two seniors, Kaya Campbell and Alyssa Villanueva.
"They were my most consistent all match. They led by example and did a great job communicating on the floor," she said. "They played to win, not just to not lose. It's just a shame that there were only two of them, we could have used six."
