Morgan Township Sweeps Triton In Volleyball Regional
October 27, 2019 at 9:32 p.m.
Morgan Township Sweeps Triton In Volleyball Regional
By Anthony Anderson-
The 6-foot junior and Purdue University recruit blistered 17 kills, most of them reverberating off the John R. Nelson Gym floorboards, as the Cherokees swept the Trojans 25-11, 25-19, 25-16 in Saturday’s Class 1A Culver Regional volleyball semifinals.
“We play a tough schedule, (but) this is the first time I’ve kind of seen this, where a hitter can just dominate us to some extent,” Triton coach Gayle Perry said of Rastovski, a smooth left-side leaper who had four inches on the Trojans’ tallest player.
“Overall, I thought the rest of their team we kind of matched up with,” Perry said.
It didn’t matter, given Rastovski’s riddling rips.
“She was a lot for us,” Perry said. “We tried to dig her, tried to move some people around, tried to get a better block on her and make her think a little bit as to where she was gonna hit.”
Complementing Rastovski along the potent Cherokee front line was versatile 5-11 senior Sahara Bee, who added 11 kills, three block winners and a match-high 19 assists.
Teammate Morgan Barrette picked up match highs of 16 digs and three aces.
Barrette, Bee, Rastovski and Morgan Township were just getting started, too.
The Cherokees (29-5), one of Indiana’s hottest teams, went on to knock off No. 1-ranked Pioneer 25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 18-25, 15-3 in the evening final for their 20th straight win and first-ever regional title.
Pioneer was denied a sixth straight regional crown.
Morgan Township has won 60 of the 65 sets it’s played during its 20-match victory string.
“I told them we could not let up ever, no matter what the score” Cherokee coach Amy Bolen said following her team’s win over Triton. “Last year in the regional, we won the first two (sets against Bethany Christian), then lost the next three,” ending a 31-3 season as victims of a stunning upset.
For the Trojans (16-15), Saturday’s elimination capped a season of major improvement, one in which they nearly tripled last fall’s victory total of six.
“We’ve come a long way,” Perry said.
It’s a team possibly poised to come still further next season.
With the exception of lone senior Alyxa Viers, “they’re probably all back,” Perry said of her varsity roster that could be buoyed by candidates from a 20-7 junior varsity and an eighth-grade group that the coach gushes over.
“They’ll have to make that decision — everyone likes to play more — but there was not dissension or anything,” Perry said of keeping everybody. “They were really close as a team, but it’s just a lot of work. I’m tough to play for. I mean, this week was not pleasant at practice, and they’ll tell you that. We worked hard and they weren’t always happy … but they always wanted to get better. They never quit on me, and I figure if you can handle me, you can handle anybody.”
The coach praised the contributions of her lone senior.
“I thought Alyxa Viers did a great job of sharing the leadership, not just trying to be the leader, and of playing to her skills,” Perry said. “She’s not a great leaper, so she’s not going to lead us in kills, but she figured out how to play middle back for us and was solid. She’s a good passer on serve-receive and a great server, and I thought she played to those talents.”
In her final high school match, Viers notched seven digs to share team high in that category with junior Molly McFarland.
Abbey Viers paced Triton in kills with seven, while fellow junior Lexia Hostraswer deposited three block winners. Juniors Dylanie Miller (nine) and Emma Hepler (six) combined for 15 assists.
Morgan Township finished ferociously during each set, though.
The Cherokees scored 10 of the final 11 points in the opener to stretch out a 15-10 advantage, erased an 18-16 deficit in the middle set with a 9-1 run, then went on a 14-4 spree in the clincher after trailing 12-11.
All-HNAC Team Named
Abbey Viers was named to the All-Hoosier North Athletic Conference team Sunday afternoon. Alyxa Viers was an honorable-mention selection.
The 6-foot junior and Purdue University recruit blistered 17 kills, most of them reverberating off the John R. Nelson Gym floorboards, as the Cherokees swept the Trojans 25-11, 25-19, 25-16 in Saturday’s Class 1A Culver Regional volleyball semifinals.
“We play a tough schedule, (but) this is the first time I’ve kind of seen this, where a hitter can just dominate us to some extent,” Triton coach Gayle Perry said of Rastovski, a smooth left-side leaper who had four inches on the Trojans’ tallest player.
“Overall, I thought the rest of their team we kind of matched up with,” Perry said.
It didn’t matter, given Rastovski’s riddling rips.
“She was a lot for us,” Perry said. “We tried to dig her, tried to move some people around, tried to get a better block on her and make her think a little bit as to where she was gonna hit.”
Complementing Rastovski along the potent Cherokee front line was versatile 5-11 senior Sahara Bee, who added 11 kills, three block winners and a match-high 19 assists.
Teammate Morgan Barrette picked up match highs of 16 digs and three aces.
Barrette, Bee, Rastovski and Morgan Township were just getting started, too.
The Cherokees (29-5), one of Indiana’s hottest teams, went on to knock off No. 1-ranked Pioneer 25-22, 25-20, 23-25, 18-25, 15-3 in the evening final for their 20th straight win and first-ever regional title.
Pioneer was denied a sixth straight regional crown.
Morgan Township has won 60 of the 65 sets it’s played during its 20-match victory string.
“I told them we could not let up ever, no matter what the score” Cherokee coach Amy Bolen said following her team’s win over Triton. “Last year in the regional, we won the first two (sets against Bethany Christian), then lost the next three,” ending a 31-3 season as victims of a stunning upset.
For the Trojans (16-15), Saturday’s elimination capped a season of major improvement, one in which they nearly tripled last fall’s victory total of six.
“We’ve come a long way,” Perry said.
It’s a team possibly poised to come still further next season.
With the exception of lone senior Alyxa Viers, “they’re probably all back,” Perry said of her varsity roster that could be buoyed by candidates from a 20-7 junior varsity and an eighth-grade group that the coach gushes over.
“They’ll have to make that decision — everyone likes to play more — but there was not dissension or anything,” Perry said of keeping everybody. “They were really close as a team, but it’s just a lot of work. I’m tough to play for. I mean, this week was not pleasant at practice, and they’ll tell you that. We worked hard and they weren’t always happy … but they always wanted to get better. They never quit on me, and I figure if you can handle me, you can handle anybody.”
The coach praised the contributions of her lone senior.
“I thought Alyxa Viers did a great job of sharing the leadership, not just trying to be the leader, and of playing to her skills,” Perry said. “She’s not a great leaper, so she’s not going to lead us in kills, but she figured out how to play middle back for us and was solid. She’s a good passer on serve-receive and a great server, and I thought she played to those talents.”
In her final high school match, Viers notched seven digs to share team high in that category with junior Molly McFarland.
Abbey Viers paced Triton in kills with seven, while fellow junior Lexia Hostraswer deposited three block winners. Juniors Dylanie Miller (nine) and Emma Hepler (six) combined for 15 assists.
Morgan Township finished ferociously during each set, though.
The Cherokees scored 10 of the final 11 points in the opener to stretch out a 15-10 advantage, erased an 18-16 deficit in the middle set with a 9-1 run, then went on a 14-4 spree in the clincher after trailing 12-11.
All-HNAC Team Named
Abbey Viers was named to the All-Hoosier North Athletic Conference team Sunday afternoon. Alyxa Viers was an honorable-mention selection.
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