First IHSAA boys finals a showcase: 'The whole state has just blown up in volleyball'

Indianapolis Star

01-06-2025

WEST LAFAYETTE – If there was any question if the movie 'Hoosiers' still holds relevance almost 40 years after it premiered — or if the underdog story could translate to another sport — look no further than Mackey Arena on Saturday.
Lake Central boys volleyball coach Naveed Nizam, looking for a little inspiration for his longshot team, had players measure the volleyball net at Mackey Arena. The height: Seven feet, 11 ½ inches. 'I think you'll find that's the exact same measurements as our gym back at Lake Central.'
OK, Nizam did not say that exactly. But you get the idea. It was a day of new traditions with a nod to the old at Purdue University, where the Indiana High School Athletic Association hosted the first sanctioned boys volleyball state finals. Roncalli (30-3) took home the first state IHSAA championship by defeating Cathedral 25-14, 25-22, 25-23 in a three-set sweep Saturday night.
It was Roncalli's fourth consecutive state championship with the previous three coming under the banner of the Indiana Boys Volleyball Coaches Association.
'You look how far we've come in the past couple years and now we're getting these boys who have bought into the program,' Roncalli coach Nick Jennings said. 'We used to get a basketball player, a football player — maybe it was their secondary sport. But now these boys are fully committing to us, and it really elevates the whole gym. The whole state has just blown up in volleyball.'
Many of the 133 teams in the inaugural state tournament, like Lake Central, are in the still early growth stages. The Indians advanced to the state finals as a third-year team that started out as an intramural program. Lake Central (30-7) was ranked No. 12 in the state but with all but two of its players graduating, should be on the cusp of some better days ahead.
'Where we've gone this far and what we've accomplished, I think, is a miracle in such a short amount of time,' said Nizam, who had his team stay to watch the championship match after losing 25-11, 25-10, 25-15 to Cathedral in the first semifinal.
Where Lake Central hopes to go was represented by the team across the net, Cathedral, and the squads that followed on Saturday in the second semifinal: Roncalli and Fishers. Those teams, ranked No. 1 (Roncalli), No. 2 (Cathedral) and No. 3 (Fishers), put a powerful show in the inaugural event.
After Cathedral defeated Lake Central in the first semifinal, Roncalli was pushed to the brink twice, trailing Fishers 14-12 in the fifth and decisive set before rallying for a 22-25, 25-14, 25-21, 17-25, 16-14 victory.
The intense back-and-forth showdown, filled with laser-sharp kills, timely blocks and a dramatic finish, could be packaged and sent out by the IHSAA as a showcase video for boys volleyball, which has previously been played as a club sport before it gained emerging status from the IHSAA three years ago.
'It gets the nerves going,' said Roncalli senior setter Matthew Dial. 'I came running over after the game to my family and my hands were shaking because I was so excited. There was so much energy that it can really bring people into the sport when they see this. It's just cool to see.'
Though the sport is new to the IHSAA, it is a bit of a misnomer to call programs like Roncalli and Cathedral newcomers. Cathedral has had a boys volleyball program for 32 years and Roncalli has developed into a dynasty in recent seasons. Saturday's championship match was a rematch of Roncalli's five-set state title victory over the Irish at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
'Just knowing it's the first chance for an IHSAA state title was something nice,' Cathedral senior middle hitter Ryan Peterson said. 'We've thought about that along the journey.'
Cathedral senior setter Nick Whitley said he started playing volleyball when he was 10 years old and 'kind of fell in love with the sport from there.' Even then, it was more of a side venture for Whitley, who said he fell in love with volleyball the more he played. Peterson, who is 6-8, played basketball until eighth grade.
'I did a lot of sports,' Peterson said. 'Football, baseball, basketball, swimming. But after eighth grade, I realized I loved volleyball a lot more.'
Peterson and Whitley said as soon as they walked into Mackey Arena on Saturday, the energy was different.
'We played in Hinkle Fieldhouse last year and it was a massive step up from freshman and sophomore year playing in regular high school gyms (at state),' Whitley said. 'Playing in an arena like this is super awesome and really exciting.'
Cathedral coach Tyler McClure, in his fifth year as coach at Cathedral, played for the Irish and was an assistant prior to his role as head coach. He has watched first-hand at Cathedral how the players who once had volleyball as a secondary sport 'now come in ready to play.'
'Kids come in as freshman ready to go,' McClure said. 'You aren't starting from zero. You are starting with a little bit of a base.'
Roncalli had to survive thrilling semifinal matchup against Fishers just to make it to the championship game. Fishers (31-5), looking to close out Roncalli for the second time this season in five sets, took control of the fifth set to take a 14-12 lead.
But the Royals would not be denied, taking the final four points.
'That game was so fun,' said Roncalli senior outside hitter Eli Berger, who led the Royals with 13 kills in the title match. 'You go out there, work your butt off and it just comes down to who works harder, who is there for the ball and who is ready to win. Last time we played them, we played like we didn't want to win. This time, we came out and threw some punches.'
That down-to-the-wire cliffhanger of a semifinal showed where boys volleyball can go.
'It went from 'oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,' to 'yes, yes, yes,'' Roncalli's Jennings said. 'You live and die with every point. I think (the game) will really grow. I think next year, people will hopefully see this and say, 'I want to be a part of that. That was a lot of fun.''