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18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
IHSAA boys volleyball sectional semifinals: McCutcheon advances to championship against Zionsville
WEST LAFAYETTE ― McCutcheon junior outside hitter Kai Inoue found his spots after an early start and lack of energy nearly put the Mavericks behind in the first set in the IHSAA sectional semifinals against Lebanon. "We didn't have energy," Inoue said. "We were slow and we were playing around too much." Advertisement After trailing 14-7 in the first set and a timeout by coach Keith Crisler, McCutcheon collectively played more engaged. McCutcheon battled from its first set deficit and took control of the action to sweep Lebanon 26-24, 25-10, 25-12 and advanced to the IHSAA championship match against Zionsville tonight (Ma 17) at 7 p.m. More: How Zionsville outlasted Lafayette Jeff in IHSAA boys volleyball sectional thriller Inoue had a team-high 13 kills including the closing finish. Junior Korbin Vanette added eight kills and seven digs and libero Khelan Patel had 12 digs to anchor the backrow for McCutcheon (15-9). McCutcheon Mavericks middle hitter Jayden Heygood (13) celebrates with McCutcheon Mavericks Kai Inoue (2) Tuesday, April 22, 2025, during the IHSAA boys volleyball match against the Harrison Raiders at Harrison High School, in West Lafayette, Indiana. Senior Kieraan Jordan led McCutcheon with 21 assists, and sophomore Mason Souligne added 18 assists. Advertisement All it took was a wake-up call from Lebanon (4-8-1) who found early success targeting sophomore Jake Stoller. Middle blocker Jayden Heygood, with Souligne, put up blocks and took Lebanon out of rhythm. The duo combined for a block to win the first set. "Knowing where to be, having court awareness and having fun really allowed us to push through everything," Heygood said. More: Boys volleyball experiencing growing pains despite popularity in first season under IHSAA How it happened set by set between McCutcheon and Lebanon Set one: McCutcheon started the match slow and it nearly got away early after trailing 14-7. But then Patel and the backrow started reacting quicker and began feeding junior Korbin Vanette. Vanette's timing and power with the combination of improved flow with setter Kieraan Jordan allowed McCutcheon to dig out of its hole. McCutcheon scored eight straight points and then received support from Heygood and Souligne. The duo of Souligne and Heygood teamed up to secure a comeback 26-24 in set one. Set 2: Inoue was the star for McCutcheon. Inoue had five kills for McCutcheon who systematically pieced Lebanon across the court. Set 3: The control and hands of Souligne and Jordan led to fluid movement in shot receiving and helped Inoue pick his spots to an easy third set clinch. Harrison Raiders Ian McKinney (11) hits the ball Thursday, May 15, 2025, during the IHSAA boys volleyball sectionals match against the North Putnam Cougars at Harrison High School in West Lafayette, Indiana. Harrison falls to Zionsville "Next season starts now," declared Harrison coach Kristie Hostetler. Advertisement Harrison attacked the net aggressively but couldn't maintain the momentum it built from its first set against Zionsville. Senior Anders Christianson sparked the momentum for the Eagles and Harrison fell in four sets 22-25, 25-19, 25-18, 25-21. "I told them in the locker room I couldn't be more proud, especially in a rebuild year and having only three returning varsity players," Hostetler said. "Wasn't sure what to expect as we rebuilt." Harrison (23-6) will return key players including sophomore outside hitter Cole Hess and junior outside hitter Emerson Mohr. Hess led the team in kills and digs and Mohr led the program in hitting percentage. Advertisement "What we witnessed out there was the desire to compete," Hostetler said. "Their desire to work hard brought us here and they defied my expectations as competitors." How it happened Set one: Back and forth between Harrison and Zionsville, but the hitting percentages for the Raiders was much better. Cleaner attacks headed by McKinney, Hess and Mohr. Set two: Christianson and Archer were too much for Harrison to handle. The timing was impeccable, and Harrison struggled to get into a rhythm. Set three: Zionsville was a step-and-a-half quicker. Miller directing traffic kept his team's attack flowing. Christianson and Archer found themselves alone with space. The lowest Harrison could do was cut the deficit to 12-10 on a Baker ace, but overall found little trouble. Set four: Harrison began playing with more confidence at the tail end. Kills by Hess and net play by sophomore Kegan Wargo but Zionsville was too much to handle in the end with Scroggins directing traffic. This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: IHSAA sectional semifinals between Harrison Zionsville McCutcheon and Lebanon
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
McCutcheon boys volleyball reflects on turnaround in first IHSAA season
LAFAYETTE ― McCutcheon boys volleyball coach Keith Crisler saw his players meld together after two years of learning the sport together. Boys who picked up the sport for the first time two seasons ago became a formidable group that learned to pass, digs and score points together as a unit. Advertisement McCutcheon was swept in the first IHSAA sectional boys title title on Saturday afternoon to Zionsville 25-19, 25-14, 25-18, but the program summitted after going 11-20 in 2023 and 6-18 in 2024. For Crisler, finishing with a 15-10 record in 2025 was a breakthrough for his Mavericks. More: Boys volleyball experiencing growing pains despite popularity in first season under IHSAA "One word I would say is growth," Crisler said. "Growth as individuals, as athletes and as a program in the sport. Boys volleyball and men's volleyball in Indiana has (some time) to grow, but I feel like we've had a successful season because we took that pioneering step to learn something new and that's not an easy thing to do." Advertisement The number of boys volleyball teams expanded from 35 in 2022 to the 133 competing in the IHSAA playoffs this spring. As the competition grew, so did McCutcheon. McCutcheon Mavericks defensive specialist Jack Smith (9) celebrates Saturday, May 17, 2025, during the IHSAA boys volleyball sectionals championship match against the Zionsville Eagles at Harrison High School in West Lafayette, Indiana. "I don't think anyone should leave this season with their head down and their shoulders slumped," Crisler said. "They are pioneer men and left their mark in their first official year in Indiana." The growth of McCutcheon volleyball was headed by graduating starters senior libero Khelan Patel, middle blocker Jayden Heygood, setter Kieraan Jordan, outside hitter Josh Madsen and outside hitter Malachi Kenner. Patel, Heygood, Jordan, Madsen and Kenner were the "founding fathers of McCutcheon boys volleyball," per Crisler. Advertisement More: IHSAA boys volleyball sectional semifinals: McCutcheon advances to championship against Zionsville "They are the true pioneers," Crisler added. "A lot of what we did this season is because of them. With experiences they had and how they led the younger boys in our program, they should probably have a statue or something like that." Patel was a consistent libero who attacked and placed shot receives in playable directions for his offense. "It just shows the effort and drive we had for the game," Patel said. "I know all of us who have been playing, we go play during the offseason because of how much we love the sport. We really took it upon ourselves to grow the game, build the program and build what we had within our community at McCutcheon volleyball." McCutcheon Mavericks libero Khelan Patel (1) celebrates Saturday, May 17, 2025, during the IHSAA boys volleyball sectionals championship match against the Zionsville Eagles at Harrison High School in West Lafayette, Indiana. Jordan distributed the ball as a setter but could also provide an extra body at the net to make blocks or earn kills and points for his team. Advertisement "It's truly something special to be there during the first year and build this thing from the ground up when it wasn't a fully sanctioned sport," Jordan said. "It's just awesome to see it blossom into this and see it expand like football and baseball." Jordan and Patel saw the culture grow at McCutcheon through their activity, setting an example for future players to come. "It shows how much we've grown from March 10 and the first day of the season to now," Jordan said. "We've been really focused and bought into the program and this was our goal, to make it to the championship. It showed there was so much focus put into this team." Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@ on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson . This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: McCutcheon boys volleyball shows growth in 2025 season
