Daily Reporter staff reports
GREENFIELD — Mt. Vernon and Greenfield-Central avoided the defending state champions’ side of the Class 4A Sectional 9 volleyball bracket.
The IHSAA released sectional pairings on Sunday.
The Marauders and Cougars play in arguably the toughest sectional in the state, which includes defending Class 4A state champion Yorktown and defending Class 3A champ New Castle, which moved up a class due to the tournament success factor. Four of the top 13-ranked teams in the IndianaPrepVolleyball.com ratings are in the eight-team field.
Mt. Vernon (21-4), ranked No. 8, opens play at New Castle High School Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. against winless Anderson (0-18). Greenfield-Central (17-10) will play the second match of the tournament against No. 13 Pendleton Heights (23-5). It will follow the Mt. Vernon-Anderson match on Tuesday.
The Marauders have beaten both Greenfield-Central and Pendleton Heights earlier this season. The Pendleton Heights match was a five-setter, where the Marauders rallied from a 2-0 deficit. Pendleton beat Greenfield-Central 3-0 last week. Mt. Vernon beat the Cougars 3-0 in mid-September.
In the lower portion of the bracket, matches beginning Thursday, Oct. 17 at 6 p.m., No. 2 Yorktown (25-1) will take on Muncie Central (6-12) followed by No. 1 New Castle (26-1) facing Richmond (13-12).
Both Mt. Vernon and Greenfield-Central lost regular-season matches to New Castle and Yorktown. The Marauders won a set against Yorktown.
The semifinals and finals will be Saturday, Oct. 19.
New Palestine (15-10) will play in Class 4A Sectional 10, hosted by Lawrence Central.
The Dragons have the best record in the six-team tournament, but will have to face some tough competition if they are to advance on to regional play.
The Dragons are 2-0 against teams in the tournament, beating both Warren Central (3-20) and Lawrence Central (1-18).
Match 1 of the tournament pits Warren Central against Lawrence North (10-14). The Dragons are in Match 2 against North Central (10-13).
In the semifinal portion of the bracket, Lawrence Central is scheduled to play the WC/LN winner, while Cathedral (11-12) will take on the NP/NC winner.
Dates and times for the LC tournament were unavailable at press time.
Eastern Hancock will play in the initial match of seven-team Class 2A Sectional 41, hosted by Northeastern.
The Royals (10-18) play Shenandoah (23-7) at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 15. Eastern Hancock lost 3-0 to the Raiders in early September.
On Thursday, Knightstown (18-9) takes on Union County (16-8) and Centerville (11-10) faces Northeastern (3-14).
If the Royals win their opener, they will face No. 3 Hagerstown (24-2) in the first of two semifinal matches Saturday, Oct. 19, at 11 a.m.
