Staff Reports
MUNCIE — The Greenfield-Central volleyball team won three more matches on Saturday en route to eight straight overall and the Fifth Annual Shondell Family Invitational championship.
The Cougars beat Class 3A No. 6 Muncie Burris in a two-set thriller during the invite finals, 25-23, 25-19, to win.
After a three-and-a-half hour break from their last match, the Cougars came out ready, facing the Muncie Burris Owls inside Ball Gymnasium for the tournament championship title.
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The Cougars found themselves down by six points in the first set before they flipped the switch. The senior-laden team let their maturity show and battled back to win the set by two points.
In the second set, the Cougars jumped out with a four-point run, utilizing their communication and energy to win the match.
Rachel Campbell led the way defensively recording 19 digs. Marissa Grigsby quarterbacked the offensive attack as all of Greenfield-Central’s front row players recorded five or more kills.
Prior to the championship match, Greenfield-Central defeated Northeastern 2-0 (25-8, 25-12) behind a team-high six kills from Makayla Price. Brooke Herrell finished with five kills, and Ali Knecht had six aces. Kenley Carpenter recorded four blocks.
The Cougars (10-1) defeated Evansville Memorial 2-0 (25-18, 25-18) earlier in the day. Price paced the offense with nine kills. Herrell posted eight.
Campbell had 16 digs, while Morgan Hornaday had 14 assists. Molly Schwarzkopf registered two blocks.
“Wow, what a great day,” Cougars head coach Ron Heck said. “I was slightly concerned that the three-hour break that we had was going to work against the girl’s energy levels, but they did not let it affect them. The team really showed how tough they were mentally in the first set (against Burris) after being down six points, which is something we have really been working on.
“We knew going into this championship match against Muncie Burris, it was going to be a tough one. We are so proud of how the girls played against the Owls, they have such a well-rounded team.”
