Last Saturday, the Center Grove volleyball team took down Southport 3-0 to win the sectional championship. Throughout the season, the team was able to break records and reach new personal milestones. Senior Maddi Higginson reached 1000 digs, senior Ellen Zapp broke the Center Grove kill record and senior Reese Dunkle broke the Center Grove block record. Dunkle was also the first middle in Center Grove history to eclipse 1000 kills.
“Getting 1000 digs is so challenging because you really have to know where the ball is going and read it before it goes over the net,” Higginson said. “To get the ball up, it depends on where you are on the court and really if you are quick enough to get there.”
Higginson’s skill in reading the ball contributed to her success in reaching this number, allowing her to position herself to turn defense into attacks.
“You can normally tell where the ball is going to be when it gets set,” Higginson said. “If it is set past them, then you know they might pull it line, and if it’s set in front of them, they’ll probably pull it across. You can watch their arm and their hand to determine where you can stand on the court.”
Higginson’s defense is only one half of volleyball. She makes sure that the Trojans don’t get scored on. On the offensive side, Zapp scores points for the Trojans. Zapp has been chasing the Center Grove kill record all year, making the record a primary focus for her this season.
“It’s been a goal of mine since the beginning of this season and last season,” Zapp said. “I had the number written down on my goal board in my room. I needed 467 [kills] to break the record. I kept reducing that after every game. It was my biggest goal of the season so it means a lot.”
To break the school record, Zapp had little room for error.
“It’s really challenging, because you’re chasing a certain number,” Zapp said. “You can’t really have too many bad days. I did the math at the beginning of the season that I needed 4.4 kills per set to reach the record, and that’s what I was striving for every game. The biggest challenge is maintaining that number and staying consistent.”
Zapp has focused on making minor improvements to her game and staying aggressive when hitting the ball on offense.
“I’m an outside hitter, and there’s a lot of components to what I do. For getting the kill record, the most important thing would be attacking, hitting the ball and getting it on the ground. You need to keep searching for that number,” Zapp said.
Although Zapp has taken the number for the most kills in Center Grove history, Dunkle has dominated the net in another way; She has put an emphasis on blocks as an important skill in the sport.
“A lot of [middle hitters] are really good at hitting, but blocking is what sets a middle apart,” Dunkle says. “Blocking is arguably the hardest skill in volleyball and also the most mental. I want to inspire younger Center Grove athletes to work hard and focus on skills like blocking that are underappreciated.”
Coming into high school, Dunkle knew she wanted to set the block record because she wanted it to get more recognition. In addition to the block record, her 1000 kill mark from the middle position is another record-breaking feat.
“Reaching 1000 kills as a middle [hitter] means a lot,” Dunkle said. “Middles don’t get set as much as other positions. I think getting it is a testament to working hard in transition and making sure that I’m available, but it’s also my teammates being able to pass well enough that I can get set to get kills.”
Even though Dunkle set the record, she doesn’t see her kills record as a solo achievement.
“For a middle to get set, you have to be able to pass, and a lot of the time you can’t control how well you pass, but the past few years our teams have been really good passers,” Dunkle said. “We’ve been able to set the middle. Without passing well, I can’t get set, so it’s a testament to our team’s ability to pass.”
Head coach Jennifer Hawk knew that the combination of Higginson, Zapp and Dunkle was going to be successful early on in their careers, as she recognized their unique abilities their freshman year.
“My freshman year, it was me, Reese and Maddi that were on varsity,” Zapp said. “Our coach pulled us aside right after we made the team and told us, ‘You guys are it, this is my class, you guys are going to win state in one of these next four years.’ We’ve always known coming in with a lot of talent that we were a special group.”
Because all three have had four years of experience at the varsity level, they are able to trust in each other’s abilities and take their skills to the next level.
“I do think that our team chemistry has also built,” Higginson said. “We’ve gotten to know each other, our strengths and weaknesses, how people can play together and what some people can handle and what others can’t. We’ve learned to criticize each other in a nicer way without being negative. We can cover up the weaknesses and take advantage of the strengths we have all together.”
Today, the Trojans will play for the regional title, taking on Brownsburg at Greenfield Central at 4 p.m., where they will look to lean on the strengths of everybody on the team.
