MONTICELLO — One of the only three teams that beat No. 7 (4A) Harrison volleyball in the regular season, No. 2 Westfield, was the team the Raiders were going to have to beat to win the regional championship Saturday, Oct. 24, at Twin Lakes High School.
Despite giving the Rocks a battle in the second set, the result was the same. Harrison fell in a 3-0 sweep (25-12, 25-21, 25-15), concluding a year for the program that brought its fourth consecutive sectional championship win.
“Just even from last year to this season is the trust and commitment and family that they were on the court,” coach Jacklyn Lehe of the team’s growth. “I wish we could’ve fought just a little bit harder (Saturday), but I have a great group of girls.”
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The postseason hopes ran deep for the Raiders heading into the tournament. Ending the season with 19 straight wins, they dominated most of their slate. But Westfield (27-2) presented a different challenge than most of the opponents they’ve countered, carrying size and speed across the board that was tough to match up against.
Harrison has had to rely on its youth all season. It only has four seniors on the roster, three of which have been unavailable for the postseason, and 10 of its 15 players are underclassmen. But even with that inexperience, they’ve stepped up throughout the sectional run and gave the Rocks a battle in several pockets of Saturday’s loss.
“We gave it our all. Every practice, every ball we had,” sophomore Gia Stokes said. “It sucks with our situation, the three seniors gone, I think the underclassmen did a really good job stepping it up and the ability for them to come off and play against a fast-paced Westfield team … is just awesome.”
The outlook for the Raiders is bright with their youth, as disappointing as the end of the year was. Stokes became a team captain this season and had a team-high of 363 kills coming into the game. Freshman Story Nixon blossomed at setter with 894 assists. Stella Snider will be a leading senior for the squad and development should continue with other returners and emerging freshmen that come up.
Harrison (28-4) isn’t going anywhere away from being a threat in Class 4A in 2027.
“We’re losing our big middle, but we’re bringing back our outside, our center, our DSs and we have fresh middles coming in,” Lehe said. “I’m excited to keep building this program and I’m excited to see what these girls are going to do next year.”
The big middle in question is Eva Stokes, a Purdue track and field commit and the player that has held down the fort in the middle over her career. She’s been with Lehe since she took the job four years ago, and watching her and the rest of the seniors grow has made that batch a special group for Lehe that’s bittersweet to see leave.
In the locker room before the Raiders headed home, Stokes told her teammates to “be leaders.” Her and the rest of class may be gone, but being a leader by example is something that they hope to pass down.
“We’re going to have a lot of sophomores and juniors next year,” Lehe said, “But I think they can do it because they had a great role model to show them the way.”
And the players themselves believe that, too. There’s still plenty of optimism in what’s building at Harrison.
“It gives me a lot of confidence,” Gia Stokes said. “At one point we had three freshmen on the court. I think they’ve foreseen it now, in the future they’re going to be good. We’re going to be able to compete with the bigger Indy teams.”
West Lafayette sweeps Leo
While Harrison's season ended, others around the Lafayette area extended theirs.
West Lafayette (21-12) approached this week’s matchup with Leo feeling confident that they could breakthrough the regional round, and that they did. It’s their first regional championship since 2021. West Lafayette defeated Leo 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-11). Between sectionals and regionals, it still has yet to drop a single set to an opponent.
At the Northwood semi-state bracket, the Red Devils will take on West Noble (30-3) in the second semifinal at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 31. A win would send them to the semi-state championship match later that night at 7 p.m.
Benton Central takes down Muncie Burris
In Class 2A, the Bison (24-6) went back-to-back in the regional championship, defeating Muncie Burris (24-6) in a 3-1 (23-25, 32-20, 25-23, 25-17) win.
Benton Central will face Oak Hill (24-8) in the Peru semi-state bracket as it seeks to make the state championship game in Class 2A once again. That match will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 31, with the potential title game at 6 p.m.
Rossville, South Newton advance in 1A
Rossville (26-7) completed a 3-2 (23-25, 17-25, 25-18, 26-24, 21-19) comeback win over the No. 1 (1A) Trojans (31-4) to go back-to-back in the regional championship.
Meanwhile, South Newton won a five-set thriller over No. 4 Marquette Catholic (25-27, 25-20, 25-22, 24-26, 15-13). Both teams are on opposite sides of the 1A semi-state draw at Delphi, which means they could face each other in the championship with semifinal wins.
Lafayette area IHSAA volleyball semi-state brackets
All matches scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 31.
Class 3A at NorthWood10:30 am ET | M1: Heritage vs Hanover Central12:30 pm ET | M2: West Lafayette vs West Noble7 pm ET | Championship: M1 winner vs M2 winner
Class 2A at Peru10 am ET | M1: Benton Central vs Oak Hill12 pm ET M2: Southwood vs Lakeland6 pm ET | Championship: M1 winner vs M2 winner
Class 1A at Delphi10 am ET | M1: Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian vs Rossville12 pm ET | M2: Northfield vs South Newton7 pm ET | Championship: M1 winner vs M2 winner
Chase Gemes covers high school sports and Purdue women's basketball for the Journal & Courier. He can be reached at cgemes@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: 4 Lafayette area volleyball teams take home regional championships