It was a loaded volleyball sectional field at South Dearborn. EIAC champion Lawrenceburg along with state ranked Greensburg and Batesville were all in the field.
In the end, it was the Lady Bulldogs of Batesville surviving the test and claiming the sectional championship. This is the first sectional title for Batesville since 2013.
The Lady Bulldogs opened sectional action Thursday against Jennings County. Batesville posted the 19-25, 25-22, 25-23, 26-24 win to advance to the semifinal.
In the semifinal, Batesville cruised against host South Dearborn 25-12, 25-11, 25-11. This set up a match with rival Greensburg for the sectional title.
The Lady Pirates won both regular season meetings between the two squads, but Saturday’s championship game was different.
After splitting the first two sets, the Lady Bulldogs (26-7) eliminated Greensburg (22-3) in four sets 25-23, 14-25, 25-16, 25-22 to advance to the regional at 1 p.m. Saturday to face Evansville Mater Dei (21-10) at Bloomington North.
Greensburg earned the right to play for the sectional title with a quarterfinal win against Franklin County 25-8, 25-9, 25-11.
Ali Wells and Audra Gehl led the Lady Pirates with 10 and 11 kills respectively. Claire Larrison had a team-high four blocks. Wells dished out 18 assists and Lauren Powers added 14 assists.
In the semifinal, the Lady Pirates defeated 25-20, 25-22, 25-15 to set up the championship match with Batesville.