Chesterton volleyball has been doing well in the first half of their season. An impressive record aids in displaying their talent. The team is 16-7 as of their latest game against Merrillville on September 17. Before the season will eventually start to wind down and the postseason draws closer, the team takes a look back to reflect on their progress, faults, and successes.
First, as with all fall sports, a summer of dedicated effort is needed to bring out the best in the athletes. In the summer, the team dug in deep and really worked well together.
“I think the summer went really well. We worked really hard and got good competition in the summer league,” senior middle hitter Marissa Roe said of their productive summer work.
“I think everything was super positive and our drive and passion was there. We were up super early and just as a team we all worked together, did a lot of stuff together, we bonded well,” junior Tenley Davis said.
Davis joined current sophomore Luca Bombacino last season when chosen for the All-Conference team voted on by coaches. Both play outside hitter, and both have an impressive kills statline (Davis-285 kills and Bombacino-191 kills). Other standout statlines include Marissa Roe (91 total blocks and 77 kills) and junior setter Abigail Parrish (277 assists and 42 serving aces).
Roe joins team captain Cassandra Lange as senior class members on the volleyball team. Both Roe and Lange are having breakout seasons so far, and teammates have nothing but praise for their upperclassmen.
“Marissa’s vertical and her decision making has improved so much,” Davis stated.
Roe and Lange are both having a huge impact on the court this year, showing the hard work they put in during their last summer of high school volleyball.
“I think Marissa contributes a lot to our team because her blocking style is so good. It helps our defense so much. She’s always up on the hitters and she’s always involved in the plays even when we don’t get a good pass, she’s still there to deceive the other teams blockers. I think Cassie also has a big impact on our game because she got hurt last season and toward the end of the season she wasn’t able to play with us but this year coming back from her injury I think the energy she projects onto the court is a big help for the spirit on the team,” team captain Parrish said.
According to MaxPreps, Roe is second in Indiana high school volleyball in the total blocks category, so it will be a fun stat for fans to keep track of throughout her senior season.
In one of their first games, the Trojans faced off against the Penn Kingsmen, a good test for CHS at the start of the season. Chesterton defeated them 3-0.
“The Penn game was super impressive to me, I think we all played really well together. Penn is a really good program and we all went into the game really wanting to win and we played really well together,” Parrish said
Every team needs to continue to build up and find value in every game. Davis is an excellent example of that, finding value in several games, whether that be a win or a loss.
“We also played Warsaw and I think we stood out a lot against them too. We didn’t win, but I think it was definitely a game for growth,” Davis mentioned.
Chesterton started conference matchups in late August, taking a win against the Laporte Slicers. They then faced off against a strong Lake Central Indians squad, a match that resulted in a five set thriller. Unfortunately, LC would take the victory on a night of back and forth action. Junior Ryleigh Connor would have 30 digs on the night and Davis would complete 30 kills.
“We took them to five for the first time in a while. We lost that game too, but it definitely shows we can push them,” Bombacino commented.
Lake Central is a team that appears on the Chesterton schedule again on September 24. The team really wanted to win, and luckily, they get to redeem themselves later.
“We definitely have the power to beat them. We were close, but we let it slip a little bit. Practices and tournament games are good to have everything locked down and ready for the later games,” Roe stated.
Just like Lake Central, Crown Point is a repeat opponent for CHS, giving the Trojans a chance to pay back the Bulldogs for beating them 3-0. Crown Point currently sits at first place in the DAC with a perfect 6-0 record, with LC (6-1) and Chesterton (5-2) trailing behind them. The team captains are getting ready to play CP and are eager to meet them on the court again.
“I’m looking forward to playing Crown Point again cause we played Crown Point two weeks ago and we lost Ryleigh Connor when she got a concussion, so the spirit of the team died. I’m excited to play them again at home,” Parrish said.
“I am really excited for Crown Point. It’s our Dig Pink night and I think we can take them… Lake Central and Crown Point are our two big games. I don’t think we played our best but hopefully next time around we can take them,” Lange commented.
Dig Pink refers to the theme of the game when the volleyball team brings attention to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which starts on October 1, the day of the CP matchup. The Trojans won’t stop there, and have their last game on October 10 against Merrillville before entering into the postseason.
“We wanna win regionals. It’s our big goal,” Lange concluded.
