Sep. 10—Northwestern’s volleyball team handled Maconaquah 3-0 (25-8, 25-15, 25-13) Thursday night for a perfect 10-0 start to the season.
“The girls played great,” Northwestern coach Kathie Layden said. “Maconaquah is a sectional team so it is good to get this win. The girls are really playing well and continuing to improve each game.”
McKenna Layden and Leah Carter led the front row — Layden slammed 15 kills and stuffed two blocks and Carter contributed seven kills and two blocks. Ella Byrum also had two blocks.
Ella Byrum distributed 22 assists and served 15 point and Eliza Byrum served 14 points.
“Serving was a key and Ella and Eliza both played extremely well,” Kathie Layden said.
McKenna Layden and Tori Closson had eight digs apiece, Morgan Walker had seven digs and Eliza Byrum had six. Walker also served 11 points.
For Maconaquah, Taylor Roesler had eight kills and Averi Miller had 14 assists. Lilly Maple led the defense with 21 digs and 13 serve receptions.
EASTERN 3, TC 2
Eastern overcame 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to beat Tri-Central in five sets and remain unbeaten in the Hoosier Heartland Conference. The final scoreline was 24-26, 25-16, 20-25, 25-20, 15-13.
“It was a battle,” Eastern coach Missy Mavrick said, “but the girls fought to come out with a win.”
The Comets’ attack had good balance with Neely McKnight flooring 15 kills, Kate Harrison backing her with 12 kills and Jaeleigh Secrease adding 10 kills. Emma Sandlin distributed 43 assists.
Secrease complemented her hitting with six blocks.
“Jaeleigh Secrease did a great job,” Mavrick said. “She probably played her best match and really pushed the rest of the girls to keep fighting just stay positive.”
Audra Flanary led the Comets with seven blocks. Makenna Titus had 38 digs and 24 serve receptions, Harrison had 21 digs and 14 receptions and Trista Rice had 13 digs and 20 receptions.
Sandlin led the serving with 18 points (four aces). Harrison served 14 points (five aces) and Titus had 10 points.
BOYS SOCCER
NW 4, WESTERN 0
Northwestern broke away from a scoreless halftime tie to beat Western 4-0 in the Hoosier Conference tournament’s semifinal round at Lafayette Central Catholic.
Kai Jackson gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead when he took a free kick from Zach Van Osdell and scored. From there, Wes Miller provided the hammer with three goals in quick succession.
“Awesome game,” NW coach Aaron Longgood said. “Definitely a tale of two halves. Western came out in the first half relentless and had a lots of energy. They had quite a few shots in dangerous areas and luckily the ball just didn’t bounce their way in the second half. I though [Nolan] Kessler played a heck of a game for them. Second half was a different story. We came out looking like ourselves and playing the way we want to play.
“We always talk about dictating the game and making the other team react to us and that’s definitely what we were able to do. The boys came out and played fantastic. … Lots to be pleased about, but our backline and goalie did a superb job.”
Northwestern (9-1) will host West Lafayette in the championship at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Red Devils beat the Tigers 5-3 to open the season.
KOKOMO 5, LAF. JEFF 3
Kokomo built a 3-1 halftime lead, but Lafayette Jeff battled back for a 3-all tie. Kieran Morrison converted a penalty kick to put the Wildkats back in front and Eduardo Capetillo added an insurance goal with 16:00 remaining.
Morrison finished with three goals. Cole Boruff also scored.
The Wildkats (4-3, 2-1 NCC) visit McCutcheon on Saturday to conclude a delayed match from earlier in the week.
CARROLL 9, TAYLOR 0
Eli Falkenberg scored five goals to lead Carroll’s runaway victory on Taylor’s turf.
Also for the Cougars (8-1, 3-0 HHC), Noah Falkenberg had two goals and three assists, Owen Wise and Will Eldridge had one goal each and Joshua Radcliff, Ethan Radcliff and Landon Brovont had one assist each.
For Taylor, keeper Owen Shimer had 20 saves.
“We’re struggling to do anything right now,” Taylor co-coach Kirk Wiley said. “We’re struggling to connect with teammates we’re struggling to just possess the ball very well. We still have some work to do.”
GIRLS SOCCER
TIPTON 3, NW 2
Tipton built a 3-0 halftime lead, then held off Northwestern’s late comeback attempt for a 3-2 win.
Ella Wolfe led the Blue Devils with two goals. Meghan Moses also scored and Abigal Parker had an assist.
Lexi Hale and Becca Lagoni had the Tigers’ goals, both coming in the final 5:30. Beth Loveless had an assist.
LCC 6, WESTERN 2
Class 2A No. 13-ranked Lafayette Central Catholic, which won the Class A state title last year, jumped to a 4-0 lead and then held off Western’s comeback bid.
“I told the girls that I was incredibly proud of how well they performed against a really good team,” Western coach Sam Parr said. “Down 4-0 at halftime, the girls came out aggressive early in the second half and scored two quick goals. We still have a few key players out with injuries so if we can get healthy before tournament time we should do pretty well.”
Audrey Rassel and Ella Biggs scored Western’s goals with Lucy Weigt and Anahi Kesseli providing the assists. In goal, Anna Bowlby had 12 saves and Kyndal Mellady had four saves.
“The team did a much better job with possession,” Parr said.
MAC 3, EASTERN 2
Eastern dropped to 1-7 with the loss.
Makenna Brooks scored both of the Comets’ goals with Brooklyn Brooks assisting on both. Jacey Richmond had 10 saves.
GIRLS GOLF
WESTERN, NW TIE (MATCH PLAY)
When Marion dropped out of the scheduled three-team match at Green Acres, Western and Northwestern opted to mix things up by using match play.
“We’ve played Western so many times this year, it was nice to do something different, something fun,” Northwestern coach Kurt Koetter said.
The result: 3-3-1. The tie came at No. 1 where the Panthers’ Elizabeth Mercer chipped in a shot on the final hole to finish square with the Tigers’ Audrey Koetter.
Western’s wins came from Kylee Duncan (3 and 2), Natalie Nutt (5 and 3) and Chloe Barker (2 and 1). Northwestern’s wins came from Berkley Wray (3 and 1), Makenzee Westbrook (4 and 3) and Alexa Manis (2 and 1).
For Koetter, Westbrook and Manis, it was their final home match.
Next up for both Western and Northwestern is the Hoosier Conference’s tournament Saturday at Rensselaer.
MAC 176, T. VALLEY 182, N. MIAMI 255
Kianna Sharp and Ava Snyder shot 42s to lead Maconaquah to the win in the three-team meet at Peru Municipal.
Also for the Braves, Miranda Stoll shot 45 and Courtney Stoll and Daisy Williams had 47s.
Maconaquah plays in the Three Rivers Conference’s tournament Saturday at Huntington.
CL. PRAIRIE 216, EASTERN 225
Cora Bartrum, Rebekah Guthrie and Emily Giles all had 55s for the Comets in the match at Frankfort’s Deer Track G.C. Jenna Hendricks and Alexa Maurer had 60s.
BOYS TENNIS
EASTERN 5, TAYLOR 0
The Comets handled the Titans in straight sets at all five points in an HHC match.
At the singles points, Myer Miller dropped just one game at No. 1, Zhayne Kelly was a 6-2, 6-0 winner at No. 2 and Ian Haley was a 6-4, 6-0 winner at No. 3.
At the doubles points, Levi Lapp and Luke Laubenstein took a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 1 and Joe White and Eli Bowley posted a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 2.
Eastern (4-8 overall) improved to 2-0 in the HHC.
“Great win, always good to get a 5-0 sweep in a conference match and over a county rival,” coach Pat Rice said. “Thought up and down the lineup we played with great effort.”
CASS 5, T. VALLEY 0
The Kings won in straight sets at all five points.
In singles play, Jack Salyers was a 6-0, 6-2 winner at No. 1, Ethan Johnson was a 6-2, 6-4 winner at No. 2 and Gannon Davis took a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 3.
In doubles play, Jensen Burrous and Bryon Hurst posted a 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) win at No. 1 and Briceton Ellington and Noah Preston won 6-0, 6-2 at No. 2.
LOGAN 4, KOKOMO 1
The Wildkats’ point came at No. 2 doubles where Isaac Elkin and Ari Leger prevailed 6-4, 6-4.
“We were super excited to get Drake Hester in the lineup [at No. 3 singles] and reward his hard work, perfect attitude and strong character,” Kokomo coach Travis Taflinger said. “Ari and Isaac had another great match and picked up their second win this week. Caleb [Wallace] and Chad [Washburn, No. 1 doubles team] are getting better and better and I know they will keep improving this year together. The team is staying positive and will continue to keep working.”