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MUNCIE – Top-ranked Roncalli’s journey was four years in the making, and on Saturday night inside Ball State University’s Worthen Arena the Royals’ dreams became a reality.
Competing in their first IHSAA Class 3A volleyball state finals since 2006 after two near misses at semi-state in both 2021 and 2023, the Royals finished the job with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-21) victory against No. 7 Angola.
At a perfect 35-0 on the season, Roncalli became the 18th volleyball team in IHSAA state tournament history to win a state championship undefeated, while marking the first-ever in school history and the first program to achieve the feat at the 3A level.
“That’s unimaginable. We want to win every game, but it’s wanting to actually do it. It’s surreal to be 35-0. We never lost. It’s just crazy. You can tell we put in the work every single game to get where we are,” Roncalli senior middle blocker Mackenzie Kruer said.
Kruer applied the final touch on the Royals’ flawless run with the match-winning kill in the third set before she was tackled by her teammates on the court, celebrating the programs’ fourth state title all time and third at 3A (1998, 2006). Roncalli won its first state title in 1981 during the single-class era.
“It comes from hard work and determination and throughout this whole season we knew what it felt like to lose, and that feeling is just the worst. We had to work harder if we wanted to get to this moment, and that’s what we did,” said Roncalli senior outside hitter Logan Bell, an Oregon recruit. “It’s so rewarding.”
In both 2021 and 2023, Roncalli fell short of a state finals berth with 3-1 and a 3-0 loss against Castle, respectively.
This year, the Royals broke through with a perfect state tournament run without surrendering a single set that included 3-0 wins over No. 8 New Palestine in their own sectional final, a sweep against No. 5 Northview for the Cascade Regional title and over No. 2 Tri-West Hendricks in the Columbus East Semi-State finals.
“It’s such an accomplishment, especially for our program. We haven’t won a state championship since 2006, let alone an undefeated season. It’s just amazing to do it for the seniors,” said Roncalli junior outside hitter Lydia Stahley, who is committed to Missouri. “It just feels amazing and to do this with this group of girls is special. We’ve worked all season for this, and I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a little girl.”
The Angola Hornets (32-5) didn’t make things easy for the Royals despite not winning a set to blemish Roncalli’s total of five sets lost all season.
The first-time state qualifiers came out focused to rattle the Royals and forced eight ties and three lead changes in the first set, two more ties in the second and seven in the third with four lead changes while holding a slim lead in the final stanza.
Behind junior outside hitter Maya Harris’ team-leading 12 kills and six digs, the Hornets stalemated the Royals 10-10 in the first before an 11-2 run by Roncalli snapped the deadlock.
In the second, the Royals erased a 2-2 tie with a 7-2 run, and in the third, a late 7-2 rally wiped away a 14-14 tie and 16-14 deficit.
“I think that was good for them because they knew it wasn’t going to be easy. They had to fight and then they really stepped on the gas,” Roncalli head coach Christina Erazmus said. “I think it helped them throughout the course of the match to know that ‘Hey, this is a good team, and they can hang with us.’ And they proved that in that third set, and I’m just so proud of how we stayed the course.”
Harris, an Illinois recruit, entered the match with a state-leading 664 kills. However, Bell and Stahley countered with 14 and 11 kills, respectively in the state finals. Bell added a team-best 13 digs. Junior Reagan Turk tallied 12 digs, and junior setter Addie Haberthy had 32 assists.
“They’re an amazing team. The margin for error when you play them is very small. You can’t make mistakes. You can’t make little easy mistakes. We made a few there, but they refused to let the ball hit the floor,” Angola head coach Brian Harris said. “But I’m so proud of our girls and how hard we competed. I know we hung with them a couple of sets, and we really pushed them, but we just could never break them.”
Roncalli’s closest match this season was a 3-2 win over Tri-West Hendricks during the regular season on Sept. 18.
“They were very resistant. They obviously didn’t let us get as big of a lead as we wanted, but I think the biggest thing for us was we got a little nervous. It was a matter of staying calm and leaning on each other,” Kruer said. “We knew what we needed to do. We just had to find that and find ourselves and play for each other.”
Learning from coach Erazmus was an added bonus.
A state champion at Roncalli in 1998, Erazmus began her coaching career as an assistant at Brownsburg from 2011-17 before becoming the head coach for her alma mater in 2020.
“It’s all so surreal. I can’t believe that just happened,” Erazmus said. “I honestly never knew that I would come back as a coach in this capacity. I was brought in at Brownsburg as just a middle school coach, and then the high school coach recruited me. Then, when Roncalli saw me, they were like, ‘Hey, you need to come back.’ I knew I wanted to be back here. Our community is unbelievable.”
Class 3A State Championship Records
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Angola's Ava Harris receives Mental Attitude Award
Following the match, Ava Harris of Angola High School was announced as the recipient of the Mental Attitude Award by the IHSAA Executive Committee.
Ava ranks in the top one percent of her class and achieved academic honor roll all four years. She has been involved in fours clubs (Y Club, Art Club, Angola University, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes) as a key member throughout her time at Angola High School.
Ava is a dual sports athlete in both volleyball and tennis for the Hornets earning academic all-state honors in both sports. She’s been named all-conference all four years in volleyball and three times in girls tennis. Last spring, she and her sister Maya advanced to the girls doubles state semifinal round.
She is the daughter of Brian and Lisa Harris of Angola, IN and plans to pursue studies in Civil Engineering at Villanova University while continuing her playing career in volleyball.
The Mental Attitude Award is annually presented to a senior nominated by her principal and coach, and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability during her four years of high school.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, a corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Angola High School’s general scholarship fund in the name of Ava Harris.