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Trinity Lutheran sweeps to school's first state title in any sport
MUNCIE – Perfection was not the goal, but the Trinity Lutheran Cougars proved to be during the 53rd Annual IHSAA Volleyball State Finals at Ball State University’s Worthen Arena.
The top-ranked Class 1A Cougars (30-8) won their seventh consecutive, three-set state tournament match, 25-12, 25-10, 15-19, and beat No. 8 Faith Christian (28-5) Saturday morning to claim not only the volleyball program but the school’s first-ever team state championship.
A four-time state finalist in program history, the Cougars finished the job four years after taking runner-up honors in 2021.
“They were here as freshmen, so they know what it’s like, and they just wanted it so bad,” Trinity Lutheran head coach Janet VanLiew said. “It’s just so exciting for the school and the kids.”
The Cougars also reached the state finals in 2011 and 2019, but their last trip ended in a heartbreaking defeat, 3-2 (28-30, 25-18, 25-17, 12-25, 7-15), against Lafayette Central Catholic.
“It means a lot. We lost in five our freshman year, and ever since then we have not stopped working,” Trinity Lutheran senior libero Laura Roeder said. “We have put our whole heart into everything just to get to this point, and I think it showed out there.”
With five seniors on the roster along with two juniors, six sophomores and three freshmen, the Cougars under the tutelage of VanLiew, the program’s founder in 2001, finally savored championship victory.
Trinity Lutheran has been a part of the IHSAA membership since 2003, and in that span the Cougars have accumulated 14 sectional, six regional and four semi-state titles.
VanLiew, a Jennings County graduate in 1981 and IHSAA state finalist in 1980, coached at Brownstown Central from 1986-1998 before serving as head coach at Trinity Lutheran from 2001-04. She coached at Seymour (2005-08) before returning to Trinity Lutheran in 2023-24.
“I started it 21 years ago, I think, and to come back, it was kind of a crazy journey from there to here, but it’s neat to be back to finish it here,” VanLiew said. “It is so special to the girls. It’s a small school. I always joke that we have one hallway. They don’t lock their lockers, so it’s just an opportunity and literally a chance of a lifetime, and I’m so glad the fans got to experience that.”
The Cougars played like a powerhouse on the grandest of stages, defeating a Faith Christian program that was making its first state appearance since joining the IHSAA membership in 2010.
Trinity Lutheran cruised through the first two sets despite valiant efforts by Faith Christian Eagles seniors Anna Riley (eight kills) and Molly Miller (seven kills) and junior setter Olivia Barber (15 assists, nine digs).
In the third set, the Eagles challenged the Cougars, and their flawless state tournament sweep through six matches prior to the state finals.
Down early, the Eagles tied the third set 8-8 before taking a 15-10 lead at one point. With Faith Christian ahead 13-10, a media timeout provided the Cougars a chance to regroup.
“During that timeout, we just said, ‘Deep breath. We’re OK. We got this. Come out with all the energy you can.’ And we did,” Roeder said. “We trained our whole season to get to this point, and we were ready for it.”
Coming out of the break, the Cougars’ deficit grew to five points before they began to chip away and reclaim the advantage 18-17 following two more ties at 16- and 17-all.
“I think the kids knew they couldn’t let the fans down, and maybe that was part of the problem. We had almost gotten too high, but that TV timeout kind of helped,” VanLiew said. “We calmed them down, and then they took care of business.”
A kill by senior Carson Bowling deadlocked the set 17-17, and a kill from senior Madison Keith made it 19-17 en route to a 7-2 run to end the match.
Eight different Cougars tallied at least one kill with frosh Rachel Bonde and Keith leading the team with seven. Bowling had six kills, followed by senior Ava Blomenberg with five. Junior Bailey Bonde finished with four.
Roeder paced the defense with 11 digs. Senior setter Addison Darlage dished out 23 assists with nine digs and two service aces. Junior Maddie Adams had four aces and seven digs. Sophomore Zoey Dulaney logged seven digs.
For the match, the Cougars posted an attacking percentage of .230 with 32 kills in 87 total attacks and 12 errors.
The Eagles were limited to 19 kills in 97 attacks for a -.052 percentage.
Bailey and Rachel Bonde, a freshman, had five and four block assists, respectively, for the Cougars. Bailey Bonde’s mark set a new, three-set individual Class 1A state championship record, besting the previous standard of four reached three times prior (2004, 2008, 2017).
Trinity Lutheran amassed 45 digs as a team compared to Faith Christian’s 29.
The Cougars’ seven total team blocks set a new Class 1A, three-set state championship record, surpassing Wes-Del’s mark of six set in 2004 and 2011.
“We tell you how hard these kids work, but until you really understand what they’ve done to get where they’re at, it’s surprising that a group would buy into what my strong suggestions were, but they bought into it. The parents bought into it, and now they’re state champions, so that’s pretty exciting,” VanLiew said. “They’re such a tight-knit group.”
Class 1A State Championship Records
Total Team Blocks: 7 by Trinity Lutheran.
Block Assists: 5 by Bailey Bonde, Trinity Lutheran
Laura Roeder of Trinity Lutheran named mental attitude award recipient
Following the match, Laura Roeder of Trinity Lutheran High School was announced as the recipient of the Mental Attitude Award by the IHSAA Executive Committee.
Laura ranks first in her class; she also has served on the student council in the role of vice president and class representative. Laura has earned the high honor roll distinction each semester throughout her time at Trinity.
Laura is an exceptional multi-sport athlete, participating in volleyball, basketball, and softball during her high school career. She has been team captain for three consecutive years for the Cougars. She also holds many records at Trinity Lutheran in career aces and career serve receptions as well as single season records in receptions, aces, and digs.
She is the daughter of Brett and Mindy Roeder of Seymour, IN and plans to pursue studies in Business at Indiana University Indianapolis while continuing her 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 proud corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Trinity Luthran High School’s general scholarship fund in the name of Laura Roeder.
