Wapahani Senior libero Hannah Smith
MUNCIE — There was a point during Saturday night’s sectional championship when Wapahani’s energy dipped. The team was sluggish and frustrated. The Raiders needed a lift, and senior libero Hannah Smith knew she was the one to provide it.
After all, the 5-foot-1 team captain was a freshman when the Raiders last won a sectional championship.
“I was one of the only ones left from that team,” Smith said. “I knew we had the players to do it, I knew we could do it. … I’m thinking this sectional win will open their eyes, and show them, ‘Yes, we can do it.'”
No. 4 Wapahani secured the 2A Burris Sectional championship on Saturday by knocking off Monroe Central 25-11, 17-25, 25-21, 25-13. Wapahani coach Jared Richardson said shaky servicing caught up to his team in that second set. It seemed to linger into the third set that at one point was tied at 20.
While Smith was the vocal leader pushing her team during the match, Richardson was getting fired up during timeouts in that critical third set.
“Sometimes the more riled up I get, I think it does push the girls,” Richardson said. “But you also have to make sure they stay focused throughout the entire time.”
A four-point run at the end of the third set gave Wapahani momentum that it never lost in the fourth and final set. The Raiders’ energy, once nearly gone in that second set, returned in full force. They jumped out to an 11-3 lead and held on to win the match with a 25-13 victory in the final set.
Smith said she hopes to lead her team through the regional, where it will face Madison-Grant, winner of the Alexandria-Monroe Sectional, all the way to state. Before advancing to Saturday’s sectional championship match, Wapahani found itself trailing No. 1 Wes-Del 0-2 before winning three straight sets to advance to Saturday’s championship match.
That experience, Richardson says, will be valuable moving forward.
“These kids know everything is going to be a fight,” he said. “We’ve had some big, long-drawn-out matches this year. That helps them understand that you never give up, and you can always come back.”
Smith, who is committed to Ball State to play volleyball next year, was a freshman with that 2012 Wapahani team that last won a sectional title. That team went on to win a state championship.
“I didn’t really play then,” Smith said. “It means a lot to me to be on the court, to be a leader and to finally get the (sectional) title.”
Contact Ball State sports reporter Dakota Crawford at dcrawford@muncie.gannett.com or follow @DakotaCrawford_.