Micah Leavell
For the first time in six weeks, the Central Bearcats came up just short.
Central, which had won 23 straight matches dating to Sept. 12, lost in the Fort Wayne South Side Sectional championship match Saturday night against Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-12, 15-12). No statistics were available. Earlier in the day, Central earned a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-22) win over Huntington North in the semifinals.
“It was a great battle; it was a hard-fought five games,” Central coach Wes Lyon said. “They just took a step forward and we didn’t respond. They ended up winning, but our girls played their hearts out, and I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
The Bearcats, who finished the season 30-5, had been one of the hottest teams in the state the last two months climbing to No. 6 in the Class 4A rankings. Lyon knew it would be an uphill battle with four teams with at least 24 wins in the same sectional, and the Bearcats nearly took down the defending Class 3A state champions. Concordia improved to 30-4.
Complicating matters was not having outside hitter Virginia Wilhoite, who tore her ACL two weeks ago. Wilhoite has blossomed into Central’s best all-around player in her sophomore season, and Lyon noted the Bearcats would miss her for her passing and serving as much as her attacking. The Bearcats had still been in good hands at the net thanks to Micah Leavell and E’Laisah Young. Leavell finished the match with a team-high 23 kills, while Young added 16.
The future remains bright for the Bearcats, who lose Leavell and outside hitter Nikki Marshall, but return setter Lacee Adams, libero Kinkaid Padgett, middle hitter Melajah Bryant, Wilhoite and Young, among others. This was Central’s first year in 4A after moving up from 3A.
In other action, Blue River fell to Seton Catholic 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-9) in the Randolph Southern Sectional semifinals, closing its season with a 13-22 record. Seton Catholic went on to sweep Union (15-15) in the championship match 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-16). Seton Catholic will face Daleville Tuesday at 7 p.m.