Top Five Entering Week 6 In 3A
Here we are in week six of Indiana’s high school season, and we finally have a poll where there’s a new team added. Of the twenty (five teams per poll, four polls), only one is new this week to the…
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Continue ReadingHere we are in week six of Indiana’s high school season, and we finally have a poll where there’s a new team added. Of the twenty (five teams per poll, four polls), only one is new this week to the rankings. We are also going to take a little time to give some love to the bigs that do all of the dirty work but none of the accolades.
#5: Evansville Memorial (14-5)
Previous Ranking: NR
Welcome to the top five, Tigers! With no bad losses on their resume, and a steady diet of wins and consistent play throughout this fall, Memorial finally makes its appearance with the big girls. Tonight’s matchup against a scrappy 12-6 Mount Vernon (Posey) squad should prove problematic if EM is even a little off of their game. We like Caroline Jones (’23, 6-1 MB) to be the size factor for the Tigers. Already leading in blocks, Miss Jones can hit from anywhere and has the length to go around and over most blocks she’ll see this fall.
#4: Bellmont (16-5)
Previous Ranking: #3
A minor slip-up in five sets against 4A Mount Vernon (Fortville) drops the Braves a spot, but continues their trend of scheduling everyone they can that makes them better. Getting some much-needed down time, the Braves are off until next week. Senior hybrid attacker Megan Saalfrank Megan Saalfrank 5'11" | MB Bellmont | 2022 State IN (’22, 5-9 MB/RS) plays right side at her club, Team Pineapple , but is relied upon to use her explosiveness to race past her opponents and block the rest. She’s also adding nearly three kills per set at a .334 clip, so this is no basic player.
#3: Wapahani (14-1)
Previous Ranking: #5
Of the three teams that have made the transition to 3A (Heritage Christian and Barr-Reeve are the others), only the Raiders have shown success, and in droves. Their lone loss is to 4A defending champion Yorktown, and other than their match tomorrow night against a tough Alexandria-Monroe squad, they might stay at that one-loss level for the foreseeable future. Camryn Wise Camryn Wise 5'11" | MB Wapahani | 2023 State IN (’23, 5-11 MB) leads in multiple categories, including blocks, kills (4.1/set) and attack percentage (.464). Not bad for an undersized middle playing a tough schedule.
#2: Brebeuf (16-2)
Previous Ranking: #2
No movement for these Braves this week, even though they swept Cathedral last night. They’ve also all but won the Circle City Conference title, and look to make another deep October run. Underrated Maeve Perry Maeve Perry 6'2" | RS Brebeuf Jesuit | 2023 State IN (’23, 6-2 MB) is a defensive force in the middle, and is hitting at an over-.400 clip on the season.
#1: Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (17-1)
Previous Ranking: #1
Again, no movement for this squad, as their season-opening loss to 4A #1 Penn is their only blemish. There’s also a good possibility they could carry a 20-match win streak into the sectional, making this a scary bunch come October. We’ve talked about the big-timers, so how about another underrated player on this roster? Not even playing the maximum sets on the season, Loretta Pelkington (’23, 6-0 MB) leads the Saints in blocks, and is a nice defensive complement in size that isn’t named Hudson or Bobay.