As they prepare for their third Class 3A IHSAA Volleyball State championship run, the Brebeuf Jesuit Warriors realize what a title on Saturday would mean to both the program and the high school.
"I definitely think it's a big deal," said Sophomore Natalie Wichern on her thoughts of the Brebeuf volleyball program. "Because everyone here, you do love volleyball. You have to love volleyball to come and play here. I think it's a big deal."
Wichern may have made an understatement. To play for the Brebeuf volleyball team, you must find yourself eating, sleeping, dreaming, and loving the sport at all times. And even then, you must find yourself motivated to win every single game.
The Lady Warriors not only enter Saturday's semi-finals against Silver Creek with an impressive 32-1 record, but are an incredible 96-4 in individual match games.
"I think that just says we're pretty persistent," said Junior Jadyn Yarling. "That we are able to play with better teams, we're able to play with teams that aren't quite as good as we are, but I think it shows that maybe we're a mature team."
The maturity and experience of this Warriors squad are two attributes that will be needed if Brebeuf expects to find themselves wearing the gold around their necks come Saturday night. The team was defeated 3-2 by by eventual state champions Delta in 2008, and the previous year were dropped in four sets to Delta, both losses taking place in the semi-finals.
"I think we'll be a little bit more relaxed," said Wichern on how she believes the past experience will help the team. "I was very tense last year because I didn't know what to expect, and I was very tense. I wasn't sure what to do and how to handle it, but now we're again it's going to be a lot easier for us to relax. To relax, calm down, and play our games."
The Warriors will ultimately have to find a way to stick to their own game-plan on Saturday, as Silver Creek (27-11) is a team they've never seen in person before.
"We've been watching film all week on them," said Yarling. "We haven't heard much about them, we haven't played them in the regular season. So we're just kind of getting scouting reports right now."
Junior Jeme Obeime may not much how her upcoming competition, but there is one thing she feels like she absolutely knows about the Dragons.
"We know they really want to win," said Obeime. "We all want to win obviously. Now that it's final four, everyone is really intense, as no one is going to just fall down."
Here is the schedule for all four of Saturday's IHSAA State Volleyball Championships:
Class 4A Yorktown HS, 1100 S. Tiger Drive, Yorktown, IN Match 1 Elkhart Memorial (35-2) vs. Floyd Central (35-3). 9 am ET Match 2 Center Grove (33-3) vs. Muncie Central (33-4). Follows Match 1 Class 3A Muncie Central HS, 801 N. Walnut Street, Muncie, IN Match 1 Mishawaka Marian (33-5) vs. Yorktown (36-1). 9 am ET Match 2 Brebeuf Jesuit (32-1) vs. Silver Creek (27-11). Follows Match 1
Class 2A Delta HS, 3400 E. State Road 28, Muncie, IN Match 1 Southwood (32-5) vs. Fairfield (31-4). 9 am ET Match 2 Muncie Burris (38-0) vs. Brownstown Central (29-4). Follows Match 1
Class A Worthen Arena, Ball State University. Website Match 1 Indianapolis Lutheran (20-16) vs. Wes-Del (27-7). 9 am ET Match 2 Marquette Catholic (32-6) vs. Barr-Reeve (36-0). Follows Match 1
State Championship Matches Worthen Arena, Ball State University, Muncie. Website
Class A Championship Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2. 2:30 pm ET Class 2A Championship Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2. 4:15 pm ET Class 3A Championship Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2. 6 pm ET Class 4A Championship Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2. 8:10 pm ET
"I definitely think it's a big deal," said Sophomore Natalie Wichern on her thoughts of the Brebeuf volleyball program. "Because everyone here, you do love volleyball. You have to love volleyball to come and play here. I think it's a big deal."
Wichern may have made an understatement. To play for the Brebeuf volleyball team, you must find yourself eating, sleeping, dreaming, and loving the sport at all times. And even then, you must find yourself motivated to win every single game.
The Lady Warriors not only enter Saturday's semi-finals against Silver Creek with an impressive 32-1 record, but are an incredible 96-4 in individual match games.
"I think that just says we're pretty persistent," said Junior Jadyn Yarling. "That we are able to play with better teams, we're able to play with teams that aren't quite as good as we are, but I think it shows that maybe we're a mature team."
The maturity and experience of this Warriors squad are two attributes that will be needed if Brebeuf expects to find themselves wearing the gold around their necks come Saturday night. The team was defeated 3-2 by by eventual state champions Delta in 2008, and the previous year were dropped in four sets to Delta, both losses taking place in the semi-finals.
"I think we'll be a little bit more relaxed," said Wichern on how she believes the past experience will help the team. "I was very tense last year because I didn't know what to expect, and I was very tense. I wasn't sure what to do and how to handle it, but now we're again it's going to be a lot easier for us to relax. To relax, calm down, and play our games."
The Warriors will ultimately have to find a way to stick to their own game-plan on Saturday, as Silver Creek (27-11) is a team they've never seen in person before.
"We've been watching film all week on them," said Yarling. "We haven't heard much about them, we haven't played them in the regular season. So we're just kind of getting scouting reports right now."
Junior Jeme Obeime may not much how her upcoming competition, but there is one thing she feels like she absolutely knows about the Dragons.
"We know they really want to win," said Obeime. "We all want to win obviously. Now that it's final four, everyone is really intense, as no one is going to just fall down."
Here is the schedule for all four of Saturday's IHSAA State Volleyball Championships:
Class 4A Yorktown HS, 1100 S. Tiger Drive, Yorktown, IN Match 1 Elkhart Memorial (35-2) vs. Floyd Central (35-3). 9 am ET Match 2 Center Grove (33-3) vs. Muncie Central (33-4). Follows Match 1 Class 3A Muncie Central HS, 801 N. Walnut Street, Muncie, IN Match 1 Mishawaka Marian (33-5) vs. Yorktown (36-1). 9 am ET Match 2 Brebeuf Jesuit (32-1) vs. Silver Creek (27-11). Follows Match 1
Class 2A Delta HS, 3400 E. State Road 28, Muncie, IN Match 1 Southwood (32-5) vs. Fairfield (31-4). 9 am ET Match 2 Muncie Burris (38-0) vs. Brownstown Central (29-4). Follows Match 1
Class A Worthen Arena, Ball State University. Website Match 1 Indianapolis Lutheran (20-16) vs. Wes-Del (27-7). 9 am ET Match 2 Marquette Catholic (32-6) vs. Barr-Reeve (36-0). Follows Match 1
State Championship Matches Worthen Arena, Ball State University, Muncie. Website
Class A Championship Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2. 2:30 pm ET Class 2A Championship Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2. 4:15 pm ET Class 3A Championship Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2. 6 pm ET Class 4A Championship Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2. 8:10 pm ET
