After winning the first set in Saturday’s Indiana Christian Schools Athletic Association state final, Columbus Christian jumped out to leads in Sets 2, 3 and 4.
Unfortunately for the Crusaders, Calumet Christian made comebacks in each of the final three sets to claim a 19-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-21 victory, denying Columbus Christian its first volleyball state title. The runner-up finish is the second in a row for the Crusaders.
“It was just a really fun experience,” Columbus Christian coach Sarah Stair said. “I’m so proud of the girls, especially with only having seven players, for them to fight so hard all year and for them to come together to just want to play well.”
The Crusaders (21-4), who lost in two sets to the Patriots during the regular season, led 21-19 in the opening set when they earned a sideout. Madison Henderson then served three consecutive points to give Columbus Christian a one-set lead.
The Crusaders led 5-2 in the second set and 14-12 in the third set before Calumet Christian rallied in each.
“They have some great hitters,” Stair said. “No. 1 (Sophia Foster) by far is their best player. She can pass and she can hit really well from both front row and back row. We kept trying to keep the ball away from her, and for some reason, the ball kept finding its way into her hands.”
In the fourth set, Columbus Christian led 16-12 when the Patriots went on a seven-point run to take a 19-16 lead. The Crusaders came back to within 19-18 and 22-21, but Calumet Christian closed it out.
“One of the things we commented on, even when they went on some runs, the girls weren’t hanging their heads,” Stair said. “They weren’t yelling at each other. They weren’t blaming one another.”
Lauren Hunnicutt led Columbus Christian with 11 kills and one block. Hannah Stair recorded 25 assists, AnnMarie Gandy had one block, Kayla Jones tallied 14 digs and Emily Stair served nine aces.
Also for the Crusaders, Ellie Ridder notched nine kills, seven digs and two aces; and Madison Henderson added eight kills, nine digs and one ace. Emily Stair contributed six assists and six digs, and Hannah Stair had seven digs and one ace.
Earlier in the day Columbus Christian was dominant in a 25-12, 25-11, 25-16 semifinal win against Clinton Christian. There was little doubt of the outcome in each set for the Crusaders, who trailed only three times in the match, with the largest deficit they faced being a single point.
Columbus Christian was so efficient, there was little for Sarah Stair to complain about.
“The one area I would like to see some improvement in is our communication on the court,” she said. “I would like to see that increase.”
The Crusaders jumped out early in the first set. After trailing briefly 5-4, Ridder ran off seven straight points from behind the service line to increase the lead to 12-6. Shortly after, it was Jones that led a 5-0 surge to increase the lead to 20-9 on the way to a first-set victory.
The second set was just as impressive for Columbus Christian. In a set in which they never trailed, the Crusaders continued the momentum from their first-set victory. Although Clinton Christian kept it somewhat close early on, trailing only 12-8, Columbus Christian pulled away.
In the third set, the Crusaders once again surged to a comfortable lead early, allowing Sarah Stair to try some new sets that might benefit her team in next week’s National Association of Christian Athletes Tournament. And although it was not perfect, Columbus Christian still put away the match.
“I decided to try out some new sets in the third game. I thought it would be better to try them now than to do it later,” Sarah Stair said. “It also allowed us to focus. We talked about staying level and playing consistently for the entire match.”
Henderson recorded 14 kills and 14 digs, and Hannah Stair had 32 and six aces to lead the Crusaders.
