Allison Mack was Columbus East’s go-to girl when she led the team in kills the past two years.
But after starting at outside hitter on the left side her first three years of high school, Mack found herself on the opposite side to start this volleyball season. Since then, she’s played on both sides, and she’s helped lead the Olympians into Saturday’s Bloomington North Regional.
"I’ve been kind of going back and forth, just going wherever coach (Stacie Pagnard) needs me," Mack said. "I hadn’t really played much right side up until now, but I think I’ve picked it up and done pretty well. The angle that you’re hitting at is different, so it’s hard to read the blockers sometimes because the set is coming from a different angle. So I had to adjust my shots."
Mack, the team’s MVP the past two years and an Indiana Junior All-Star last season, still has 139 kills, which is third on the team behind fellow outside hitters Rilee Jessee (229) and Reece Whitehead (149). Those three can play on either side, and Pagnard has been putting Mack on the side with the opponent’s strongest hitter.
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On Saturday, Pagnard used Mack on the left side in the Bloomington North Sectional final to try to help curtail Bloomington South right-side hitter Kenadee Coyle.
"(Mack) has really developed into a physical blocker," Pagnard said. "At the beginning of the season, we were really utilizing Allie with her blocking and were focusing on her defensive ability, so her offense numbers weren’t as great as they were the last couple of years. But Allie never wavered on her commitment to the team. It was never about Allie. It’s been team first, and that’s what’s been so great about here as a senior."
Despite being only 5-foot-6, Mack usually goes up against 6-footers.
"I’ve worked on my vertical in the past, and that’s definitely helped me," Mack said. "But we swing block, so it’s like an approach, and it helps me get a little bit more air under my block."
Mack plays all six rotations when playing on left side and three rotations when on the right side. She is third on the team with 193 digs and also has 19 blocks and 12 aces.
"I would say she’s playing her best volleyball," Pagnard said. "She’s confident on either side of the court, right or left, and she’s playing some of the best defense that we’ve had."
Allison is the third Mack sister to play at East. Erin played for the Olympians, then played two years at University of Indianapolis and now is in graduate school there. Katie played at East and has played for the Purdue club team the past four years.
"I was at every game, every tournament," Allison said. "I just loved watching them and the culture that they had and how much fun they had with the sport."
Erin was left-handed and played on the right side. Katie played a similar position most of her career and then played in the back row her senior year.
"I think I’m a good mix of both of them," Allison said. "Erin was a really big hitter, and Katie was pretty good at defense, and she was a good hitter. But I think I’m pretty good all-around."
Allison plans to play on the club team at Purdue, where she will major in pharmacy.
But first, Mack and her teammates have at least one more high school game to play. The Olympians will face Center Grove at around 1 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals of the Bloomington North Regional. The winner will play Class 4A No. 3 Providence or Castle in the regional final at 7 p.m.
"I think we just have to play our game and not think about how good they might be or what their record might be because we can be just as good as any team we’ll see," she said.
Mack has enjoyed her senior year so far. After going 10-22 last season, East has improved to 20-9 this year, winning its first sectional since Mack’s freshman year.
"We’ve really played together well as a team, and we’ve continued to improve," Mack said. "I really love this team. It’s my favorite team I think out of the four years that I’ve been here because we just play so well together, and we have a lot of fun on the court."
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Bloomington North Regional
Saturday
11 a.m.: Providence (28-1) vs. Castle (30-4)
1 p.m.: Columbus East (20-9) vs. Center Grove (27-6)
7 p.m.: Championship
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