
Roncalli girls volleyball is the MaxPreps Indiana Team of the Week, presented by the Indiana Army National Guard.
Photo courtesy of Kim Stevens
Week 9 Winner: Roncalli Volleyball
Roncalli (Indianapolis) girls volleyball coach Missy Marsh knew she had a special group heading into the 2014 season.
But 34-3 special? Top ranking in Indiana extraordinary? Section championship match sweep special?
"I
definitely did not see this much success coming," Marsh said. "I don't
know if any coach could see that. My staff and I knew this would be a
special group with so much potential. We knew them so well because our
team did not change much from the year before, so we knew what type of
athletes we had coming back.

Roncalli seniors
Photo courtesy of Kim Stevens
"We added
Samantha Fogg and
A.J. Lux
who have proven to be great additions both in play and chemistry on the
floor. These girls are very driven and know how to effectively
practice. They want to still be playing."
And they are.
Following a 26-28, 25-18, 25-23, 25-20 4A Regional win over Columbus
East on Tuesday, the Rebels play Avon in Semi-State on Saturday.
They enter with 23 wins in their last 24 matches, and all but five have been by sweep.
For
their breakthrough season under Marsh, the Rebels are the MaxPreps
Indiana Team of the Week, presented by the Indiana Army National Guard.
With
seven seniors and four juniors, all but two of which played on last
year's 22-11 team, Roncalli is a very cohesive group, Marsh said.
"They
feel very comfortable with one another," she said. "These young ladies
have played at high levels of volleyball and know how to compete. We are
very athletic. We may not always be the tallest of teams, but we are
fast, we have very good ball control, and serving, passing and floor
defense are big strengths of ours."
Heading into the week, they were lead offensively by
Bailey Schnell with 373 kills, followed by
Kalyn Schreiber (265),
McKenna Lundy (183) and
Annie Strevals (110).
Six girls have between 20-28 aces, led by
Olivia Gillum and Schnell with 28 apiece. Fogg has a whopping 471 digs to lead the team, though Schnell (321) and
Kenzie King (329) are both over 300. Senior setter King is one of the state leaders in assists with 931.
Asked
about Schnell, Fogg and King, Marsh said: "All three are tremendous
athletes and all three are as competitive as they come. They would
rather fight you than lose to you.
"Bailey is a four-year
starter, who has worked to become a six-rotation player. She can score
against the biggest blocks in the state.
"Kenzie plays a
thousand times bigger than what she measures. She will go toe-to-toe at
the net with anyone. She is a very smart player who reads the court
well and can run an effective fast-paced offense.
"Sam is new
to us but runs the back row. She flies around that floor and works to
better the ball continually. She reads hitters, passes consistently and
plays remarkable floor defense."
This is Marsh's fourth season
and, after a couple of mediocre seasons at 13-12 and 15-17, the team
improved to 22-11 last season. The Rebels took another huge step forward
this year and hope to add a fourth state title to the program's resume.
They've won one in each of the previous three decades: 1981,
1998 and 2006. Marsh thinks the Rebels have the ability to win a fourth,
but there are many strong teams standing in the way.
"We have
the physical ability and are mentally tough enough to hang with any
team," she said. "At this point in the season it comes down to
minimizing mistakes and capitalizing on given opportunities. These young
ladies play calm and can have fun, so if they remain relaxed and
continue to execute they have a
chance."

Roncalli volleyball seniors have helped the Rebels to a 34-3 season, a deep playoff run and to being named the MaxPreps Indiana Team of the Week, presented by the Indiana Army National Guard.
Photo courtesy of Kim Stevens