BLOOMINGTON ― Jada Ailstock rose from her spot on the left side of the court.
What came next seemed fitting. A big swing and kill to the opposite corner. The Castle senior outside hitter has potentially made the same play hundreds of times this season. But no moment was bigger.
It earned the Knights another IHSAA Class 4A regional championship.
Castle extended its season with a 25-20, 25-27, 25-20, 26-24 victory over Bloomington South on Saturday, Oct. 25 at Bloomington North. The Knights, who entered the season with more questions than normal, advanced to the semistate for the third straight year.
“They didn’t let the circumstances affect their energy,” Castle coach Lexi Blackwell said. “They weren’t scared to play and make mistakes. They were super aggressive. I have a pretty young team as far as varsity experience. We just need to worry about the next play. I was so proud of that.”
How did Castle (31-3) pull off another championship? It found calm in a difficult environment.
The Knights fell behind early in the first and fourth sets. They lost a back-and-forth second that featured 15 ties. Not an ideal recipe when playing for a championship in enemy territory. But Castle once again showed this team is greater than the individual parts.
A questionable illegal substitution call against South enabled the Knights to catch their breath in the first. They trailed 16-11 in the final frame, burning both timeouts, before catching the Panthers at 22-22. The difference came at the net. Castle’s lineup ― Paige Furbee, Gabby Korba, Jalyn Zazzardelli or Ailstock, take your pick ― took big swings and connected more often than not.
“We always stay together,” Ailstock said. “We always encourage each other, whether we are down or up. We played very competitive and very hype. It is difficult when we get down or lose a point, but we’ve been together this entire season.”
Or maybe the key was Ailstock. The senior only played 32 sets last year behind a talented and deep lineup. But a season-ending injury in August to Emma Bruggenschmidt required someone to rise to the occasion.
Enter the 5-foot-8 hitter. Ailstock has given the Knights a major lift in multiple big moments all season, but notably the state tournament.
Her emergence ―she ranks third on the team in kills ― has given the front row an additional hitter to plan against.
“I think last year she was ready,” Blackwell said. “To see her come in and play super aggressive has been amazing. She really stepped up. (The team) is very connected and talking a lot about what we see. We want to make sure we have high energy. We’ve got a week of practice to focus on blocking and serve receive just to help our game be a little bit better.”
Castle faces Plainfield in the Martinsville Semistate this Saturday, Nov. 1. The winner gets Yorktown or Floyd Central in the championship.
Two other teams from Southwestern Indiana advanced
It will be a busy weekend for the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference.
Jasper defeated Greensburg in five sets (22-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-21, 15-11) at Bloomington North to win the Class 3A regional championship. It is the first title for the Wildcats since 2015. Jasper faces Tri-West at home in the semifinal next weekend. The winner plays Brownstown Central or Roncalli.
It’s been an impressive postseason run from the Wildcats (24-11) after struggling in early September and losing three straight to finish the regular season. There’s no question that schedule played a major factor in preparation against the Pirates, who only lost once in the regular season.
“This group just thrives in times of trouble,” Jasper coach Jennifer Hopf told WITZ postgame. “They know who they are. We’ve told them from the beginning, we don’t have to do anything special to be able to execute. It goes back to the basics and fundamentals. It was a true team effort from the front to the back to the bench.”
Barr-Reeve defeated Tecumseh in straight sets (25-22, 25-18, 25-17) to win the Class 2A regional at Loogootee. The Vikings (30-5) have won back-to-back regional titles and three since 2020. Barr-Reeve gets Greencastle in the Bedford North Lawrence Semistate. The winner plays Eastern (Pekin) or Triton Central.
Tecumseh, the Pocket Athletic Conference champions, finished with a 26-9 record. Brownstown Central defeated Heritage Hills in straight sets (25-10, 25-12, 25-21) in the Class 3A regional at Mitchell. The Patriots finished with a 21-13 record.
Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at kyle.sokeland@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Castle, Jasper and Barr-Reeve earn IHSAA volleyball regional championships
Reporting by Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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