Lady Jays Protect Home Court on Senior Night!

On a night that had great electricity with the Hoosier North Athletic Conference Traveling Trophy on the line, put together with Senior Night for North Judson, in a game where Starke County took on Pulaski County with two storied programs, it did not take much effort to find excitement in “The Nest” at North Judson San-Pierre High School.

Ultimately, North Judson was able to take care of business against their Pulaski County rivals, as the Lady Jays won in a 3-0 contest. The Lady Warriors, however, made the defending State Champions earn the victory, going toe-to-toe in three games. The intense back and forth between the two programs started early and did not let up all night. With the score tied 20-20 in game one, it was the Lady Warriors who began to get the edge. Senior Kayden Craig putting Winamac on the attack, the Jays were able to keep the ball in play off a dig by Junior Abby Chambers. The possession was short lived for the Jays as Winamac was able to gain the point to take a 21-20 lead. Once again, it was Craig leading things off for the Warriors. This time the Jays would take advantage of a dig by Lexi Harper, who was able to get the ball to Junior Tabitha Pop. With a textbook set from Pop, fellow Junior Lily Frasure was able to elevate, and put the ball down on an authoritative kill that all, but left a dent in the floor on the Winamac side to tie the game once again at 21-21. The Jays were able to get another quick point to regain the lead, 22-21.

The Lady Warriors did not go away quietly, as they were able to tie the game once again on a kill by Junior Maggie Smith to tie things up once again, 22-22. It was at this point that the Lady Jays kicked it into high gear, behind three laser-like serves by Frasure to get the win for the Jays, 25-22. The remaining two games went in similar fashion, with a great amount of momentum changes, as well as rallies. In the end, the Jays walked away with a big Conference win, as well as the Traveling Trophy, as they were able to defeat the Lady Warriors 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, and 25-19).

With three Seniors on the roster, it was not hard for North Judson Head Coach Madi Fingerhut to find a lot of positives in the win. “I think we played really well, our team chemistry was really good tonight” said Fingerhut. “I think that we were able to move the ball around, I think our passing was good” she continued. “Natalia Gebka, I think she did a really good job hitting smart. She was good at placing the ball. Morgan Rhoda her passing worked really well tonight, and I think Maggie Emery did a great job for us in the backcourt, she was all over the place.

Senior Morgan Rhoda was nearly at a loss for words after the game, as she was extremely proud of the way her team was able to come away with the win. “Probably just our energy” Rhoda said about what she thought was the biggest key to the win. “Having fun”, she continued. “It was Senior Night. Go Bluejays!”. Rhoda could not limit the winning effort to just one or two players. “I’d have to say everybody” Rhoda said when asked who impressed her in the win. “It’s a team effort, not just an individual person”.

Always the optimist, Winamac Head Coach Heather Kasten was still able to find positives, despite the 3-0 loss. “I had a couple Sophomores step up for me tonight” Kasten said. “We threw some jerseys at them Saturday after practice, and they came to the challenge”. The areas of improvement were quite obvious to Kasten after the game. “Just not floating on our pass and getting that passed the target” Kasten said about areas of focus for her team. “When we can run it in system, it looks beautiful” she continued, “but the passing is not there”.

The Lady Bluejays will have the Hoosier North Athletic Conference Traveling Trophy in their possession until next season, as they finished their conference year with an overall record of 8-0. Not a bad way to pick up some momentum heading into the State Tournament!