New Castle Tops HSE for Third Consecutive State Championship
Bailey Cox’s ace on championship point gave New Castle a 3-1 (23-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-18) victory over a game Hamilton Southeastern to claim the Class 4A state championship.
The title for coach Sarah Roush marks the third-straight for the Trojans and the fourth in program history. New Castle also won the 4A championship in 2007 and the 3A titles the previous two years.
The Royals of coach Jason Young stunned New Castle in the opening set, hitting a magnificent .481 as a team and pulling out the set after the teams were tied 13 times.
New Castle fought back in set two, breaking out to a 7-3 lead and not allowing HSE within four points the rest of the way. After the hitting performance of set one, the Royals hit only .083 in set two.
Set three proved to be the difference as the Royal were either tied or led nearly the whole way before a Laila Smith kill broke a 23-23 tie to bring the Trojans to set point. Senior Melani Shaffmater then closed out the set with a kill. There were seven ties in the set.
The final set was all New Castle after breaking a 10-10 tie.
Smith and Mabrey Shaffmaster each had 20 kills to lead the Trojans, while Abby Weber led HSE with 13 kills.
New Castle finished 35-1 with its only loss coming to Assumption of Louisville, Ky. Including the final, the Trojans lost only five other sets all season.
The Royals finish 29-5.
Hamilton Southeastern’s Lillian Leiner earns Mental Attitude Award
At the conclusion of the state finals, the IHSAA Executive Committee, on behalf of Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, named Lillian Leiner of Hamilton Southeastern High School as the winner of the Class 4A Mental Attitude Award.
Lillian is a three-year varsity letter winner in volleyball and will earn her 3rd varsity letter in softball this spring. She was voted team captain in volleyball both her junior and senior year and was named to the Academic All-State Team this fall. Leiner has earned her 2nd Team All-Conference in both volleyball and softball. Lillian will be volleyball’s Set a Good Example Award winner which requires the winner to set a positive example in word, deed, and appearance. Academically, she ranks in the top 15% of her senior class of 839 students. Leiner has spent time volunteering in the “Water for Life” project and “Adopt a Family” for the holidays along with being very active in the Riley Dance Marathon Club fundraising for Riley Hospital and volunteers at local Fishers nursing homes with HSE’s Key Club.
Lillian is the daughter of Ken and Sherri Leiner of Fortville and plans to study Biology at Northern Kentucky University.
Each year the IHSAA Executive Committee selects a senior player who was nominated by her principal and coach and was determined to have best demonstrated mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, presenting sponsor of the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award in Class 4A Volleyball, will donate $1,000 to Hamilton Southeastern’s general scholarship fund in the name of Lillian Leiner.