COVINGTON, Ind. — There are teams that are strong all year and there are teams that find that strong chemistry at the right time.
For the Covington volleyball team, it is finding its chemistry at the right time.
The Trojans had won five out of their six last regular season games before starting IHSAA Sectional play against Fountain Central and were able to come out with a 25-14, 25-7, 25-14 win.
The first time both teams played was on Sept. 18 with the Trojans winning 25-11, 25-23, 25-23.
“It was not the outcome we wanted or expected,” Fountain Central coach Ashton Steinbrenner said. “The first time we played them, we played good volleyball and I thought tonight we played good volleyball as well, it was just that they hit where we weren’t. There were times we were not ready to play. We were stuck in our spots, we weren’t moving our feet and not communicating.”
“First time we played, I had one player barely coming back from an injury and we were still struggling,” Covington head coach Jennifer Sutherlin said. “We struggled early in the season and I had some younger kids and kids with zero varsity experience. The kids are clicking right now and things are flowing on offense and playing hard on defense and everyone knows their roles.”
The Trojans were dealing with rare two and three game losing streaks to start the season. Sutherlin said that time was trying to fill holes from seasons past.
“We graduated two six-rotation players, so we had huge holes to fill for sure,” Sutherlin said. “The kids are starting to come around and peaking right now and practices have been going well. We took off pretty slowly and we had a kid that had pretty bad injury and she was also a six-rotation player. We only have so many kids and we were making due with what we did.
“In the beginning, a lot of it was on me because I wasn’t real confident with a few kids in certain spots, so we we mixing things up. A little bit of our mishaps were from mixing things up and trying new things. But the kids are coming around and dialed in with what their jobs are.”
Eliza Wilderman led the Trojans with 14 kills and seven digs, while Brooke Rottman had eight kills and six aces, Caydence Peaslee had eight kills and three blocks, Ashlyn Alexander had six kills and 15 digs and Gabby Lewis had 33 assists.
The Mustangs end the season 8-16 in Steinbrenner’s first season at the helm.
“It was definitely an learning experience,” Steinbrenner said. “I know a lot of them because I coach other sport, but to be young and in your first year as a head coach, there was defenitely a lot to learn but I enjoyed it and I enjoyed the girls, I efeinitely go t my feet wet. I am excited about the futreu and I feel a little more prepared.”
The Trojans are 18-12 and will play Riverton Parke today in a sectional semifinal at 12:30 p.m. eastern time.
“They are a very skilled team,” Sutherlin said. “We played them close when we played them down there and when you see what a team does, you can get a vibe with how you play them next. I hope the kids remember the highs and lows from that game and keep it in the middle and play well.”
Riverton Parke is 25-5 and if the Trojans get past them, they will play either 26-4 Faith Christian or 13-16 Lafayette Central Catholic.
“This is a tough sectional, Sutherlin said. “It is one of the toughest sectionals in Class A and three of the four teams left are ranked in the top 10 and we are not one of them. The kids played well tonight and we hope it rolls into Saturday so we can get some wins.”