Lady Zs draw Wabash, would face Southwood in semis

Valley gets NorthWood; Pioneer, Caston in same half of Sectional 50; Culver draws Argos; Winamac to face Jimtown

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

The Rochester volleyball team could face reigning state champion Southwood in a sectional semifinal, but they will first have to defeat Wabash in the quarterfinals, according to the IHSAA draw that was released Sunday.

Sectionals will be held statewide from Oct. 15-19, regionals are Oct. 26, semistates are Nov. 2, and the IHSAA state finals will be held at Worthen Arena on the Ball State campus in Muncie on Nov. 9.

The IHSAA changed the state tournament format with regard to the regional and semistate rounds for this season. Now teams will have to win one match to win a regional and two matches in one day to win a semistate. Previously, a team had to win two matches in a regional and one in a semistate.

Culver is among the eight regional sites in the northern half of the state. Plymouth and Huntington North are the north semistate sites.

Sectional tickets are $7 per session. Children ages 5 or younger are admitted for free. The IHSAA no longer sells all-sectional tickets for any of its sports.

Here is a look at how the draw affected area teams:

Rochester

Rochester will play Wabash in a Class 2A, Sectional 38 quarterfinal at Southwood on Oct. 15.

Wabash beat Rochester 29-27, 26-24, 20-25, 29-27 at the RHS gym Tuesday in their regular season meeting.

Wabash also beat Rochester in three sets in their most recent sectional meeting in the 2022 sectional final. That match turned out to be the final match in Erin Leap’s coaching career at Rochester.

The teams also played a memorable sectional final at North Miami in 2018 with Wabash winning in five sets.

Southwood, who won the Class 1A state title in 2023 and was moved up to Class 2A per the IHSAA Success Factor, will face the Rochester-Wabash winner. Southwood has three-set wins over both Rochester and Wabash and is a three-time defending sectional champion.

In the other half of the draw, Manchester will face Eastern (Greentown) and Oak Hill will face Lewis Cass.

Tippecanoe Valley

Valley, in search of their first sectional title in school history, will face NorthWood in a Class 3A, Sectional 20 quarterfinal at West Noble on Oct. 17.

Valley has already clinched the Indiana Northern State Conference title with a 9-0 record. NorthWood currently sits in third in the Northern Lakes Conference standings behind Warsaw and Mishawaka. NorthWood is also a five-time defending sectional champion.

The NorthWood-Valley winner will play Fairfield in the semifinals.

In the other half of the draw, West Noble will play Wawasee with the winner to meet Columbia City.

Caston, Pioneer

Caston and Pioneer could meet in a Class 1A, Sectional 50 semifinal at South Newton, but both teams must win their first match in order for it to happen.

Pioneer drew DeMotte Christian in the quarterfinals. Pioneer has already clinched a share of the Hoosier North title while DeMotte Christian sports a 5-14 record.

Meanwhile, Caston drew No. 2 Tri-County, who is 26-1. Tri-County has won 22 consecutive matches and has lost only three sets during that streak. Tri-County beat Caston 25-7, 25-10 in their meeting at the Tri-County tournament on Aug. 31.

Caston has never won a volleyball sectional title.

In the other half of the draw, West Central will match up with North Newton while South Newton will take on North White.

Tri-County is 6-0 against other teams in the sectional.

Argos, Culver

Culver has already beaten Argos twice this season, knocking them off in three sets in their Hoosier North match on Sept. 10 and again in two sets at the Tri-Central tournament on Sept. 21.

They will meet for a third time at Culver in a Class 1A, Sectional 51 quarterfinal on Oct. 15.

The winner will face South Central (Union Mills), who received a bye in the semifinals. Culver is 21-5 on the season, but one of their losses was at home to South Central on Aug. 26. That remains Culver’s only loss on their home court this season.

South Central is a three-time defending sectional champion in Class 2A. They were moved down to Class 1A this year.

In the other half of the draw, Elkhart Christian will take on North Judson and Triton will play Oregon-Davis.

Culver has not won a sectional title since 2011 while Argos has not won a sectional since 1973.

Winamac

Winamac drew Jimtown for a Class 2A, Sectional 34 quarterfinal at Knox on Oct. 17.

The Winamac-Jimtown winner will take on South Bend Career Academy in the semifinals.

In the other half of the draw, LaVille will take on Bremen in a quarterfinal with the winner to meet Knox.

No team in this grouping has won a sectional since Winamac won one in 2014.

None of the six teams in this sectional have a winning record. The teams have a combined record of 41-109.