Ignite High School Match of the Week Presented by Team Rehab: Week 2
MLV Indy Ignite

Ignite High School Match of the Week Presented by Team Rehab: Week 2

Published on August 25, 2025 under Major League Volleyball (MLV)
Indy Ignite News Release


FISHERS, Ind. - The hits just keep on comin' as we roll into the second full week of Indiana girls' high school volleyball competition. More highlight encounters are on tap around the state this week, including our first Ignite High School Match of the Week Presented by Team Rehab.

Let's get right into taking a look at these showdowns.

WESTERN BOONE at ZIONSVILLE, Ignite High School Match of the Week Presented by Team Rehab, 6:30 p.m. ET Tuesday: The defending Class 2A state champion Stars visit the Boone County rivals in the first Ignite High School Match of the Week this season. Zionsville is potent up front with outside hitter Josie Imes (Alabama commit) and middle Elli Strecker (Louisville commit). WeBo can counter with middle Emmerson Gott.

It's Youth Night at the match with the theme of Farewell Summer. Ignite staff members will be at the match offering in-game activations and the chance to learn more about the 2026 Ignite team. Indy's fabulously popular mascot Pepper will also be on hand. A player of the match will be selected afterward and promoted on Indy Ignite's social media channels.

From Western Boone coach Abigail Heide: "Our team identity is defined by toughness, desire and accountability. It will take all positions contributing to win the match. We will push to win in three sets. If we don't succeed with three, we push to four or five sets."

From Zionsville coach Jenna Tadros: "The players, especially the seniors, are devoted to turning the program around (after a 17-16 season in 2024). They have the talent to go far if they can escape their sectional. It's coming together as a team and playing for each other. To fine-tune the bumps, we had a scrimmage this past week and although they looked great, there are some things we need to clean up including our first ball touch."

CENTER GROVE at CATHEDRAL, 7:15 p.m. ET Tuesday: The visiting Trojans return an experienced lineup that was a Class 4A semistate runner-up and added attacker Gracyn Gilliard, who transferred from Munster. The Irish were 3A sectional champs last year and look loaded at the hitter positions with Avery Lewis (Georgetown commit), Caroline Hanchar and Hayden Mandsager. It should be a high-energy affair.

From Center Grove coach Jennifer Gandolph Hawk: "We are driven, resilient and cohesive. To beat Cathedral, we will need to establish the middle and create opportunities for all other attackers and for themselves. Serving will be key to being successful on defense and creating a quick transition to our offense. Gabby Gilliard is a freshman who will fill our outside hitter position left open by a senior from last year. She's explosive, athletic and plays six rotations. We have new attackers in the middle and outside, so I look for them to step in and work hard to elevate that position and we continue to grow our program."

From Cathedral coach Karrie Quenichet: "We have had young players playing in key positions for the last few years and they are now juniors and seniors. We also had to have several players step in to play for injured and ill players last season. That means this is a team that is experienced, deep and versatile. Center Grove is always a tough opponent for which to prepare. They move the ball around well on offense and complement that with size up front and a scrappy defense. We will need our first and second contacts to give us options offensively. Our success this season will depend on how well we can give ourselves those options. We have front-row talent that is ready on day one; we will need key contributions from our backcourt and from our setter to earn points and to win this match. Our players are excited for the opportunity to face those challenges."

HOMESTEAD at CARROLL, 6 p.m. ET Wednesday: Carroll, the defending 4A state champ, is taking high school volleyball to next level by hosting Fort Wayne area rival Homestead for an outdoor match on the football field. Area club players wearing their jerseys get in free to this unique match. Ignite mascot Pepper will also make a cameo appearance.

The Chargers graduated just one player from their championship team and are led by hitter Sarah Stegall, a Notre Dame commit who missed most of last season with an ankle injury, and top defender Cala Haffner, who was on Team USA's U19 roster for the Pan Am Games at age 15.

From Homestead coach Jessica Holtzclaw: "We are young this year. We graduated five major contributors to our (27-8) program last year that are all playing at the next level. We are smaller but definitely more dynamic. We don't have the size, so ball control and speed are our main focus at this point. We need to be focused. Being outdoors is going to be a distraction. Our goal is to compete and remember that we are stronger together than as individuals."

From Carroll coach Pandy Sinish: "This year's team is focused on our motto 'never settle.' These girls chose this motto because they want to push themselves and each other to be the best they can and hopefully be able to compete back at the state level at the end of the year. This is a unique match with the outdoor component so we will be playing through wind, sun, different depth perception, etc. Most importantly, we want to have fun at this game. These girls play so much volleyball without a break after club. I hope in this unique and exciting opportunity they can have a blast, while controlling the game and making memories."

DANVILLE at McCUTCHEON, 7:30 p.m. ET Thursday: This is a Sagamore Conference showdown with McCutcheon joining this year. Danville is led by seniors Ella Vandermark (middle) and Rylee Bumgardner (outside hitter/libero), with setter Lexi Shondell, the Lafayette Journal & Courier Big Schools Player of the Year in 2024, getting things rolling for the Mavericks.

From Danville coach Jayme Rector: "As we've started our season, I've seen our team battle against some tough opponents and never back down. We are continuing to learn and grow each day, which will help us both mentally and physically. McCutcheon is no stranger to our program as they've been on our schedule for the past several years. We will need to stay aggressive from start to finish while executing our game plan consistently to put us in a position to win this match. We'll also need our seniors to continue to show strong leadership and help our team battle through the ups and downs of the match."

From McCutcheon coach Sara Sutter: "'Lifted by Loyalty' is the theme put together by our seniors surrounded by a tenacious determination to always improving each day for each other and the team's success. This will be the first time playing Danville in our new conference, so setting the tone of our program within this conference, doing the things we are best at consistently, will be important. With Becca Gaeta coming in as a setter along with returning senior Lexi Shondell, we are able to run a 6-2 with more options across the net and allow Lexi to attack the ball as well."

Other matches to watch this week include:

BROWNSBURG at HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN, 7:15 p.m. ET Thursday: This is a Class 4A Hoosier Crossroads Conference grudge match from a year ago when Brownsburg handed HSE one of its just three losses on the season.

PLAINFIELD at CENTER GROVE, 7:15 p.m. ET Thursday: How Center Grove rebounds from its Tuesday match at Cathedral could go a long way in telling the story for this one. Keep an eye on Plainfield sophomore hitter Audrey Utterback and junior middle Marley VanWanzeele.

FRANKLIN at TRINITY LUTHERAN, 7 p.m. ET Thursday: The defending Class 1A state champs play host to the back-to-back 4A sectional champs in an intriguing early-season battle.

Indy Ignite Volleyball Editor Mark Robinson may be reached at Mark@indyignitevb.com

VOTE ON SOCIALS

Which matches are you watching this week? Tell us on the Ignite social channels!

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Major League Volleyball Stories from August 25, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central