- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,150,572
- Reaction score
- 59
Bloomington North's first season of boys volleyball was not what many outside the program expected.
Head coach Charles Cook hears it frequently.
"At our games, I've gotten so much feedback from a lot of coaches and refs doing our games," Cook said. "They're all complimenting us. 'You're a first-year program and you put this together? Those boys are doing a good job.'
"That's pretty special to me."
More: VOTE Herald-Times Athlete of the Week for May 4-9 poll presented by IU Health
Two special players have played a big role in making their 7-5 season happen: seniors Coen Berin and Gavin Hodgson, who have been building toward this crescendo as the Martinsville Sectional gets underway on Wednesday and Thursday and finishes up Saturday with the semifinals and finals.
"As cliché as it may be, this is the moment they've been waiting for," Cook said. "Something on the line, in a sectional, in a position to be a starter and compete for sectional."
It's been a long time in the making.
"They're dialed in," Cook said. "They are seasoned players. They've been playing for five or six years and they've gotten better in the gym. They always continue to grow and get better, which is awesome to see."
As their first and only chance at high school volleyball, they came in looking to make the most of it, and that includes winning a sectional title. North has to wait until the semifinals on Saturday at 11 a.m. to face the winner of a Wednesday match between Terre Haute North (7-13) and Evansville Reitz.
"It's so funny, in practice, we've been prepping, and they're already talking about regionals, too," Cook said. "That's their mindset. For a first-year team, that is where their heads are at. With the ebb and flow of the team the past two or three weeks, it's just been positive upswings."
Thursday, Evansville Memorial (14-5) takes on Terre Haute South (10-6) at 6 p.m., followed by Bloomington South (3-17) and the host Artesians (6-14). The winners play Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The final is at 6.
After 16 matches, all losses, South's second-year program finally picked up a win at Believe Circle City and then went 2-1 in a tournament at Jennings County to end the season.
"I think they were a good confidence booster," South coach Justin Hodgson said of the wins. "The kids finally started putting some things together and playing some really good volleyball. We finally got over the hump after losing how many sets by three points?
"I'm looking forward to Thursday night."
South lost to Martinsville way back in the first weeks of the season, and since then went through bouts of illness and injuries. With all that cleared up, the Panthers are ready to pounce. Outside Landen Yaggi has been leading the charge, Hodgson said, with nearly 30 kills in last week's five matches.
"From then to now, we've really figured out what our roles are and who's got what responsibilities," Hodgson said. "And we finally had some matches with our whole team healthy. Everyone knows what their roles are now and a clear sense of what they should be doing, so we're executing more consistently.
"Even in the second time against North, we had a sense of how we want to play. It was fun to watch and see them grow. Everybody wants to be playing their best at this time of year and we've been playing really well the last five or six games."
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington boys volleyball squads looking for big finishes at IHSAA sectional
Continue reading...
Head coach Charles Cook hears it frequently.
"At our games, I've gotten so much feedback from a lot of coaches and refs doing our games," Cook said. "They're all complimenting us. 'You're a first-year program and you put this together? Those boys are doing a good job.'
"That's pretty special to me."
More: VOTE Herald-Times Athlete of the Week for May 4-9 poll presented by IU Health
You must be registered for see images
Two special players have played a big role in making their 7-5 season happen: seniors Coen Berin and Gavin Hodgson, who have been building toward this crescendo as the Martinsville Sectional gets underway on Wednesday and Thursday and finishes up Saturday with the semifinals and finals.
"As cliché as it may be, this is the moment they've been waiting for," Cook said. "Something on the line, in a sectional, in a position to be a starter and compete for sectional."
It's been a long time in the making.
"They're dialed in," Cook said. "They are seasoned players. They've been playing for five or six years and they've gotten better in the gym. They always continue to grow and get better, which is awesome to see."
As their first and only chance at high school volleyball, they came in looking to make the most of it, and that includes winning a sectional title. North has to wait until the semifinals on Saturday at 11 a.m. to face the winner of a Wednesday match between Terre Haute North (7-13) and Evansville Reitz.
"It's so funny, in practice, we've been prepping, and they're already talking about regionals, too," Cook said. "That's their mindset. For a first-year team, that is where their heads are at. With the ebb and flow of the team the past two or three weeks, it's just been positive upswings."
Thursday, Evansville Memorial (14-5) takes on Terre Haute South (10-6) at 6 p.m., followed by Bloomington South (3-17) and the host Artesians (6-14). The winners play Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The final is at 6.
You must be registered for see images attach
After 16 matches, all losses, South's second-year program finally picked up a win at Believe Circle City and then went 2-1 in a tournament at Jennings County to end the season.
"I think they were a good confidence booster," South coach Justin Hodgson said of the wins. "The kids finally started putting some things together and playing some really good volleyball. We finally got over the hump after losing how many sets by three points?
"I'm looking forward to Thursday night."
South lost to Martinsville way back in the first weeks of the season, and since then went through bouts of illness and injuries. With all that cleared up, the Panthers are ready to pounce. Outside Landen Yaggi has been leading the charge, Hodgson said, with nearly 30 kills in last week's five matches.
"From then to now, we've really figured out what our roles are and who's got what responsibilities," Hodgson said. "And we finally had some matches with our whole team healthy. Everyone knows what their roles are now and a clear sense of what they should be doing, so we're executing more consistently.
"Even in the second time against North, we had a sense of how we want to play. It was fun to watch and see them grow. Everybody wants to be playing their best at this time of year and we've been playing really well the last five or six games."
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Bloomington boys volleyball squads looking for big finishes at IHSAA sectional
Continue reading...
