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MIDDLEBURY — Penn won its second straight IHSAA boys volleyball sectional championship Saturday, May 16, just a few hours before the high school’s prom. That didn’t rush the Kingsmen on the court, but they did make quick work of their title match opponent, Elkhart, with a 3-0 sweep to claim the crown.
A mix of personalities on the court isn’t an issue for Penn; in fact, it’s one of the Kingsmen’s biggest strengths. There’s the confident, multi-sport athlete in senior Indiana Wesleyan University football commit Christian Bonner. There’s the little and loud freshman libero Caio Neto. There’s the reserved yet powerful junior Liam Carter.
The roster goes on, but these different people combine to create a successful team. One that has adjusted well to boys volleyball becoming an IHSAA-sanctioned sport as of last season.
More: All South Bend area IHSAA boys volleyball sectional results, stats
Since then, the Kingsmen are a combined 32-23 with two trophies to show for their efforts. Although he may not show it much on the court, Carter said he feeds off of his teammates’ energy, which was evident by the way he played in the sectional semifinal and championship matches.
“You have to have a lot of trust in your teammates, because everyone has their own part to play, and if you don’t trust your teammates or if you’re not loud enough to communicate what you need, it’s not going to work,” Carter said. “At the start of the season, we didn’t have very good communication or connection, but we’ve been able to pull it together.”
Penn made an early statement with a 25-15 first set victory, but the Lions showed fight in the second set despite falling 25-22. The Kingsmen overwhelmed their foes for most of the third set before Elkhart clawed back until it ultimately fell 25-20.
Penn also won 3-0 when the two Northern Indiana Conference (NIC) rivals met in the regular season on April 30. Despite this rematch holding the same result, Kingsmen co-head coach Kelley Watts said the Lions were a much-improved team this time around.
On the same note, so was Penn, and that’s why she nor her fellow co-head coach Mark Watts are satisfied with a sectional championship alone. Facing the winner of Munster vs. Lake Central in a regional semifinal at Valparaiso High School Saturday, May 23, Kelley Watts said it will take on-point passing, precise serving and poise when the lights get bright for the Kingsmen to advance to another championship match.
More: South Bend area IHSAA boys volleyball continues to rise in popularity
She’s confident her squad will deliver on those expectations, especially with the quality of competition Penn has faced throughout the season, including two 2-1 wins vs. Munster on May 2.
“Our boys are really hungry, and they wanted to prove that last year’s was ours and this year’s would be a repeat,” Watts said. “We stacked our schedule, so we are used to playing at that high level. We know how to go in and make things happen, so I feel like we have a really good shot.”
Lions head coach Kylie Giger was proud of her squad’s grit when each set came down to the final few points, but she wanted to see more consistent determination so Elkhart wouldn’t have holes to dig themselves out of in the first place.
Nevertheless, Giger said her squad has improved leaps and bounds compared to where they were last season or even at the start of this one. The Lions finished 9-14 in 2025 and lost in their first sectional game.
Despite losing five seniors, Giger is confident there is a lot for her program to build on moving forward. That didn’t mean she didn’t shed some tears alongside Elkhart after the season-ending loss.
“We told them, ‘We don’t want you to live with regret,’” Giger said. “This has to light a fire in some way to where you don’t want to feel this again. You have to hate to lose, you have to hate to live in these situations. We started in a rough spot, and we just completely grew into such a great team.”
As for the Kingsmen, even the quiet Carter recognizes that winning the first two sanctioned boys volleyball sectional championships in the area’s history is an accomplishment that will be remembered.
“I think we’ll have a pretty good legacy; it feels pretty good,” Carter said.
The Lions won their first sectional game by beating Warsaw (12-10) 3-2 May 13, while South Bend Saint Joseph beat NorthWood (3-10) 3-0 that same night to set up the conference adversaries’ third match of the season in a sectional semifinal. Elkhart (15-10) beat Saint Joseph (10-14) twice in the regular season, 3-1 April 23 and 2-0 May 2, and the former triumphed once again in sectional play, picking up a 3-0 victory by way of 25-16, 25-13 and 25-21 set wins.
“When they get opportunities, they take them,” Saint Joe head coach Dani Gaff said. “We gave a lot of free balls, and when they received one, they made us pay for it. Today was the first day I saw their offense be as productive as I think they want it to be.”
More: South Bend area IHSAA boys volleyball teams motivated ahead of state tourney
The Huskies advanced to the sectional championship game last season but didn’t quite have the season they expected this year. With just three seniors graduating, Gaff said it’s now on the large underclass to immediately pick up where those who paved the way for them left off.
Gaff said the biggest lesson learned this season for Saint Joseph was the power of team chemistry.
“I think it’s important to acknowledge that it’s a bummer to lose, but we can’t let that define our season,” Gaff said. “We’re planning for next May right now. It starts tomorrow. We start figuring out what we do so we’re not in this position again.”
Penn (19-12) won the NIC regular season crown but lost 3-0 to Northridge (14-13) on May 4 despite beating the Raiders 2-0 April 25. The Kingsmen advanced to the sectional semifinal by beating South Bend Riley (15-8) 3-1 May 14, while the Raiders beat South Bend Washington (0-6) 3-0 the same night to advance.
The rubber match between the two did not disappoint Saturday. The first two sets of Penn vs Northridge were back-and-forth slug fests, but the former emerged victorious from each 27-25 and 25-22.
The Raiders were determined to not be swept with their season on the line, taking the third set 25-19. However, the Kingsmen responded with a dominant 25-18 fourth set win to advance to their eventual championship.
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at [email protected] or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Penn beats scrappy Northridge, Elkhart to win boys volleyball sectional
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A mix of personalities on the court isn’t an issue for Penn; in fact, it’s one of the Kingsmen’s biggest strengths. There’s the confident, multi-sport athlete in senior Indiana Wesleyan University football commit Christian Bonner. There’s the little and loud freshman libero Caio Neto. There’s the reserved yet powerful junior Liam Carter.
The roster goes on, but these different people combine to create a successful team. One that has adjusted well to boys volleyball becoming an IHSAA-sanctioned sport as of last season.
More: All South Bend area IHSAA boys volleyball sectional results, stats
Since then, the Kingsmen are a combined 32-23 with two trophies to show for their efforts. Although he may not show it much on the court, Carter said he feeds off of his teammates’ energy, which was evident by the way he played in the sectional semifinal and championship matches.
“You have to have a lot of trust in your teammates, because everyone has their own part to play, and if you don’t trust your teammates or if you’re not loud enough to communicate what you need, it’s not going to work,” Carter said. “At the start of the season, we didn’t have very good communication or connection, but we’ve been able to pull it together.”
Penn made an early statement with a 25-15 first set victory, but the Lions showed fight in the second set despite falling 25-22. The Kingsmen overwhelmed their foes for most of the third set before Elkhart clawed back until it ultimately fell 25-20.
Penn also won 3-0 when the two Northern Indiana Conference (NIC) rivals met in the regular season on April 30. Despite this rematch holding the same result, Kingsmen co-head coach Kelley Watts said the Lions were a much-improved team this time around.
On the same note, so was Penn, and that’s why she nor her fellow co-head coach Mark Watts are satisfied with a sectional championship alone. Facing the winner of Munster vs. Lake Central in a regional semifinal at Valparaiso High School Saturday, May 23, Kelley Watts said it will take on-point passing, precise serving and poise when the lights get bright for the Kingsmen to advance to another championship match.
More: South Bend area IHSAA boys volleyball continues to rise in popularity
She’s confident her squad will deliver on those expectations, especially with the quality of competition Penn has faced throughout the season, including two 2-1 wins vs. Munster on May 2.
“Our boys are really hungry, and they wanted to prove that last year’s was ours and this year’s would be a repeat,” Watts said. “We stacked our schedule, so we are used to playing at that high level. We know how to go in and make things happen, so I feel like we have a really good shot.”
Lions head coach Kylie Giger was proud of her squad’s grit when each set came down to the final few points, but she wanted to see more consistent determination so Elkhart wouldn’t have holes to dig themselves out of in the first place.
Nevertheless, Giger said her squad has improved leaps and bounds compared to where they were last season or even at the start of this one. The Lions finished 9-14 in 2025 and lost in their first sectional game.
Despite losing five seniors, Giger is confident there is a lot for her program to build on moving forward. That didn’t mean she didn’t shed some tears alongside Elkhart after the season-ending loss.
“We told them, ‘We don’t want you to live with regret,’” Giger said. “This has to light a fire in some way to where you don’t want to feel this again. You have to hate to lose, you have to hate to live in these situations. We started in a rough spot, and we just completely grew into such a great team.”
As for the Kingsmen, even the quiet Carter recognizes that winning the first two sanctioned boys volleyball sectional championships in the area’s history is an accomplishment that will be remembered.
“I think we’ll have a pretty good legacy; it feels pretty good,” Carter said.
Semifinal action
The Lions won their first sectional game by beating Warsaw (12-10) 3-2 May 13, while South Bend Saint Joseph beat NorthWood (3-10) 3-0 that same night to set up the conference adversaries’ third match of the season in a sectional semifinal. Elkhart (15-10) beat Saint Joseph (10-14) twice in the regular season, 3-1 April 23 and 2-0 May 2, and the former triumphed once again in sectional play, picking up a 3-0 victory by way of 25-16, 25-13 and 25-21 set wins.
“When they get opportunities, they take them,” Saint Joe head coach Dani Gaff said. “We gave a lot of free balls, and when they received one, they made us pay for it. Today was the first day I saw their offense be as productive as I think they want it to be.”
More: South Bend area IHSAA boys volleyball teams motivated ahead of state tourney
The Huskies advanced to the sectional championship game last season but didn’t quite have the season they expected this year. With just three seniors graduating, Gaff said it’s now on the large underclass to immediately pick up where those who paved the way for them left off.
Gaff said the biggest lesson learned this season for Saint Joseph was the power of team chemistry.
“I think it’s important to acknowledge that it’s a bummer to lose, but we can’t let that define our season,” Gaff said. “We’re planning for next May right now. It starts tomorrow. We start figuring out what we do so we’re not in this position again.”
Penn (19-12) won the NIC regular season crown but lost 3-0 to Northridge (14-13) on May 4 despite beating the Raiders 2-0 April 25. The Kingsmen advanced to the sectional semifinal by beating South Bend Riley (15-8) 3-1 May 14, while the Raiders beat South Bend Washington (0-6) 3-0 the same night to advance.
The rubber match between the two did not disappoint Saturday. The first two sets of Penn vs Northridge were back-and-forth slug fests, but the former emerged victorious from each 27-25 and 25-22.
The Raiders were determined to not be swept with their season on the line, taking the third set 25-19. However, the Kingsmen responded with a dominant 25-18 fourth set win to advance to their eventual championship.
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at [email protected] or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Penn beats scrappy Northridge, Elkhart to win boys volleyball sectional
Continue reading...
