Photo by TRAVIS DAVID | Shakamak volleyball players celebrate on Saturday night after defeating Lighthouse Christian in the championship game of the Class 1A sectional.

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BY TRAVIS DAVID

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SWITZ CITY — Last season the Shakamak volleyball team was the hunter in pursuit of their first sectional championship title in 14 years.

This week the Lady Lakers were the hunted as the tournament favorites.

Both ended up with the same result.

With a pair of wins on Saturday, the Lakers captured back-to-back sectional championships. Shakamak defeated Southwestern Indiana Athletic Conference rival Clay City in Saturday’s semifinals — in four sets — before sweeping away Lighthouse Christian in the title game.

“This feels amazing,” senior Jama Ewers said of going back-to-back. “We knew Clay City would be out to get us since we took it away from them last year and tonight we knew that Lighthouse would want it bad too. But we just went out and worked hard.”

Ewers played a big part in the Lakers’ win over the Eels. 

The senior, who is primarily a seter, recorded a pair of kills in the pivotal third set. Ewers pushed a ball to the back corner of the Eels side for a kill which pulled the Lakers even at 20. She then gave the Lakers a 2-1 lead in the match with a kill off a swing from the right side on set point.

“I had to play front row for a couple of rotations, Jaedyn set me and I knew I had to put the ball down, I did and everyone got excited for me,” the senior explained. 

The fourth set was another nail biter, but the Lakers once again scored the final two points of the frame for another 25-23 win to secure their spot in the title match.

Sophomore Brylee Faulk led the Lakers’ attack with a career-high 24 kills in the win.

“I am pretty proud of myself,” the powerful hitter said of her match. “I knew Clay City was going to be tough, but I just wanted to try and help our team as much as I could. Our setters did an amazing job setting up and all of our hitters.”

In the championship match, the Lakers used quick starts in all three sets to come away with the sweep, 25-20, 25-17, 25-16.

Shakamak jumped out to a 15-4 lead in the opening set, led 9-3 early in the second and 7-2 early in the third.

“That was definitely a key factor,” Lakers’ coach Emeral Goff said of the early leads. “They have some very good middle hitters and they made some runs. Lighthouse has improved so much the past couple of seasons and I told the girls this would be a tough match.”

The Lions, who fell to the Lakers in four sets during the regular season, entered the title match with 21 wins for the year.

Just as Faulk took the lead against the Eels, Ayanna Clark shouldered a good portion of the load against the Lions.

The junior put away a match-high 14 shots in the championship win.

“She had some trouble finding the court in the first match today, but she really came alive for us in the first set tonight,” Goff said of Clark. “Once she got herself on fire she was really just killing it.”

After putting away nine shots in the win over Clay City, Clark registered six slams in the opening set in the championship match.

She also had plenty of help.

Faulk added nine more in the title match, while Bralyn Calvert (8), Madelyn Kennett (5) and Jordyn Boram (3) combined for 16 kills.

“They are all so fun to set for,” Ewers said of the Lakers’ hitters. 

Ewers handed out 23 helpers in the nightcap after passing out 26 assists in the win over Clay City.

Jaedyn Boram registered a total of 23 assists in the two wins, while Jordyn Boram finished with 10 total kills.

Up next for the Lakers (19-7) will be No. 11 ranked Springs Valley. The two teams will square off for the Class 1A Regional Championship at Loogootee. The regional title game will commence at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

Springs Valley (24-5) defeated Evansville Christian and host Wood Memorial to claim its sectional crown.

Class 1A White River Valley Sectional Semifinal

Shakamak 3, Clay City 1

Laker Stats:

Peyton Gambill 4 assists

Madelyn Kennett 12 digs, 4 kills, 3 aces

Jaedyn Boram 15 assists, 4 digs

Jama Ewers 26 assists, 2 kills, 2 digs

Bralyn Calvert 4 kills, 3 blocks, 1 dig

Brylee Faulk 24 kills, 3 digs

Isla Kaufman 1 kill,

Jordyn Boram 7 kills, 3 digs

Ayanna Clark 9 kills, 1 dig

Ava McCrary 6 digs

Championship Match

Shakamak 3, Lighthouse Christian 0

Laker Stats:

Madelyn Kennett 9 digs, 7 aces, 5 kills

Jaedyn Boram 8 assists, 5  digs, 1 ace

Ava McCrary 2 digs, 1 ace,

Ayanna Clark 14 kills, 1 assist, 1 block

Jama Ewers 23 assists, 1 dig

Brylee Faulk 9 kills, 10 digs

Peyton Gambill 8 digs

Jordyn Boram 3 kills, 1 dig

Bralyn Calvert 8 kills

Isla Kaufman 2 kills

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