By Todd Taylor
Hendricks County Flyer
DANVILLE —
Despite trailing host Danville in the early stages of every game, the Cascade volleyball team had no problem remaining undefeated Tuesday sweeping the Warriors 25-14, 25-16, 25-14.
"We always do that and I'm not sure why," Cascade coach Megan DeVault said. "I don't know if we're just testing the waters but the girls like to play with their opponents for a few points, try to feel out what they need to do, and go from there. I have a lot of seniors on this team and they've always done it that way since I've had them."
The Cadets improved to 8-0 and have only dropped three games all season.
Without much height Cascade typically relies on its defense, but Tuesday the offense rose to the occasion. Senior Bridget Smith led the way with 12 kills.
"She stepped it up tonight," DeVault said. "I haven't seen that out of her all season long - it's been awhile since I've seen that last season. Her defense is usually where it's at but her offense tonight was outstanding."
Brittany Burdge and Morgan Estes each had eight kills, while Chelsea Wichman had 35 assists.
Brittany Sallee led the Cascade defense with 25 digs.
The first game featured five ties and three lead changes.
The Warriors held a 6-5 advantage early, but a Wichman kill gave the Cadets a 7-6 advantage they would never relinquish. Cascade won nine of the final 10 points to take Game 1 by a score of 25-14.
In Game 2 Danville took an early 8-6 lead on a Rachel Wagner kill, but Cascade reeled off five straight points to reclaim the lead for good.
Game 3 was the same story. Danville came out strong, and took a 6-5 lead, but it was all Cascade from there. The Cadets took the final four points, capped by a Courtney Stephenson ace, to take the final game 25-14.
Danville fell to 1-5 with the loss. Three sophomores and a freshman start for the Warriors.
"The girls are coming along, it's going to take time because they are young," Danville coach Shea Pence said. "I think they stop talking when they get a lead so we've been working on continuing to push late in ga into games."
Wagner and Courtney Leisch each had three kills for the Warriors and Brittney Walls had six digs.
"I think we have a lot of potential because it's our libero and setters' first year," Pence said. "Even in the last two weeks, we haven't seen any wins but we've seen a lot of improvement in all of our young players."
Danville hosts Brownsburg at 6:30 p.m. tonight while Cascade looks to remain unbeaten when they host Southmont at 7 p.m. Thursday.
DeVault is looking forward to seeing how her team performs when they travel to Northview on Tuesday. Last season the Knights defeated the Cadets in a tight five-game match.
"Last year we went five games with them and it was down to the last point every single time," DeVault said. "If we have improved or are as good as we were last year that will be the test for us if we can beat them. I think it's the first measuring point for us this year."
