Volleyball tourney evolves
indystar.com
By Kristen Leigh Porter
kristen.leigh.porter@indystar.com
"It was the advent of girls sports in Indiana"
1972 Springs Valley Volleyball team was present for the historical first IHSAA state tournament
Jean Kesterson still remembers one of her Ball State University volleyball teammates bragging about winning a high school state championship.
Kesterson graduated from Roncalli in 1971 and the first Indiana High School Athletic Association volleyball tournament wasn't played until the fall of 1972.
"I was irritated; I felt so cheated," she said.
Kesterson has been involved in plenty of finals since. She later coached Bishop Chatard to state finals appearances in 1976 and 1977, and her Cathedral volleyball squads have advanced to 10 of the past 11 state finals, including this year.
Now in its 35th year, the IHSAA volleyball finals have changed with the times. The tournament has come a long way, literally, since the first state finals held at Beech Grove High School. South Bend St. Joseph's beat Ben Davis 15-5, 15-5 in the final match of the first IHSAA-sanctioned tournament for girls.
"It was a good sport to start with," said Pat Roy, who oversaw the creation of the girls sports program for the IHSAA.
Then-Ben Davis coach Priscilla Dillow remembers the excitement surrounding the first tournament, which consisted of eight teams: her Giants, Bloomington South, Adams Central, Hammond Gavit, Huntington North, South Bend St. Joseph's, Springs Valley and Taylor. "It was the advent of girls sports in Indiana," Dillow said. "Even though we had GAA (Girls Athletic Association) programs in the '60s, that was the first IHSAA state tournament. It was such an exciting time for not only the kids but everyone involved with girls sports." | 1972 Springs Valley Volleyball Team
State Finalist
Row 1- S. Land, L. Bird, C. Lynch, D. Beaty, J. Hoadley
Row 2- Coach D. Spindler, J. Marshall, D. Conrad, N. Royer, M. Brinson, K. Lynch
Photo: Springs Valley Athletics |
The low ceiling in Beech Grove's gym affected play, so another site was ...
chosen. From 1973-88, it was Ben Davis. One of the notable finals at Ben Davis came in 1976, when South Bend Adams won the title but did so with three boys on its roster because rules did not prevent it. That came a year after South Bend Clay was state runner-up with one boy on its team.
"That was one of the low points of my career," Roy said, noting that the IHSAA adopted a rule prohibiting boys on a girls team in December 1976. "People were so upset."
Still, most memories are fond ones. Kathy Nalley-Schembra remembers the overflowing crowds as her 1981 Roncalli squad won the title.
"The excitement was as big then as it is now," she said.
Roncalli will make its fourth state finals appearance Saturday.
In 1982, the state finals shrunk from eight teams to four. That was a great move, said Steve Shondell, who is making his 20th state finals appearance Saturday as coach at Muncie Burris.
"It was a much longer day (with eight-team finals), having to play three matches and made it difficult to prepare," Shondell said.
In 1989, the finals moved to Market Square Arena.
To Lafayette Jeff coach Gail Gripe, whose teams qualified for the finals in 1993-95, the locale gave the finals added prestige. She remembers the reaction of her players when they walked into the venue.
"It was the venue in Indy at that time," she said. "It was such an impressive thing that it motivated the kids to go back."
The advent of multiclass sports in 1997 reduced the tournament series from four weeks to three. Only championship matches in each class were deemed "finals."
In 1999, the semistate round was eliminated, semifinals were played at satellite sites, and the finals were relocated to Noblesville High School for the 1999 and 2000 finals, with semifinals and finals for each class part of the state experience.
In 2001, with many coaches clamoring for a "prestigious" venue, Hinkle Fieldhouse became the event's home.
"Hinkle seemed like a good solution and was cost effective, relatively speaking," IHSAA assistant commissioner Sandy Searcy said. "The coaches who had been around when we went from Market Square to a high school thought a bigger venue would showcase the athletes."
Call Star reporter Kristen Leigh Porter at (317) 444-2611.
