Dynasty confirmed. Stegall delivers in clutch as Carroll claims 4A volleyball three-peat

INDIANAPOLIS — Fort Wayne Carroll claimed its third straight IHSAA Class 4A volleyball state championship Saturday night, taking out an upset-minded Center Grove, 3-1 (25-16, 25-18, 22-25, 25-17), at Gainbridge Fieldhouse."You think you kind of get used to it, but I'm still so excited. What a way to finish out," senior outside hitter Sarah Stegall beamed. "We believed we could do it and coming out here and actually putting our beliefs to work — it's incredible."Stegall finished with a match-high 18 kills on .268 hitting. She single-handedly orchestrated a championship-clinching 6-1 run in the fourth set, a sensational conclusion for the likely Miss Volleyball finalist, who finished her high school career with 988 kills.That gaudy career total came despite missing almost her entire sophomore season due to injury. The Notre Dame commit returned last season and flourished behind 2025 Indiana Miss Volleyball Bailey Sinish, before taking the reins of this year's attack and accumulating 481 terminations with a hitting percentage around .360."Sarah's been our go-to all year and she stepped up in big moments," Sinish said. "I was so proud of her because she started out really strong, then we kind lost her a little bit in the middle, but she came back through when we needed her most and that's what a senior should be doing. … In the big moment, we were gonna give her the ball and she was ready to take care of it."Stegall played closer, but reaching that point of the match was a group effort, one that began with fellow attacker Katelyn Peters. The Chargers junior — and heir apparent to the No. 1 attacker spot — registered a double-double with 17 kills and 13 digs. She accounted for three kills in the decisive fourth set: The first knotted the frame at 11, the third sustained the final run, pushing the score to 18-14.Junior middle blocker Paityn Lauck, who missed most of the regular season due to injury but returned in time for regionals, capped her comeback with her best performance of the season, notching 11 kills on .409 hitting with a block, an ace and a dig.Stegall, Peters and Lauck's contributions came with senior setter Elli Oskey running the offense to the tune of 45 assists. Her individual effort, which also included seven kills (.333 hit%), pushed her season total to 1,025 — up from 330 the year before.And then, of course, there was libero Cala Haffner. The 2028 Texas commit racked up 23 digs and served four aces in her final match of the season, leading a defensive effort that saw Carroll rack up 64 kills and limit CG to .119 hitting."This is just a special group of girls who love the game, love to have fun out there and who love each other," Sinish said. "They are ready for that big moment. It got a little tight in the middle and they started to play a little hesitant, but they made the switch and that was huge."Saturday was the Chargers' long-awaited championship coronation, but full credit to Center Grove: It made them earn it, playing Carroll tougher as tough as anyone over the past couple seasons.The Trojans' confidence never wavered. Not after being out-scored 50-34 over the first two sets. And not when their opponent built a 17-11 advantage in the third set.They just methodically began clawing back, scoring six straight to tie at 17, then erasing a 21-18 deficit with a 7-1 run that featured two kills by Anna Smith and another by Gabby Gilliard as senior setter Anabelle Schembra held serve through the first four points.Center Grove sustained that momentum into the fourth set, going point-for-point with their opponent before taking a 13-11 lead following another kill by Smith and a Peters attack error.CG was threatening to drag the Chargers into their first five-set match since last year's semistate semifinal vs. Westfield, but the opposition was wholly unfazed.A Peters kill followed by a Haffner ace knotted the game at 13, then after trading points, Carroll ripped off an 11-3 title-clinching run that included contributions from three different players before Stegall orchestrated her final takeover."At the end of the third set they got to where they started playing a little tight, like 'Oh my gosh, we're there. It's almost ours,'" Sinish said. "And instead of going out and earning it, they let Center Grove get some momentum. But then in the fourth set, they came out and said, 'This is ours.' That's what we talked about. You have to want the ball in the big moment and be ready to make the kill or make the error, whatever the moment is. They made that change and it showed."Smith, a sophomore, finished with 11 kills, while Gilliard and senior attacker Kaylen Plunkard added 10 and seven, respectively. Smith, Gilliard and libero Olivia Bastien all finished with 10 digs (four aces for Bastien), and senior setter Anabelle Schembra closed out her record-setting high school career with an ace and 27 assists.Carroll is the sixth different school to win three straight state championships and the first to three-peat in 4A since Muncie Central in 1997-99."I'm gonna cry thinking about it, but these have been the best four years of my life," Stegall said. "I never would have thought we would come this far and to be part of this team with my favorite people in the world, it's just been so special. … Everybody on our team is good and everyone wants each other to win. There's no animosity. Everyone cares for each other and believes in each other and I think that's pretty special."We will have a feature on Sara Stegall and her mom, Laura Stegall, early next week on IndyStar.com.Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen. Get IndyStar's high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter.This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Dynasty confirmed. Stegall delivers in clutch as Carroll claims 4A volleyball three-peat