CARTER: Delaware County fall sports awards
With the 2023 Delaware County fall high school sports season coming to a close, it’s time to look back at the athletes and teams that stood out amongst the fray.
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With the 2023 Delaware County fall high school sports season coming to a close, it’s time to look back at the athletes and teams that stood out amongst the fray.
Delta senior football player Kaiden Bond is the Daily News Athlete of the Week from the week of 10/25-11/1.
MUNCIE IND - On Saturday, Ball State continued its tradition of hosting the Indiana High School Athletic Association’s (IHSAA) State Volleyball Championships at Worthen Arena.
In its final push for the Mid-American Conference (MAC) title, Ball State fell Saturday afternoon to Western Michigan, 3-0 (25-20, 28-26, 27-25), inside the Broncos’ University Arena.
MUNCIE, IND - The week before Saturday’s 2A IHSAA State Finals was a busy one for the Muncie Burris Owls. Throughout practice, Burris head coach Jim Craig told his team to just hit the ball.
Friday night’s battle of the two top-ranked teams in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) West division lived up to its pregame anticipation. The first match of the weekend series between Ball State and Western Michigan was tight all evening, yielding 25 ties, eight lead changes and one set that was extended to overtime points.
Daleville junior volleyball player Trishell Johnson is the Daily News Athlete of the Week for the week of 10/18-10/25.
Coming off the season’s finest offensive outing last night — which saw Ball State record 49 kills on a .443 hitting percentage — the Cardinals again relied on strong front-row contributions Saturday afternoon in their 3-1 win (25-22, 22-25, 25-19, 25-18) over Ohio (13-12, 8-5 MAC).
After dropping a pair of matches last weekend to Mid-American Conference (MAC) East division leader Buffalo, Ball State recovered Friday night by defeating Kent State, 3-0 (25-13, 25-14, 25-15).
Candidates will be announced every Wednesday with the voting closing on the following Saturday at 5 p.m. If you believe a certain student-athlete should be your school’s candidate, email the Daily News high school sports reporter Zach Carter at zachary.carter@bsu.edu.
Editor’s Note: Any results throughout the week not included were unable to be found or were not shared. Email sports@bsudailynews.com with results or the high school beat reporter, Zach Carter, at zachary.carter@bsu.edu.
Ball State women’s volleyball falls to Buffalo in five sets, falling to 0-2 on the weekend. In both losses, the Cardinals were beaten in 5 sets.
After falling to Buffalo in the first and second sets (25-22, 25-18), Ball State rallied to win the third and fourth sets (25-19, 27-25) before losing in the fifth set (15-9).
The Ball State Daily News will use this program to honor athletes who had an impressive week or a breakout performance. A candidate from each school will be chosen and the community can vote for the winner.
Ball State women’s volleyball has enjoyed the most success against Toledo — one of its closest neighbors in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) — of any Cardinals athletic program in recent years. The red and white entered Tuesday night’s clash with five consecutive wins over the Rockets, the longest active streak among the school’s 18 varsity sports teams.
Editor’s Note: Any results throughout the week not included were unable to be found or were not shared. Email sports@bsudailynews.com with results or the high school beat reporter, Zach Carter, at zachary.carter@bsu.edu.
The Burris Owls finished the regular season with a 23-4 record. However, that wasn’t the goal for the 2023 campaign. “[The team] has a really good mental state for the most part,” Owls’ head coach Jim Craig said. “These guys were pretty good about the highs and lows of the season.”However, that wasn’t the goal for the 2023 campaign. The Owls had not won a sectional championship since the 2014 season. Coming into Sectional 40 hosted by Wes-Del High School, the Owls were ready. In their first two games, the Owls swept Winchester Community and Alexandria Monroe 3-0.Then it was time for the finale. After three sets of dominant volleyball, the Owls swept Lapel 3-0 to take Burris’ first sectional championship in nine years. “It’s pretty crazy,” senior Aubrey Miller said. “We’ve wanted this forever and it’s amazing to actually do it.”Burris started the first set with fire as they jumped out to a 6-0 lead, forcing a timeout by Lapel. Following the timeout, the Bulldogs started to fight back as they only trailed 17-16 later in the set. However, the Owls went on to win the set 25-20. The second set started very similar to the first as the Owls led 7-2. Then the Owls put pedal to the metal as they went on to win the set 25-11. The final set of the night was very similar as Burris gave it everything, winning the set 25-12 and taking the match. “It’s a little bit of a relief,” Craig said. [Burris] hasn’t pulled out a sectional [championship] for a while. The kids have been homing in on this all year.”One of the key pieces for the Owls has been junior Lilly Howell. She leads the team in kills per game (3.9) and total blocks (47). “We all love each other,” Howell said. “We are one big family and I think that means a lot. We have the skills to back it up. We have great defense, great setters, great hitters, and great everything.” While Craig believes everyone did well, he was impressed with freshman Ja’Maria Jackson. “Tonight was a coming-of-age moment for her, “he said. “She just got up and smoked the ball. I was surprised they didn’t have double blockers on her.” Another piece that has aided the Owls has been the seven seniors. To Howell, they have been the ones to keep everything in check.“They have been great leaders,” she said. “They have shown us how to get it done.” The Owls will move on to the Regional 10 at Elwood High School. As of now, the Owls will wait to see who they play. To continue the success, Miller believes that they need to remember what has gotten them this far. “[We need to] not get down,” she said. “When points are critical, they are critical. We need to ball out the entire game no matter the score and no matter how everyone is playing. Energy is everything.” Other sectional results around the county included Daleville winning the Sectional 55 Championship, Yorktown winning the Sectional 8 Championship, and Delta falling to New Castle in Sectional 24. Contact Zach Carter with comments at zachary.carter@bsu.edu or on X @ZachCarter85.
The Ball State bench was riddled with pink accents Friday night. The coaching staff patrolled the sidelines dressed in pink attire, which ranged from head coach Kelli Miller Phillips’ fluorescent pink top to assistant coach Brad Kline’s pink tie and socks. The players took the floor sporting pink ribbons in their hair, pink wristbands and pink laces intertwined in their matching sneakers.
Across the eight seasons of the Kelli Miller Phillips era at Ball State, the Cardinals have logged six winning seasons, a pair of MAC regular season titles, and three trips to the NCAA Tournament. In spite of the red and white’s success, their dominant start to Mid-American Conference (MAC) play this season has reached unprecedented heights.
Wapahani junior volleyball player Sophia Beeson has been voted as the first ever Ball State Daily News Delaware County Athlete of the Week.