Southeastern Indiana Volleyball (SEIVB) is a club based out of Batesville, Indiana that brings in athletes from schools all over the area. Because the club continues to grow each season, we continue to see more and more talent come through the program. This year, the club was proud to have two of our elite teams enter the Nike Mideast Qualifier (MEQ) in Indianapolis. The MEQ was held at the Indiana Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium.
The MEQ offers teams an opportunity to compete at a high level on a bigger stage. Our teams faced opponents from Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, and Florida, but could have faced teams from many other states across the country. Both of the SEIVB teams had the highest finishes of any teams in our club’s history.
On Saturday, March 25 through Monday, March 27, our 17-Thunderkats put up a fight early on and found themselves in the gold medal bracket on Monday. The Thunderkats were led by head coach Ned Rogers and assistant coach Tracy Meyer. They went 3-0 on Saturday in the first round of pool play. They defeated Legacy 17-Lite West (Michigan) in convincing fashion with scores of 25-10 and 25-13 to open the weekend. They finished day one by defeating A2 17-Shamrock (Ohio) 25-18 and 25-23 and then PLVC 17-1 (Missouri) by the scores of 25-16 and 25-19.
Going undefeated in day one put the Thunderkats into a stronger pool on Sunday. The Thunderkats went 2-1 on day two, to put them tied for first in their pool. They defeated Lightning 17 (Missouri) 25-23 and 25-22 to open then day, but dropped the match against Buckeyefire 17A Scruggs (Ohio) in three 22-25, 25-16 and 15-13. They bounced back to defeat GBV 17 Premier (Florida) 18-25, 25-14 and 15-13. They were tied for first in their pool with Lightning 17, so it came down to the head-to-head match-up. The Thunderkats won the head-to-head, so they finished first in the pool for the second day in a row.
The top two from each pool headed to the gold medal bracket on Monday. The Thunderkats had a rematch from the first day against Legacy to open single elimination bracket play. The Thunderkats were defeated with the scores of 23-25 and 18-25.
The Thunderkats finished 5th out of 30 teams and went 5-2 on the weekend. They represented SEIVB and all of their local high schools with a lot of pride and determination.
SEIVB 15-Sharks traveled to Indy Friday, March 31 through Sunday, April 2. They were led by head coach Emily Egbers and assistant coach Gerald Laker. The Sharks found themselves fighting in the gold bracket on Sunday after two successful days of pool play.
On Friday, the Sharks opened with a win over Club 1 15-Gray (Illinois) after a slow start by the scores of 25-20 and 25-15. They defeated Unified 15-2 (Michigan) with a strong performance 25-14 and 25-12. Pool play ended with a victory over Maverick 15 American-2 (Ohio) with the scores of 25-13, 19-25 and 15-6. The Sharks went 3-0 in the first round of pool play to put them in a stronger pool in day two.
This tournament is a big ordeal for many volleyball players. On Saturday, the Sharks played on an even bigger stage- Lucas Oil Stadium. They had the privilege of playing near center field but that didn’t stop them. It didn’t take long on Saturday for the Sharks to start where they left off. They battled through three more opponents, defeating them all in straight sets to put them as the only undefeated team after two rounds of pool play! They defeated TTVBC 15 (Michigan) 25-17 and 25-19 and HV Adidas 15 White (Michigan) 25-21 and 25-14. The last match of the day was with the Borderline 15-Hawks team (Ohio). Both teams were undefeated up to that point at 5-0. The Sharks took the victory with the scores 25-10, 20-25 and 15-6. The Sharks finished pool play 6-0 through two days.
On Sunday, the Sharks battled in the gold medal bracket. They had to win three matches to walk out as champs. They had a rematch with the Maverick 15-American 2 team they faced on day one and repeated what they started days prior. They won with the scores of 25-10, 20-25 and 15-6. The semi-finals were up next and the Sharks matched up perfectly with Southwest 15RElite David (Ohio). The Sharks lost a heartbreaker battle in a match you almost hate to see either team lose. They lost by the scores of 26-24, 27-29 and 20-22. The match could have gone to either team at any given time. Both teams had a chance to finish multiple times. Southwest went on to win the championship.
The Sharks finished 3rd out of 32 teams, going 7-1 for the weekend.
“On behalf of the rest of the board of directors at SEIVB, we couldn’t be prouder of both of these teams and coaches. They represented our club and the area with pride. Their parents, families and friends were a great support system for the players and coaches on such a big stage as well! We look forward to seeing these girls progress in their high school season and have them back again next year.” – Cassie Laker.
There is a lot of talent represented on both of these teams. If you get a chance this fall, get out to the local high schools and check it out!