Teagues and Pike basketball in Indy go hand-in-hand. One finds new path in volleyball.

INDIANAPOLIS — Ashiyah Teague loves hitting; taking a swing at the net and putting down a kill. But blocking? Nothing beats "the oohs, the ahs after the blocks (in) big moments," she said.

Teague played in her first volleyball match in nearly two years last Saturday and though still not quite 100% following an offseason knee injury, she still managed to put down a couple blocks in her Lawrence North debut.

The 6-1 senior middle didn't plan on being away from volleyball for this long, but she was late to transfer from Pike as an incoming junior, then tore her meniscus after her first open gym last May.

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"It feels great to be playing again (and) it's been easy to come in and bond with everybody, even after my injury," Teague said following a 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-13) loss to Westfield. "I feel great, my knee feels great. And I feel like the more I play, the more I practice, I get more and more in shape."

Lawrence North and volleyball probably aren't the first things that come to mind with the surname "Teague" — at least not around Indianapolis. They're synonymous with basketball and Pike High School. Ashiyah's dad, David Teague, and two of his cousins, Jeff and Marcus Teague, all played at Pike then went on to play professionally (Jeff recently returned to his alma mater to coach the boys basketball team ).

But Ashiyah decided after her sophomore year she was "ready for a change," something new, somewhere fresh; a place where nobody really knew her or her last name (relatively speaking). The two-sport athlete (volleyball and basketball) learned a lot during her time at Pike, but wanted to "branch off" on her own.

It's been a great fit, she said of Lawrence North. "It feels like home."

Less clear are Ashiyah's college plans. Most everyone in her family tree decided to play basketball, and while she may follow suit — she averaged six points and seven rebounds as a sophomore, then appeared in 21 games last season at LN — she left open the possibility of playing volleyball.

"I'm undecided. I really don't know which one I want to play in college," she said. "I didn't get to finish playing basketball this summer, so we'll see how things go … and I'll make my decision from there."

Basketball is in Ashiyah's blood, but volleyball holds a prominent place in her life, too. She was lukewarm on it when she first started playing as a fifth grader — "It wasn't real volleyball," she laughed — but quickly fell in love with it at Pike. She appeared in three sets as a freshman with an 18-win team, then collected five blocks over 15 sets with the 2022 squad, which won 17 matches.

Teague recognized her potential and committed herself to being a two-sport athlete, learning from 2023 grad Gabby Gilbert (now at Norfolk State) and the volleyball team's other upperclassmen. "It was a great learning experience."

"She's very mobile and has good technique," Lawrence North coach Nick Cox observed, citing her ability to hit from all three spots and understanding of the game among her strengths. The longtime coach was unsure how committed Teague would be to volleyball, but she's been all-in. "Ashiyah's low-maintenance."

"I think she just enjoys doing something more than basketball," Cox said. "She's going to play (basketball) for a very good team, obviously, but the kids like her and she works hard. … If she decides to play club volleyball this year, she could play in college."

Ideally Cox and his staff could ease Teague into the lineup as she finishes recovering — she didn't have quite the same bounce last Saturday, Cox said — and gets in shape (she was cleared July 30). But with no other blockers on the roster, they need her to learn on the fly — against a schedule which includes Westfield, Roncalli, the Franklin Central invite, Zionsville and Hamilton Heights through the first month.

"She's learning," Cox said. "I think right now she is just trying to get her physicality to go with her mental aspect of it, but she'll get better each week."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen .

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Teagues and Pike basketball in Indy go hand-in-hand. One finds new path in volleyball.