NEWBURGH, Ind. — Daniel Watson had a message for his Castle Knights following their Class 4A Sectional 16 championship victory over Reitz.
The 15th-year coach told his team to enjoy the experience. Many of the Knights are seniors, so this was the final home match of their high school careers. They never dropped a Southern Indiana Athletic Conference match and were integral to finishing as the Class 4A state runners-up last fall.
No. 6-ranked Castle is now one step closer to a return trip to state. It defeated Reitz 3-0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-20) Saturday night to clinch its fourth consecutive sectional championship and 30th in 31 years. This is the program's 42nd overall.
IHSAA volleyball: Here are all the sectional champions from SW Indiana
This win held a special meaning having won on their home floor.
The Knights were happy to have a little more downtime and not drive more than an hour away to Jasper. After defeating North earlier in the semifinals, Castle's players ate "$300 worth of Chick-fil-A" at Watson's house.
"To get this championship in front of the people we love and our families (is special)," junior Emma Bruggenschmidt said. "We've put in the work all week to accomplish what we have."
Over the last few seasons, Castle (30-3) boasted one of the area's top attackers in Katie Kopshever. Now playing at Eastern Illinois, the two-time All-Metro Player of the Year was an X-factor in the program's recent success and one of only three Knights to register over 1,000 kills.
Bruggenschmidt, an Indiana University softball commit, is finding her voice as an outside hitter. She registered a team-high 11 kills, seven digs, two blocks and an ace against Reitz.
The ace she tallied extended Castle's postseason. Castle will face Franklin (27-3) in next Saturday's regional.
"I just thought, 'Oh, what a great way to seal this victory,'" Watson said. "(We've gone 24-0) in our last home matches dating back to last season. It's just such a special place to play. To be able to host a sectional at home is a lot of fun."
Reitz, however, wasn't going to go away quietly. Coach Kim Bell reached her 500th career victory earlier in the day against Harrison and the Panthers (17-14) gained more momentum in the third set with key plays from the Ashby twins.
Still, Castle never flinched. Senior Rylee Springer came up with a key ace near the end and the defense finished things off as Bruggenschmidt blocked a pass at the net.
"Reitz, they're competitive and a super vocal team," senior Maya Joska said. "They run a really good offense. But I felt like we came in and did our jobs."
During last fall's state finals run, Franklin was one of the teams Castle faced. The Knights are happy to inch one step closer toward its ultimate goal: their first state championship.
"It's going to be a battle," Watson said regarding the Franklin match. "They play tough competition, so we know that we're going to have to come out and set the tone from the very beginning at the net with our blocks. So if we're able to challenge their shots, we'll be in a much better place. If we're not able to challenge, we're going to struggle."
Other Evansville-area sectionals
Class 3A
Jasper won its first sectional title since 2016 following its 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-11) victory against Washington. Memorial completed a four-peat with its 3-0 (25-9, 25-17, 25-13) win against Boonville. The Wildcats and Tigers will face Jennings County and Silver Creek, respectively, in the regional.
In Class 2A, No. 7 Tecumseh is also heading to the regional following its 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 25-19) victory against No. 9 Mater Dei. The two-time defending runner-up Braves will face No. 1 Brownstown Central in the regional.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Castle volleyball clinches sectional championship as undefeated home streak continues
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