The girls volleyball state championships are Saturday, Nov. 7 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Three programs are making their first trip to the volleyball state finals, five are seeking their first volleyball state titles, and one school is chasing a three-peat to become the sixth school in IHSAA volleyball history to win at least three consecutive state titles.
This girls volleyball state finals preview is powered by Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, a proud sponsor of the IHSAA.
Class 1A Championship | 12 p.m. ET
#2 Indianapolis Lutheran Saints (26-7) vs. Rossville Lady Hornets (28-7)
Indianapolis Lutheran is making its second trip to the 1A state championship match after finishing as runner-up to Lafayette Central Catholic in 2010.
The Saints have won seven straight and haven’t dropped a set through five postseason matches, including against both #9 Shoals (3-0) and #5 Greenwood Christian Academy (3-0) at semi-state.
Indy Lutheran lost its first match of the season to 3A #7 Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran (3-0) but then reeled off 11 consecutive wins while dropping only two sets, including sweeps of Greenwood Christian (2-0, 3-0), 1A #1 Covington (2-0), and 1A #12 Lafayette Central Catholic (2-0). After the winning streak ended, they also picked up additional top-15 wins against Lafayette Central Catholic (2-0) and 1A #14 South Newton (2-0).
The Saints’ six additional losses came at the hands of 1A #3 Tecumseh (2-0), 4A New Palestine (3-2), 4A Franklin Community (3-2), 2A #4 Trinity Lutheran (2-0), 4A Southport (3-2), and 3A #15 Brebeuf Jesuit (3-0), meaning only one of their losses has come against a 1A school. They have eight total wins over top-15 opponents.
Senior setter Shaefer Scearce (30 assists, 10 digs) and senior right side hitter Sophia Levine (18 kills) led the Saints in the semi-state championship. Levine (317) is joined by outside hitters Lillian Pass (306) and Faith King (302) with over 300 kills this season and ranks third in 1A in kill percentage at 52.0%.
Rossville is making its first trip to the girls volleyball state finals, and the Lady Hornets earned their way by taking down #1 Covington at the regional in a thrilling reverse sweep. They disposed of Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian (3-0) and Northfield (3-1) at semi-state.
The Lady Hornets’ only other top-15 win of the season came against Lafayette Central Catholic (2-0) on Sept. 12.
Rossville has suffered losses to 2A Eastern (Greentown) (2-1), 3A West Lafayette (3-0), 3A Frankfort (3-2), 1A #14 South Newton (3-2), 4A #2 Westfield (3-0), 2A Faith Christian (3-0), and Lafayette Central Catholic (3-0), meaning they have just two losses against 1A schools.
Sophomore outside hitter Blaire Wellman is the Lady Hornets’ biggest weapon with 449 kills (10th in 1A), and freshman middle blocker Mallory Edmonds also has 327 kills to go with a 53.0% kill percentage (2nd in 1A).
Class 2A Championship | 2:30 p.m. ET
Heritage Christian Eagles (22-9) vs. #2 Benton Central Bison (26-6)
Heritage Christian is seeking its second state title in as many appearances at the girls volleyball state finals. The Eagles won the 2A championship in 2019 over Wapahani (3-0).
The Eagles have won five straight and picked up their only top-15 win of the season in the semi-state semifinals, taking down #12 North Posey (3-2).
Their losses came against 4A Mt. Vernon (Fortville) (3-0), 4A Noblesville (3-0), 3A Hamilton Heights (3-1), 1A #2 Indianapolis Lutheran (3-0), 2A #3 South Adams (2-1), 3A #14 Guerin Catholic (3-1), 1A #5 Greenwood Christian Academy (3-2), 2A #5 Muncie Burris (3-0), and 3A #4 Cathedral (3-0).
The Eagles are led by senior setter Bethany Ring (70 aces, 823 assists), who is committed to Defiance College, an NAIA program in Ohio. Senior outside hitter Ella Mensch has recorded 447 kills (5th in 2A).
Benton Central is back in the 2A championship after losing in five sets to Barr-Reeve in the 2025 state final.
The Bison have won 12 straight matches, dropped only four sets during that stretch, and look like a team on a mission. Their postseason run includes wins over #5 Muncie Burris (3-1) at the regional and against #15 Oak Hill (3-0) and #1 Southwood (3-1) at semi-state, where they handed the Knights just their third loss in 35 matches.
In addition to their three top-15 wins in the postseason, the Bison earned top-15 victories in the regular season against 1A #12 Lafayette Central Catholic, 3A #9 Mishawaka Marian (2-0), and 1A #14 South Newton (3-0),
Benton Central’s six losses came against 4A #9 Harrison (3-1), 4A #3 Hamilton Southeastern (3-0), 1A #1 Covington (3-1), 4A Brownsburg (3-0), 4A Crown Point (2-0) and 4A #14 Lake Central (2-0).
In the win over Southwood, senior outside hitter McKenna Yadon, a Division II University of Indianapolis commit, had 18 kills.
Class 3A Championship | 5 p.m. ET
#2 Tri-West Hendricks Bruins (30-6) vs. #10 West Noble Chargers (32-3)
Tri-West Hendricks is making its first appearance in the girls volleyball state finals. The Bruins took down #10 Lebanon (3-2) in the sectional final and #5 Jasper (3-1) and #4 Cathedral (3-0) at semi-state, avenging a regular-season loss to the Fighting Irish (3-1) to get there.
Tri-West also earned top-15 wins in the regular season against Lebanon (3-2), 4A #13 Roncalli (3-2), 4A #7 Carmel (3-2) and 3A #15 Brebeuf Jesuit (3-1).
The Bruins’ other five losses came to 3A #1 Providence (3-2), 4A #10 Plainfield (3-0), 4A #2 Westfield (3-0) and two Illinois schools in Glenwood (2-1) and Mater Dei (2-0).
Senior outside hitter Caroline Ward leads Tri-West and all of 3A with 707 kills, and she’s second in 3A in kill percentage at 50.9%. She is committed to Southern Methodist University, currently ranked as the #5 team in Division I volleyball. Junior setter Tatum Hatch leads 3A with 1,187 assists, and senior libero Finley Dakin has 555 digs (6th in 3A).
Like Tri-West, West Noble is making its first trip to the girls volleyball state finals. The Chargers have rattled off 12 straight wins, losing just two sets during the stretch. They erased #9 Mishawaka Marian (3-0) at the regional and then ended a 28-match winning streak for #3 Heritage (3-1) in the semi-state final, avenging one of their three regular-season losses.
The Chargers picked up top-15 wins in the regular season against 3A #7 Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran (3-1), 3A #13 Silver Creek (3-1), and 2A #11 Lakeland (2-1).
West Noble’s other two losses came against 3A #4 Cathedral (3-2) and 4A Fishers (2-0).
The Chargers are led by two juniors. Ball State commit and outside hitter Elyse Mead had 27 kills in the semi-state final to push her season total to 399, and setter Ella Limerick racked up 45 assists in the win over Heritage to raise her season total to 875.
Class 4A Championship | 7:30 p.m. ET
#6 Center Grove Trojans (34-4) vs. #1 Carroll (Fort Wayne) Chargers (35-1)
Center Grove lost 3-1 in the 3A girls soccer state championship game last Saturday to the #1 team in the country, Hamilton Southeastern. Now the Trojans’ volleyball team has its hands full with the #11 team in the country, Carroll (Fort Wayne).
The Trojans are chasing their second 4A volleyball state title in as many appearances. They captured the 2000 championship, beating Muncie Central (2-1) and head coach Dave Shondell, who later became head coach for Purdue and is the Boilermakers’ all-time wins leader in any sport.
Center Grove took out #13 Roncalli (3-0) in the sectional semifinal, #11 Bloomington South (3-0) in the semi-state semifinal, and #4 Yorktown (3-1) in the semi-state final, despite losing the first set.
The Trojans earned top-15 wins in the regular season against 2A #4 Trinity Lutheran (3-1), 3A #4 Cathedral (3-1, 2-0), 3A #1 Providence (2-0), Roncalli (2-0, 3-0), 4A #10 Plainfield (3-2), Bloomington South (3-0), and 1A #5 Greenwood Christian Academy (3-0), giving them 12 top-15 wins on the season.
Center Grove’s four losses came against 4A Franklin Central (3-2), 4A #7 Carmel (3-0), 4A #3 Hamilton Southeastern (3-0), and Libertyville (2-1), an Illinois team that is currently 36-1.
Senior setter and University of Central Florida commit Anabelle Schembra leads the Trojans and all of 4A with 1,158 assists, and she’s tied for third in 4A with 80 aces. Plus, sophomore outside hitter Gabby Gilliard has a 4A-best 546 kills.
Carroll joins 2A’s Benton Central as the only returning volleyball state finalist, except the Chargers are seeking their third consecutive 4A championship. They were runner-up in 1988 and 2015 and beat Yorktown (3-0) and Plainfield (3-0) in each of the last two 4A state title matches.
The Chargers went 33-3 in 2024, 37-0 in 2025, and are 35-1 this season, with their only loss coming against the #8 team in the country, Marist out of Chicago (3-1). That makes the Chargers 105-4 since the start of the ‘24 season. Carroll’s last loss against an Indiana school came on Sept. 28, 2024, when they lost twice that day to Yorktown (3-0) and Westfield (3-1).
This October Carroll beat #14 Homestead (3-0) at the regional, followed by wins over Penn (3-0) and 4A #2 Westfield (3-0) at semi-state.
The 2026 Chargers have dropped just seven sets, all in the regular season. Marist handed them three, and they lost one set apiece in wins over 4A #5 Penn, 4A #3 Hamilton Southeastern, 4A #4 Yorktown, and 4A #13 Roncalli. They have top-15 regular-season sweeps against 4A #10 Plainfield (3-0), Westfield (3-0), 4A #14 Lake Central (2-0), 4A #8 Chesterton (2-0, 3-0), 3A #3 Heritage (3-0), 4A #14 Homestead (2-0, 3-0), Penn (3-0), and 3A #7 Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran (3-0), giving them 17 total top-15 wins.
Carroll’s roster is loaded with six Division-I commits. Senior outside hitter Sarah Stegall (Notre Dame) is fourth in 4A with 463 kills and ninth with 70 aces, senior setter Elli Oskey (Loyola Chicago) is fifth with 980 assists, and senior defensive specialist Ella Craker (Grand Valley State) leads the team with 322 receptions. Junior outside hitter Katelyn Peters (North Florida), junior middle blocker Paityn Lauck (Ball State), and junior libero Cala Haffner (Texas, currently #13 in the country) add to one of the nation’s best volleyball teams.
The Girls Volleyball State Finals Rundown
In 1A, will Rossville continue its Cinderella run to its first volleyball state title in its championship debut, or can Indianapolis Lutheran capture its first volleyball championship in its second-ever appearance?
Will Benton Central’s return trip to the 2A final result in its first state championship, or can Heritage Christian add to its trophy case with a second volleyball title?
In 3A, will SMU commit Caroline Ward power Tri-West Hendricks to its first state title, or can Ball State commit Elyse Mead guide West Noble to its first state championship?
And in 4A, can Center Grove and UCF commit Anabelle Schembra claim the program’s second 4A title and first since 2000, or will nationally ranked Carroll and its six Division-I commits make history with a third straight 4A championship?
We’ll find out Saturday in downtown Indianapolis.
