Senior setter Sam Guglielmo helped Hanover Central win the Greater South Shore title in the school’s first and second years in the conference.
Bishop Noll stole Hanover’s thunder last season by taking the title and winning its first conference championship in over 20 years.
But in her final season, Guglielmo hopes Round 4 goes to the Wildcats. The conference championship match basically takes place Tuesday, when the Warriors travel to Bishop Noll.
The winner will likely finish the season undefeated in conference.
First-year Hanover Central coach Matt Bien said Guglielmo — a four-year letterwinner — is poised and ready for the challenge.
“She’s got a very calm demeanor about her under pressure,” Bien said of Guglielmo. “She’s level-headed and her sets are pretty solid.
“But the best thing about her is she’s all about the team. She’s not about the personal stats. All she cares about is the victory.”
Still, Guglielmo’s stats are impressive. She has 638 assists, 242 digs and 57 aces in Hanover Central’s first 25 matches.
Guglielmo also has been instrumental in helping Bien’s transition of being the head coach after Erin Bachinski’s departure.
“It’s been really good,” Guglielmo said. “He definitely wants us to be a more offensive team. He’s always looking for the quickest point of attack. That’s made me try to find the best option and I’ve learned to speed up my game.”
“They have been willing to work and try new stuff and when you get that buy-in immediately, you get resolve through the program,” Bien said. “That’s because of (the seniors’) leadership. If you get them that buy-in from them, it’s not going to work.”
Those changes can be good since Guglielmo believes Hanover will be the underdog against more experienced Noll.
“We’re definitely going to try to step up our game to keep the winning tradition going here,” Guglielmo said of trying to win a conference title for the third time in four years. “I think our homecourt advantage can help because I consider us the underdog coming off last year’s loss.”
Bien said the girls’ first goal of the year was to win the GSSC. He said they won’t need motivation from him to get them ready.
“If I have to do anything for the Noll match, then I’m in trouble,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll be more than ready. It’s a goal and something we talked about all season long.”
Champs again: Top-ranked Crown Point won its own tournament Saturday with an impressive 25-16, 25-19 win over Bishop Noll in the championship match.
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Morgan Chacon earned tourney MVP honors with 12 kills in the title match, while Reece Kral was named to all-tournament with six kills and two blocks in the final.
Streak ends: Bishop Noll’s 20-match winning streak ended Saturday at the hands of Crown Point. It was the best winning streak under coach Dave Rodriguez.
That’s saying a lot too with a resume that includes a conference title, three sectional titles, three regional titles and one state championship match appearance.
The Warriors defeated Kankakee Valley 25-3, 25-10, beat South Bend St. Joseph 25-13, 25-15 and edged Zionsville 14-25, 25-22, 15-13 to reach the Crown Point Tournament championship match.
Ryan Haskell is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.
Top 10
With last week’s rankings in parentheses
1. Crown Point (1)
2. Munster (2)
3. Bishop Noll (3)
4. Valparaiso (4)
5. LaPorte (5)
6. Michigan City (6)
7. Andrean (8)
8. Hanover Central (10)
9. Lake Central (9
10. Lowell (7)
Player of the Week: Senior setter Brittany Anderson had 23 kills, 39 digs, eight aces, 13 blocks and 136 assists as Bishop Noll went 5-1 last week and beat Andrean and Zionsville. She also was named all-tournament at the Crown Point Invitational.