Six schools that have never traveled this far before on the volleyball tournament trail will be joined by four schools who return from the 2000 field at the 30^th Annual IHSAA Volleyball State Finals Saturday (Nov. 3).

Defending state champions Michigan City Marquette (Class A) and Muncie Burris (Class 2A) headline the returning teams. The first-time state finals entrants are Morristown in Class A, Monrovia and Triton in Class 2A, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers and Frankfort in Class 3A, and Franklin in Class 4A.

It’s the first IHSAA state finals appearance in any team sport for Monrovia and Morristown. Frankfort hasn’t reached an IHSAA state finals event in a team sport since 1942 when the Hot Dogs lost in the boys basketball state semifinals to eventual champion Washington.

Cowan (Class A) is in the state finals for a third straight year, while Mitchell returns from the 2000 field but moves from Class 2A to Class 3A. The same is true for Indianapolis Cathedral, which won the Class 3A title in 1999 and finished as the state runner-up in 2000. This time, the Irish are in Class 4A. Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (3A) and Franklin (4A) also are in the state finals after jumping one class higher in 2001.

Thirteen of the 16 state finalists played regular-season matches against other teams in the 2001 field. New Castle posted the most victories, with four triumphs in six matches overall.

As in 1999 and 2000, the semifinals in each class will be contested Saturday morning at four sites around Indianapolis. The morning winners will advance to the state championship matches Saturday afternoon and evening at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. This is the first time the state finals been have been played at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Previous championship matches have been played at Beech Grove (1972), Ben Davis (1973-88), Market Square Arena (1989-98), and Noblesville (1999, 2000).

Credentials: The 2001-02 IHSAA State Finals Media Pass will be honored.

Michigan City Marquette (33-4) vs. Cowan (27-9).

Morristown (32-5) vs. Barr-Reeve (26-5).

Triton (27-10) vs. Muncie Burris (32-6).

Mitchell (34-0) vs. Monrovia (26-7).

Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (24-12) vs. Providence (34-4).

Delta (33-4) vs. Frankfort (27-9).

Franklin (33-4) vs. New Castle (34-3).

Michigan City (37-0) vs. Indianapolis Cathedral (30-7).

Class A – 2:30 p.m.

Class 2A – 4 p.m. (Approximate; will not begin before 4 p.m.).

Class 3A – 5:30 p.m. (Approximate; will not begin before 5:30 p.m.).

Class 4A – 7 p.m. (Approximate; will not begin before 7 p.m.).

The field that began with 309 teams just two weeks ago has been reduced to 80 as play in the 29^th Annual IHSAA Football Tournament reaches the sectional championship round. Forty sectional championship games will be contested Friday (Nov. 2), with the victors advancing to regional play Nov. 9 or 10.

The field includes 12 unbeaten teams and 19 teams with just one loss. It also features 23 of the 40 sectional champions from 2000, including all eight in Class 5A and six in Class 2A. Whiteland and Zionsville, who won 2000 sectional championships in Class 3A, have moved to Class 4A.

The 2000 sectional champions still in the hunt for a repeat are:

Of the 80 schools still alive, 12 seek their first football sectional title. Those schools are: Chesterton and Decatur Central in Class 5A; Griffith and Muncie Central in Class 4A; Benton Central and Fort Wayne Concordia in Class 3A; Central Noble and Eastern (Greentown) in Class 2A; Clinton Prairie, Fremont, Southern Wells and Turkey Run in Class A. At least one first-time sectional champion is assured because Southern Wells visits Fremont.

The 2001 sectional championship schedule includes 11 battles that are rematches of 2001 regular-season games and five rematches from the 2000 sectional championship games.

Craig Barr, football coach at Noblesville, celebrated his 100^th career victory Oct. 19 as the Millers defeated Harrison (West Lafayette) 40-14 in the opening round of Class 5A Sectional 4. Barr is in his third season at Noblesville and 11^th overall, with IHSAA Class 3A state titles at Indianapolis Chatard in 1997 and 1998.

Joel Cyrier, a junior at Mishawaka, broke school records for single-game and season rushing Oct. 19 as the Cavemen topped LaPorte 53-28 in the opening round of Class 5A Sectional 2. Cyrier rushed for 323 yards and three touchdowns in the game, eclipsing the 24-year-old Mishawaka record set by John Roggeman with 309 yards in a 1977 game. Cyrier finished the season with 1,611 yards, bettering the standard of 1,595 yards by Blair DeCraene.

Danny Gibson, a senior wide receiver at Madison, finished the 2001 season with 1,462 receiving yards. That total ranks second in state history behind the 1,665 yards of Hamilton Southeastern’s Doug Stis in 1981. Gibson grabbed 82 passes and scored 12 touchdowns.

D. J. Krieg, a senior at Perry Central, tied the school record for interceptions in a season Oct. 26 when he pilfered his 13^th pass as the Commodores defeated North Central (Farmersburg) 42-0 in Class A Sectional 40. Krieg tied the school record set by Derek Peter in 1999 when Perry Central finished as the Class A state runner-up to Lafayette Central Catholic. The state record for interceptions in a season is 16 by Mike Elliott of Culver Community in 1982.

John Lidy, football coach at Castle, celebrated his 200^th career victory Oct. 26 as the Knights defeated Evansville North 48-7 in Class 5A Sectional 8. Lidy is in his 29^th season as a head coach, all at Castle. His teams have compiled a record of 200-109, with IHSAA state championships in 1982 (3A) and 1994 (5A).

Eric McClurg, a senior at Center Grove, grabbed his eighth interception of the season Oct. 26 against Terre Haute North in a Class 5A Sectional 7 game. It also was the 29^th of his four-year varsity career, tying McClurg for the state record with Arch Livesay, who played from 1984-87 at Turkey Run. McClurg had 10 interceptions in 1998, six in 1999 and five in 2000 when the Trojans were the IHSAA Class 5A state runner-up to Penn.

Jake Schiff, senior quarterback at Evansville Mater Dei, became the first player in state history to pass for 3,000 yards in a season three times. Schiff hit 19 of 23 passes for 319 yards Oct. 25 as the defending Class 2A state champions defeated South Spencer 49-7. In the process, Schiff brought his career total to 10,810 yards and stands 301 yards away from breaking the state career total of 11,110 set by Martinsville’s Earl Haniford in 1995. The 3,000-yards-in-a-season plateau has been reached 13 times in state history, including six times by quarterbacks from Evansville Mater Dei. The others were Eric Goebel (1990) and Adam Schiff, brother of Jake Schiff (1997, 1998). The state season record is 3,973 yards by Rick Mirer of Goshen in 1988.

Warren Central set school records for single-game rushing (627 yards) and total offense (633) in a 70-14 victory over North Central (Indianapolis) in Class 5A Sectional 5 on Oct. 26.

Saturday (Nov. 3) – State finals results will be posted throughout the day under Volleyball/2001 State Finals Results.

Friday (Nov. 2) – Sectional championship results will be posted under Football/2001 Sectional Results.