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Roncalli sweeps to win Inaugural IHSAA Boys Volleyball Crown
WEST LAFAYETTE - The Roncalli boys volleyball program is used to playing in big matches.
So when the pressure increased on Saturday in the inaugural IHSAA Boys Volleyball State Finals - the Royals (30-3) were ready, and won the first IHSAA state title over Cathedral 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-23) in Purdue University's Mackey Arena.
“This feels awesome,” senior outside hitter Eli Berger said. “We have been working toward this for a while. I’ve been a part of the last couple (IBVCA) title teams, and we have been working so hard to get another one. We really wanted this four-peat.”
Boys volleyball has been around since 1994 in the state of Indiana, run under the leadership of the Indiana Boys Volleyball Coaches Association until becoming a sanctioned sport under the IHSAA this year.
Roncalli won the last three IBVCA state titles, and have appeared in the previous six state championship matches (winning four).
But while they have had success in recent years, they really wanted the first IHSAA state championship trophy.
“The talent was better (across the state) and I felt like there was more pressure this year,” Roncalli head coach Nick Jennings said. “I knew we had won the past three, and we had been blessed to win those, so everybody wanted to give their best against us. We had that, and then everyone wants to be the first IHSAA champion and be in that record book forever - so this is huge.”
IHSAA State Championship
Roncalli defeated Indianapolis Cathedral 3-0
(25-14, 25-22, 25-23)
The Royals, who started the season 3-3, rattled off 27-straight wins to close the season, losing just six sets in the process.
They lost just one match to a team from Indiana all year.
“We accomplished exactly what we set out to do,” Jennings said. “ We knew it was going to be a challenge, and we knew what we were going to get from teams, but the determination and resiliency of this group - we started the year 3-3 and won 27 straight. The work ethic of this team is just unbelievable.”
The quest for the four-peat almost ended in the state semifinal in an epic five-set match with Fishers, the only Indiana team to beat Roncalli in the regular season.
The teams split the first two sets and the Tigers led 14-12 in the decisive fifth set before the Royals rallied off four-straight points to win the match.
Jennings cited how the Royals returned all but one player from the title team a year ago, and how that experience and having the ability to not get rattled was important.
Berger said it came down to having the will to win.
“We fought really hard for that, and Fishers fought hard too, but we wanted it more,” Berger said. “Our team is relentless and we just keep going.”
Roncalli carried that momentum into the championship match against Cathedral (31-6), who defeated Lake Central in three sets in the first semifinal.
The Royals scored nine of the first 11 points and never led by less than six after that in the opening set.
Jennings said his team wanted to set a tone against the Irish.
“Cathedral is a great team and they have some great middles,” Jennings said. “We wanted to make sure we set the tone of ‘we aren’t going to let you guys dictate the match.’ We just took off with it.”
Cathedral upped their game in the final two sets, but the Royals again showed their resiliency and passion.
The Irish jumped out to a 7-1 lead in set two, before the Royals came back to tie it at 16 on a kill from A.J, Morris and used a 5-1 spurt to take control of the set late.
Roncalli led throughout most of the third before Cathedral clawed back to take a 23-22 lead. But once again the Royals had the answer, with Berger closing out his high school career with back-to-back kills for the title.
“It doesn’t get much better than that,” Berger, who had 13 kills in the final, said. “I was able to get the winning kill my sophomore year too, and it is just as sweet. It’s awesome.”
Jaden Greenwell had 12 kills for Cathedral, and Owen Peterson had 10. Nick Whitley had 33 assists and 12 digs
Xavier Lawrie had 12 kills and digs for the Royals, who also got eight kills from Morris.
Matthew Dial had 38 assists, following up a 53-assist performance in the semifinal. He later was the first Mental Attitude Award winner in boys volleyball.
Jennings said that the team continued to raise the bar for what the program can be.
“Everybody wants to be the next great Roncalli volleyball team, and at this point to do it, you have to win a state title,” Jennings said. “We got them invested, and our practices are so hard because people are just hungry to play volleyball and want more. I just love this program and our team.”
Roncalli's Matthew Dial honored with Mental Attitude Award
Following the match, Matthew Dial of Roncalli High School was announced as the recipient of the Mental Attitude Award by the IHSAA Exective Committee.
Matthrew graduated with a 4.32 GPA while graduating with Academic Honors and Distinction and a member of the National Honor Society at Roncalli.
Matthew was the 2024 IBVCA Tournament MVP, a two-time All-Circle City Conference selection, two-time first team All-Region, and two-time Academic All-State. Matthew holds the school record for assists in a season (1,052), a match (63), and a set (19).
He is the son of Greg and Kristen Dial of Greenwood, IN and will be attending Butler University in the fall to double major in accounting and finance.
The Mental Attitude Award is annually presented to a senior nominated by his principal and coach, and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability during his four years of high school.
Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, a corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Roncalli High School’s general scholarship fund in the name of Matthew Dial.