'Carroll's the real deal.' So is Westfield, but Shamrocks' journey ends at semistate

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HUNTINGTON — Sean Keeve smiled and shook his head as he walked over for a post-match interview following No. 2 Westfield's 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-21) loss to No. 1 Fort Wayne Carroll in Saturday's Class 4A semistate championship match.

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That might be the best team in the state, the second-year Westfield coach said as his daughter — dressed as Cinderella for Halloween — wrapped herself around his leg. 

They might be even better than they were last year.

"It's just a relentlessness to compete and win every single point," Keeve said of the two-time defending state champion Chargers. "They have this incredible desire to be great in all phases of the game and at no point in time do they let up."

On a night bespeckled with dominating individual performances, the play of the night belonged to Katelyn Peters. Westfield had seemingly extended the second set with a Jordyn Blair block, but Peters kept the rally alive with a kick save at the net, deflecting the ball off libero Cala Haffner and back to herself for the set-clinching kill. 

It was an unreal sequence, one that should land Peters on SportsCenter and one that could have crushed Westfield's spirit.

But the Rocks — who had not lost a set in 13 matches — came roaring back in the third. They found the "energy and fire" that was missing at points earlier in the match, senior Carsyn Comer said.

"We should be really proud of ourselves," she later added. "We played hard, even if it wasn't the outcome we wanted."

The run was also keyed, in part, by a lineup change. Senior pin Paige Rudolph moved to the right side, which allowed Westfield to attack Carroll's air-tight defense from a few different angles. While she got the scoring on track, the emotional leadership was provided mostly by Comer, who kept her side competitive through the opening two frames as she moved past 1,000 kills for her career.

"Carsyn is the best volleyball player I've ever coached and I think the best player that I will ever coach. She's been our ride-or-die all year," Keeve said. "She played well tonight, and she's progressed incredibly from the start of the season to now as someone who just doesn't give up and doesn't let the people around her give up. It's unbelievable."

To his point, the Louisville commit never once let her teammate's energy drop, cheering them on from the bench when she was out of rotation and firing them up after every single point when she was on the floor. 

"I've seen her grow not only on the court, but just as a person," Keeve observed. "Her demeanor, her approach, her self-confidence — that's a kid who's come a long way."

While Comer set the tone at the net, the back row was captained by senior libero Kendyl Strack, with steady support from junior Brooke Neale and sophomore Gabby Bassett. They were "an incredible group of littles," Keeve said, praising the Bowling Green-bound Strack for setting the tone and for her two teammates embracing their roles. 

They're all feisty and compete to make each other better, he continued. "That's what made this group so special."

Comer, Strack and Rudolph were only a third of the Rocks' sizable senior class, a group rounded out by Kenna Robinson, Laynie Holman, Ava Rodda, Madden Showalter, Emily Blevins and Audrey Davis.

They all played a hand in turning around the Westfield volleyball program, which finished 15-16 and lost in the first round of sectionals their freshman year.

The Rocks went 54-5 over the past two seasons, with last year marking the program's first sectional championship since 2016 and first regional crown since 2011, which was also the last time it reached the state semifinals.

"We all try to bring as much as we can into our school season to grow the program, especially the younger girls and inspire them," she continued. "I was talking to our freshman, Esther Jackson, and she said something like, 'It's been so fun to watch you girls grow up and then to get to play with you.' So I hope we inspired a lot of younger generations to continue growing the program."

"Most of these girls I've been playing with since I was 10, so it's really sad to move away from them, but we should be really proud of ourselves. We played hard, even if it wasn't the outcome we wanted," Comer said. "We all try to bring as much as we can into our school seasons to grow our program and especially the younger girls and inspire them."

Carroll aided Westfield's raucous start to the third by committing a rotation violation that shaved three points off its score. The Rocks parlayed that unexpected 8-3 advantage into a seven-point lead, its largest of the night, then maintained a 16-12 edge midway through the frame.

"I thought we were in a good spot," Keeve said. "We were in a good spot."

And then: "An absolute hammer."

The Chargers used an 8-0 run to swing a four-point deficit to a four-point lead, then extended the charge to 13-4 as it closed out the 3-0 win. 

A championship response by a championship-caliber team.

They just. Didn't. Stop.

Coach Pandy Sinish and her Chargers are heading back to Gainbridge, looking to become the first three-time 4A state champion in IHSAA history.

"Hats off to Pandy and her staff," Keeve said. "Carroll's the real deal. So are we, but they were just better tonight. 

Westfield finishes the season 28-3.

"This entire group, I don't know if there will ever be another one like them," Keeve smiled.

"I wish we could practice on Monday."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen. Get IndyStar's high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 'Carroll's the real deal.' So is Westfield, but Shamrocks' journey ends at semistate

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