by
Richie Hall
Sports Editor
Hamilton County Reporter
Everything came together for the Fishers boys volleyball team this season.
The Tigers had all the pieces for a post-season run, and were willing to do the work. They were rewarded with a state championship, which took place in May at Franklin Community High School.
While Fishers won its state title just a few weeks ago, head coach Carlos Capó knew about his team’s potential towards the end of last season.
“We only had three seniors in our varsity team last year, with only one being a starter,” said Capó. “We finished sixth, but beat multiple teams ranked higher than us. For example, we beat Cathedral three times last year, with no losses, and they were ranked No. 1 going into the state tourney and finished state runner-up.
“All of my returning starters plus most of my non-starters play winter travel club,” said Capó. “When you look at our state tourney roster, only four players didn’t play winter travel club. They played in very competitive teams that played in big tournaments, including Chicago and St. Louis. So I knew the boys were putting in the needed effort in the off-season to be even better than last year. I knew we had all the pieces for a state tournament deep run, but it wasn’t until the season got underway and within the first two weeks, we had already played teams ranked second through fifth in the state and beat each of them in a convincing manner.”
A key match for Fishers was a big win over Roncalli on March 14. It was the first time in the five-year history of the team that the Tigers had beaten the Rebels, and Capó called it the most memorable moment of the season outside of the state tournament.
“For the past four years, we hadn’t been able to even win a single set in any previous matches,” said Capó. “By year four, we had beaten all power house teams at least once. This was our one monkey on our backs. To add a bit more color, the past two state finalists weekends (2017 and 2018) we were matched up against Roncalli both years in the quarterfinals. Losing in three straight sets each time.”
Once it was in the post-season, Fishers cruised through, winning five matches without dropping a set. In the regionals, the Tigers defeated Columbus East 25-5, 25-13, 25-16 in the semi-finals, then beat Cardinal Ritter 25-17, 25-11, 25-17 to win the championship.
At the state tournament, Fishers took care of Zionsville in the quarter-finals 25-12, 25-17, 25-11. The Tigers then beat Carmel 25-23, 26-24, 25-18 in the semi-finals, and won the state title by defeating their old nemesis Roncalli 25-18, 25-19, 25-13.
Capó said his team was solid “in all aspects of the game.” Fishers definitely was dominant on offense, as it had the top two kill leaders in the state: Senior Mario Capó put down 344 kills, while his classmate Parker Beale hit 321 kills. Both were outside hitters for the Tigers.
“Our middles and right side also did a very solid job hitting, so teams couldn’t just concentrate on blocking the outside hitters,” said Carlos Capó.
That included senior middle blocker Logan Krehibel, whose hitting percentage of .414 placed him fifth in the state. Krehibel and senior Luke Moritz finished the season second and third respectively in blocking, with 93 and 82.
“While a high percentage of sets went to the outside hitters, in the state championship match, our hitting was solid, but our blocking was unbelievable,” said Capo. “We finished the match with 11 total blocks.”
Fishers’ defense was also solid. Sophomore libero Franky Capó was fifth in the state in total digs, collecting 304. Senior setter Jordan Guler finished second in the state in assists, totaling 901.
“Another aspect of our game that was solid was executing when out of system,” said Carlos Capó. “Franky did an outstanding job setting the ball when Jordan took the first pass. I was complemented by other coaches stating that we were by far the best team in out of system situations.”
Fishers finished the season undefeated against Indiana teams at 36-0. The Tigers’ overall record was 40-2, with their only losses to Louisville St. Xavier.
“A very strong team that we competed well against the two times we played them,” said Capó. “They won the Kentucky boys high school championship again this year. We beat other teams from Louisville and Chicago area.”
