Surely, it’s Shirley
Junior setter/hitter powers Michigan City past Warsaw
Michigan City’s Reece Shirley did everything but drive the team bus to Saturday’s Class 4A LaPorte Regional.
On the court, the junior setter/hitter delivered 17 kills, 17 assists, 13 digs and two solo blocks, leading the Wolves to a 25-17, 27-25, 27-29, 25-11 semifinal win over Warsaw.
Off the court, Shirley’s singing and dancing helped lift up her teammates and Michigan City’s fans during a spirited singing of the school’s fight song.
The Wolves (30-7) had good reason to celebrate after advancing to Saturday night ’s championship match against Penn.
The Kingsmen (32-5) abruptly ended Munster’s season with a 25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 25-19 semifinal victory.
The showstopper, however, was Shirley.
“I don’t think people really understand how good Reece is,” Wolves coach TR Harlan said. “(Saturday) she was our primary kid on serve-receive and she had a bunch of kills, digs and some blocks.
“She’s special. There’s nothing she can’t do.”
A good deal of Shirley’s growth as a player can be attributed to Michigan City star Hannah Noveroske, a Xavier basketball recruit, didn’t play her first volleyball match until Sept. 15 after recovering from a torn ACL.
“Hannah’s injury made kids get out of their comfort zone,” Harlan said. “Not having Hannah early is helping us a lot lately.”
The Wolves are a better team because they were forced to grow without Noveroske.
“I’ve never been a hitter before,” Shirley said. “I’m usually (only) a setter. This year, I had to work on technique and shots to do it. With Hannah out so long, I had to take charge.”
Shirley also took charge off the court, singing on the team bus with teammates before the match.
“That’s just us being us, which is what TR made sure to tell us he wanted us to do,” Shirley said, smiling. “We always have our big boombox on the bus and like singing loud. It gets our adrenaline going. We’re all just goofy.”
Shirley said she woke up Saturday morning focused on beating Warsaw.
“I’ve been excited and ready for this the whole entire week,” she said. “I kept calm when I needed to and had the energy to pump everyone up.”
Munster coach Brett Boden had the difficult job of trying to console his team after the loss to Penn.
Munster, which had won 28 of 29 matches coming in, struggled against Penn’s power and with unforced errors.
Boden and his players didn’t emerge from the locker room until nearly 40 minutes after the loss.
“They’re crushed to have their season end,” Boden said. “They’re a competitive group. They’ve worked hard to build something here. They’ve not only put us back on the map, but they’ve put us back where Munster used to be.
“With only two seniors (Madison Horin and Jordyn Warner), we’re still very, very young, We have lots of freshmen and sophomores, so the future is bright.”
Horin, who led Munster with 14 kills, six blocks and four aces, summed up the loss.
“We felt it was a very good matchup,” she said. “We just made too many mistakes and some nerves got the best of us, even though we bounced back in the second set. We’re a scrappy and gritty team and we always think next point.
“We have so many positive things to be proud of, though. The biggest thing is we’re all pretty close and love each other.”