Trojans dominate, defend Chesterton sectional volleyball title and advance to regional vs. Crown Point after sweeping Valparaiso and Portage

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

Getting the formality of the sectional round of the playoffs out of the way by sweeping DAC foes Valparaiso and Portage for the third time each, Chesterton made its final day at home during the 2025 season a dominant one.
The Trojans won their second consecutive sectional title at night by trouncing Portage 25-11, 25-9, 25-7. Earlier in the day, the sectional champs slammed Valparaiso 25-17, 25-7, 25-22 to reach the final.
If anyone needed more proof that the Trojans are playing better volleyball than ever, consider that both Portage and Valpo scored fewer points against Chesterton on Saturday than in both previous matches.
The Trojans’ third sectional title in history pits the two best teams in Northwest Indiana against each other for the fourth time.
Chesterton (30-3) and Crown Point (29-3 ) will meet at LaPorte in a regional Saturday, Oct. 25 at 4 p.m.
The schools shared the DAC crown with 13-1 records. They met in a best-of-three match on the first day of the season, Aug. 16, in a tournament at Crown Point. The Bulldogs came from behind in the third set to win that one.
They met again on Sep. 4 in Chesterton and the visitors extended their winning streak in the series to 35 matches, winning 3-1.
They faced each other Sep. 30 at Crown Point and this time it was the Trojans who came from behind, winning the final two sets 25-17, 15-10 to slay the streak.
“I’m super excited,” senior Tenley Davis said. “I think this week’s going to be really good preparation.”
Saturday amounted to another day of preparation for the sectional hosts because neither team was equipped to take on the Trojans this season. That can make it tough for the favorite to bring its best, but Chesterton took care of business swiftly in the championship match.
“I think we brought our own energy and we wanted to work on a lot of things, and I think we used these games to prepare ourselves and also remind ourselves that it’s fun to play volleyball and to have fun instead of being so uptight because we’re going to really have to lock in the next few weeks, so I think we just wanted to remind ourselves why we’re here and why we do what we do,” Davis said.
A winning volleyball team has fun doing what it does makes for a fun team to watch, which the Trojans certainly have been this season.
As usual, Chesterton’s three Division I-bound skywalkers Davis (Loyola University of Chicago) and juniors Luca Bombacino (University of Michigan) and Maddie Gilliam (Butler University) entertained a large crowd that included a strong student turnout with loud kills. Four-year varsity player Abby Parrish blended her usual assortment of sets and hard swings with roll shots and dumps, keeping the opponents guessing and the crowd entertained. Fellow setter Reese Dilbeck, a sophomore, contributed another strong all-around night and liberos Ryleigh Connor, a senior, and sophomore Delaney Barrett kept the good vibes flowing.
For Connor, Davis, Petyon Ello, Elaina Markwart, Parrish and Brooke Williams it was their final night playing in front of a crowd in the gymnasium where their careers all blossomed at different times.
“It feels amazing, especially with this team,” Peyton Ello said of the Trojans successfully defending their sectional title. “We’re such a good team this year and all six of us seniors have worked so hard to get to this moment now. All of us have played club together or we all hang out individually outside of volleyball.”
Watching her friend Williams come on so strong in her final season was particularly thrilling for Ello.
“I think Brooke has improved a lot,” Ello said. “I’m probably the closest with Brooke and I love watching her play and she’s such an amazing player to watch.”
Looking forward to next weekend’s fourth match with Crown Point, Ello said she’s “really excited because it was an amazing game last time, so I’m hoping that we beat them.”
The regional match projects as a tight one, and the greater number of Chesterton fans in the audience, the better the Trojans’ chances of advancing to the semi-state round.
The rotation is sure to tighten, but for the sectional championship match, all 13 players on the postseason roster played, including freshmen Audrey Roach, a regular all season, and Chloe Murzyn, who swung between JV and varsity, and sophomore Taylor Moore.