Columbus East High School

After starting the season with seven consecutive road matches, the Columbus East volleyball team welcomed a return to the Orange Pit on Monday night. Energized by their home crowd (way to go Orange Nation!), the Olympians earned a 25-20, 25-15, 25-22 sweep over Shelbyville, improving their record to 4-5 while continuing to fine-tune their rotation. Junior Addy Dean led the attack with 18 kills, two blocks, and two aces, including the match-clinching kill to break a 20-20 tie in the third set. East set the tone early in the match when Ava Tartt served six straight points to open the first set, which Riley Hawley later capped with a set-winning kill. In the second set, Kadence Miller sparked a five-point serving run to turn a narrow 16-13 lead into a commanding advantage. The Olympians displayed balanced contributions across the lineup. Jillian Chapple guided the offense with 14 assists, supported by Kenlee Gault's nine assists and two aces. Miller added nine digs, four assists, and two aces, while Shelby Williams picked up six digs. Tartt finished with four kills and five digs, alongside three kills apiece from Hawley, Cadence Smith, and Emma Armstrong, who also added two blocks. The straight-sets win offers a positive springboard as the team enters an important stretch of the schedule. Columbus East remains in the Orange Pit for consecutive Hoosier Hills Conference battles, hosting Jennings County tonight (JV start 5:30 p.m.) followed by Jeffersonville (JV start 6 p.m.) on Wednesday.