Columbus East High School

The Columbus East volleyball team spent Saturday morning testing themselves against some of the state’s best programs at the 43rd annual Providence Early Bird Invitational in Clarksville. The long-running tournament featured a loaded field that included seven state-ranked squads, highlighted by Cathedral (#4), Roncalli (#6), Fishers (#17), Center Grove (#35), Brownstown Central (#14), Jasper, Silver Creek, and the host Pioneers (#45). East managed a 1-3 record on the day, starting strong with a three-set victory over Silver Creek. The Olympians opened with a 25-22 win, dropped the second set 19-25, then responded to take the decisive third 15-10. From there, however, East ran into a gauntlet of ranked opponents. The Olympians fell to Roncalli (25-8, 25-6), Brownstown Central (25-7, 25-11), and the host Pioneers (25-7, 25-16). Defensively, Krea Martin anchored the back row with 28 digs while also serving up four aces. Addy Dean led the attack with 14 kills, and Payten Osborn distributed 22 assists while adding 18 digs and an ace. Lilah Klei contributed six blocks to go along with seven kills and one ace, while Izzy Rice also hammered seven kills. Other contributors included Kenlee Gault with 10 assists, Martin with six assists, Anika Jenkins with five blocks, Cadence Smith with four blocks, and Kadence Miller with nine digs. The Olympians are back in action Monday, September 8th when they travel to Shelbyville, IN to face the Shelbyville Golden Bears. Match time: 7 p.m.