INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It has been a dominant season for the Heritage Christian girls volleyball team, led by senior outside hitter Ella Mensch.
Mensch leads the Eagles with more than 400 kills this season and has recorded more than 1,300 kills during her four-year career at Heritage Christian. The Eagles are 22-9 and will face Benton Central in the Class 2A state championship match Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
As Heritage Christian seeks the second state championship in program history, Mensch said there will be some nerves when the Eagles take the court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Still, she is excited to end her high school career in the state finals.
“Not many people get to experience this, so I’m just so grateful for the experience,” Mensch said. “Obviously we would love to walk away with the win on Saturday but at the end of the day it’s just an honor to be here and be in the position to play at Gainbridge.”
Heritage Christian head coach Abby Pluta said Mensch’s natural leadership has been infectious, helping set the tone for the rest of the team.
“A player like her who’s physical, the girls will automatically look to, and so she’s kind of had that burden,” Pluta said. “Because it is a burden, being a leader is not easy, it’s not something that you go in like, ‘Oh, I’m going to do this’; she stepped into it naturally.”
Pluta said Mensch’s presence on the court gives her teammates the confidence to play freely and trust one another.
“The way she fires up her teammates and leads the way—not just when she gets the kill that everybody loves so much, but when she’s on the court and they create this special bubble she’s helped foster—makes me so proud of her,” Pluta said.
With a state championship at stake, Mensch said the Eagles are focused on the mindset they will need Saturday.
“Rankings is just a number at the end of the day,” Mensch said. “It’s going to come down to who wants it more, so I feel like that’s what we’re preparing for the state game. But it would mean so much to us.”
After her senior season at Heritage Christian, Mensch will continue her volleyball career at Ferris State University next fall.
