All-RTC4 volleyball: Valley’s high-flying Shepherd is Player of the Year

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

RTC4 Volleyball Player of the Year Betty Shepherd

Tippecanoe Valley had never had the RTC4 Volleyball Player of the Year.

Until now.

The high-flying, powerful Betty Shepherd deserves the honor by leading her team in kills and being the go-to hitter for her team against its extremely tough schedule. More than any player on Valley’s team, she was the one opponents had to game-plan for. And sometimes, she got so high off the ground that opponents could only do so much.

Shepherd also headlines our All-RTC4 volleyball team. 

We did not have a lot of standout teams in our area this year. That might have been to girls by and large choosing not to play travel volleyball or maybe because all of our area teams just happened to be stuck in tough sectionals this year.

Rochester was in the same sectional as Southwood. Valley was in the same sectional as NorthWood and West Noble. Caston and Pioneer were in the same sectional with South Newton. Argos and Culver were in the same sectional as Triton. Winamac was in the same sectional as Jimtown.

Regardless, we thank coaches in our area for sending us scores and statistics after every match. We also thank coaches for sharing information about their teams and others in the area. You make our jobs much easier. 

Having said that, this list is ours and ours alone, and we are solely responsible. We tried to get a mix of front row and back row players and players with different skill sets.

Amara Weiringa Gabby Gonzalez Aubrey WIlson Hadley Wise

All-RTC4

• Betty Shepherd (Tippecanoe Valley) (Player of the Year) – Shepherd led Valley with 216 kills, but she also showed her versatility with 31 blocks, 147 digs, 177 serves received and 10 aces.

• Laylah Demond (Pioneer) – Demond, a sophomore, became more of a consistent hitter with a .243 hitting percentage, and she did much of her damage out of the middle.

• Aspen Moolenaar (Pioneer) – Moolenaar was the senior leader in six rotations for the eventual Hoosier North champion Lady Panthers. She had 260 kills, 36 aces, 355 digs and 346 serves received.

• Natalie Warner (Caston) – Warner, a 6-1 junior, was crucial out of the middle for the Lady Comets, hammering down 188 kills and 71 blocks.

• Madyson Shaffer (Pioneer) – Shaffer, a sophomore libero, had a mind-boggling 664 digs and 863 serves received in the back row.

• Amara Weiringa (Rochester) – Weiringa, a sophomore setter, gained the most from the Lady Zs adjusting to a two-setter system, uncorking 133 kills and 218 assists. Tack on 26 aces, 279 digs and 188 serves received, and you have an emerging star.

• Gaby Gonzalez (Tippecanoe Valley) – Gonzalez, a senior libero, cuts off the baseline almost significantly with her quickness. It led to 433 digs and 522 serves received.

• Ashlynn Berndt (Culver) – Berndt, a sophomore, grew up this year – literally – and moved from the back row, where she was a libero, to a front-and-center part of the offense. She had 188 kills, 38 blocks, 327 digs, 50 assists and 228 serves received

• Averi Layer (Pioneer) – Layer, a sophomore outside hitter, had 220 kills, 41 aces, 320 digs and 318 serves received and was the third prong of the Pioneer offensive attack along with Demond and Moolenaar.

• Madi Douglass (Caston) – Douglass moved back to being a setter this year as part of first-year coach DeLonna Logan’s new two-setter system. It led to 80 kills, 29 aces, 291 assists, 248 digs and 148 serves received. In other words, she was everywhere.

• Aubrey Wilson (Rochester) – Her season was sidetracked by a sprained ankle, but it was fun to watch her in the two-setter system before her injury. She finished with 88 kills, a team-high 41 aces, 255 assists, 184 digs and 83 serves received.

• Hadley Wise (Tippecanoe Valley) – When Shepherd was not wrecking opponents, Wise was over six rotations. She had over 200 kills and digs and over 300 serves received.

Honorable mention

• Lois Layer (Pioneer)

• Jasmine Fuller (Tippecanoe Valley)

• Hayden Lute (Culver)

• Callie Salisbury (Caston)

• Brailyn Hunter (Rochester)

• Ava Malchow (Winamac)

• Chloe Lewis (Culver)

• Gracie Milam (Culver)

• Ava Bell (Pioneer)

• Avarie Montel (Rochester)

• Kinzlee Kelly (Argos)

• Maddy Bailon (Rochester)

RTC Volleyball Players of the Year

• 2020: Olivia Brooke-Madison Blickenstaff-Hailey Cripe (Pioneer)

• 2021: Hailey Cripe (Pioneer)

• 2022: Mandee Weisenburger (Pioneer)

• 2023: Mackenzie Rogers (Pioneer)

• 2024: Brynn Berndt (Culver)

• 2025: Betty Shepherd (Tippecanoe Valley)