November 4, 2017

Avon Sweeps Crown Point for 4A State Championship
Avon recaptured glory, winning its third state title in six seasons, while sending Crown Point down to heartbreak for the second straight season.

The Orioles (37-3) scored a 25-17, 25-18, 25-18 victory in the Class 4-A title match as Holly Eastridge (13) and Jael Johnson (12) combined for 25 kills.

The match turned in the opening set when, with Avon leading, 15-12, Crown Point's top hitter, Morgan Chacon went down with an apparent leg injury. Chacon remained on the floor for several minutes with visibly upset teammates standing by. Chacon, one of the state's top 25 players in total kills and hitting percentage, was wheeled off on a stretcher and didn't return. She still finished with a team-tying high of six kills.

Avon wrapped up the first set on a kill by Johnson. In set two, the Orioles trailed, 13-12, before going on a 7-1 run to take control. The final set was tied, 12-12, when the Orioles surged again. An Eastridge kill brought Avon to match point and a Crown Point hitting error finished it.

Coach Scott McQueen also guided Avon to state titles in 2012 and 2013.

The Bulldogs (35-4), coached by Alison Duncan, settled for the runner-up spot for the second straight year. Crown Point fell to Indianapolis Cathedral in 2016. 

Alex Equihua named Mental Attitude Award Winner 
At the conclusion of the state finals, the IHSAA Executive Committee, on behalf of Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, named Alex Equihua of Crown Point High School as the winner of the Class 4A Mental Attitude Award.

Alex is the sixth Crown Point student athlete honored with an IHSAA mental attitude award and the second in the last five months following Alexis Holloway (4A softball) last June.

With a 3.6 GPA, Equihua is involved in the school’s Best Buddies program, National Honor Society, Cass, Junior Rotary and the Bulldogs’ Athletic Council.

As a team captain and school record holder in assists, she helped guide the Bulldogs to back-to-back appearances in the 4A state championship match. She is a two time All-State volleyball selection as a setter.

Alex is the daughter of Anne and Art Equihua of Crown Point and plans to study Athletic Training at the University of Indianapolis where she will play volleyball for the Greyhounds.

Each year the IHSAA Executive Committee selects a senior player who was nominated by her principal and coach and was determined to have best demonstrated mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, presenting sponsor of the IHSAA Mental Attitude Award in Class 4A Volleyball, will donate $1,000 to Crown Point’s general scholarship fund in the name of Alex Equihua.