Lafayette Central Catholic rallied to win third state title

Lafayette Central Catholic rallied to win third state title
Lafayette Central Catholic rallied in the final two sets to pull out a 3-2 (30-28, 18-25, 17-25, 25-12, 15-7) victory over Trinity Lutheran in the Class A title match.

Coach Brad McCarter’s Knights thus captured the program’s third state title, as LCC won in both 2010 and 2017.

The Knights appeared destined for an easy win in set one, building a lead of 24-19 before Trinity (30-5) rallied to take a 28-27 lead. Central Catholic, however, scored the final three points, the last two on a service ace by Rachel Vorst and a kill by Caitlin Dineen to wrap up the set.

The Cougars of coach Faith Wilder-Newland took control in sets two and three and were looking to close out the first state title in school history. Central Catholic, however, warmed up in the fourth set and never trailed to force the deciding set.

In that final set, LCC (27-9) also never trailed and closed the match on an 11-4 run. The Knights hit .333 in set four and .259 in set five, compared to .130 and .040 in the final two sets for Trinity.

Kassisy Boener led LCC with 20 kills, Caitlyn Dineen added 15 and Grace Roah had nine and also had six blocks. The Knights served up 16 aces in the match.

Trinity got 17 kills from Ruthie Bingham, 15 from Bailey Tabeling and 11 from Stella Kleffman.

Trinity Lutheran was making its second appearance in the final, also losing in five sets in 2019.

Central Catholic’s Caitlin Dineen earns Mental Attitude Award
Following the match, Caitlin Dineen of Lafayette Central Catholic High School was announced as the recipient of the mental attitude award by the IHSAA Executive Committee.

Caitlin has been a straight-A student throughout her high school career earning a 4.07 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society at LCC.

She is a two-sport athlete starting for both the Knights’ volleyball and basketball teams. She is a co-founder and vice president of the school’s Environment Club, a four-year member of the Interact Club, a four-year member of the yearbook staff, and has volunteered for the Champions Together program through Special Olympics Indiana.

She is the daughter of Brian and Amy Dineen of West Lafayette and is interested in studying Psychology at a college yet to be determined.

The mental attitude award is annually presented to a senior, who is nominated by her principal and coach, and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability during her four years of high school.

Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, a corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Lafayette Central Catholic High School’s general scholarship fund in the name of Caitlin Dineen.