HIGH SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT
Ali Hornung
Sisters Marissa and Ali Hornung
By Daniel Karell | Photos by Tony Bennett
If you ’ ve watched Providence High School volleyball over the past six years , there ’ s always been two constants : head coach Terri Purichia on the sidelines and a Hornung sister on the court .
First came Jacquie Hornung from 2011 through 2015 , followed by Marissa , who is in her fourth and final season of varsity volleyball before heading to Purdue next fall . And the youngster , who may be the best of the three , is freshman Ali , who has dominated the Indiana High School Class 4-A circuit in her first varsity season .
Despite moving up a class after last year ’ s state final appearance , the Pioneers are motoring through opponents and look just as primed as ever for a deep playoff run . As of Sept . 17 , the Pioneers are 21-1 , having not lost a set to a school in Southern Indiana .
“ How can you not be thrilled with how things are going ?,” Marissa Hornung said . “ As people have heard , this is the hardest schedule we ’ ve played , and to look at the teams we beat and played and how we beat them ... I ’ m just extremely proud with the way we ’ ve handled our schedule . We haven ’ t had the weekend off . I ’ m very excited and proud and hopeful for what the future is bringing for the postseason .”
An outside hitter with a fierce spike , the second Hornung sibling has developed into one of Southern Indiana ’ s all-time best volleyball players . Early in her sophomore year , Marissa committed to Purdue , and she ’ s improved her game even more , due to experience and injury .
As a junior last season , Marissa was struggling with shoulder and back injuries , forcing her to become more precise with her blasts from the left side , as opposed to overpowering an opponent like she did as a youngster .
“ That year was a struggle mentally , but that ’ s when she improved her craftiness ,” Purichia said of Marissa . “ She figured out a way to find holes . She ’ s always been good at picking apart a defense , but she wasn ’ t able to go up and unload on a ball like she was doing , so she had to get very smart and crafty .”
This season presented another challenge to Marissa . She ’ s the lone senior on the squad .
As such , she ’ s taken leadership roles for everyone on the team , wearing many different
16 EXTOL SPORTS / OCTOBER 2017