LAFAYETTE ― McCutcheon boys volleyball coach Keith Crisler saw his players meld together after two years of learning the sport together.

Boys who picked up the sport for the first time two seasons ago became a formidable group that learned to pass, digs and score points together as a unit.

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McCutcheon was swept in the first IHSAA sectional boys title title on Saturday afternoon to Zionsville 25-19, 25-14, 25-18, but the program summitted after going 11-20 in 2023 and 6-18 in 2024.

For Crisler, finishing with a 15-10 record in 2025 was a breakthrough for his Mavericks.

More: Boys volleyball experiencing growing pains despite popularity in first season under IHSAA

“One word I would say is growth,” Crisler said. “Growth as individuals, as athletes and as a program in the sport. Boys volleyball and men’s volleyball in Indiana has (some time) to grow, but I feel like we’ve had a successful season because we took that pioneering step to learn something new and that’s not an easy thing to do.”

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The number of boys volleyball teams expanded from 35 in 2022 to the 133 competing in the IHSAA playoffs this spring.

As the competition grew, so did McCutcheon.

“I don’t think anyone should leave this season with their head down and their shoulders slumped,” Crisler said. “They are pioneer men and left their mark in their first official year in Indiana.”

The growth of McCutcheon volleyball was headed by graduating starters senior libero Khelan Patel, middle blocker Jayden Heygood, setter Kieraan Jordan, outside hitter Josh Madsen and outside hitter Malachi Kenner.

Patel, Heygood, Jordan, Madsen and Kenner were the “founding fathers of McCutcheon boys volleyball,” per Crisler.

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More: IHSAA boys volleyball sectional semifinals: McCutcheon advances to championship against Zionsville

“They are the true pioneers,” Crisler added. “A lot of what we did this season is because of them. With experiences they had and how they led the younger boys in our program, they should probably have a statue or something like that.”

Patel was a consistent libero who attacked and placed shot receives in playable directions for his offense.

“It just shows the effort and drive we had for the game,” Patel said. “I know all of us who have been playing, we go play during the offseason because of how much we love the sport. We really took it upon ourselves to grow the game, build the program and build what we had within our community at McCutcheon volleyball.”

Jordan distributed the ball as a setter but could also provide an extra body at the net to make blocks or earn kills and points for his team.

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“It’s truly something special to be there during the first year and build this thing from the ground up when it wasn’t a fully sanctioned sport,” Jordan said. “It’s just awesome to see it blossom into this and see it expand like football and baseball.”

Jordan and Patel saw the culture grow at McCutcheon through their activity, setting an example for future players to come.

“It shows how much we’ve grown from March 10 and the first day of the season to now,” Jordan said. “We’ve been really focused and bought into the program and this was our goal, to make it to the championship. It showed there was so much focus put into this team.”

Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@jconline.com, on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at  ethan_a_hanson.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: McCutcheon boys volleyball shows growth in 2025 season

Four years ago, landing in San Diego was the last thing I would have imagined doing before graduating high school. At the time, I had committed to Emerson College for journalism. My cousin just graduated from there, and she just landed a job at NBC in New York. Growing up, all I wanted to do was be her; to me, it seemed like I was getting close.

Next thing you know, I fell in love with Boston and the whole walkable big city aspect. I got into music journalism, and I couldn’t stop spending my money on general admission concert tickets in the area. It was such a fitting city for the arts, and at the time, it felt like home. Come July 2022, I had to make the last-minute decision to transfer back home and attend community college due to the school’s high costs.

My hometown, San Jose, California, became my home once again for my sophomore year, which was surprisingly refreshing instead of feeling all too familiar. I was on the women’s soccer team, which felt really nice since I hadn’t touched a ball since my last high school season. I got a job with the school’s marketing department and kicked off the first social media campaign it ever had. It felt good to feel like I was giving back to my community instead of finding my way around a new city on the other side of the country.

Then came graduation, and I had to ask myself – Where should I go next? Where is the right place to start over?

I looked at San Diego State University, since it was a good school that:

1.) Was still in California 

2.) Affordable 

3.) Had a journalism program that felt right for me. 

As soon as I got accepted, I knew that was where I was going to continue my journey.

Once I moved to San Diego, I felt like I had a lot of catching up to do. I spent the last two years figuring it out, and now I really had to pick it up and start to establish myself and what I want my career to look like. I knew I wanted to be an entertainment journalist, but didn’t really have a particular niche that I felt fully confident in.

I took a Sports Journalism class on a whim. I thought it would satisfy my desire to stay tied to sports while also allowing me to see where my writing skills could take me. I wrote about sports that I had never reported on before, from college basketball to professional women’s volleyball. Covering the inaugural season of the San Diego Mojo led me to opportunities I never thought would come across my lap – working in PR, writing a feature for the San Diego Union-Tribune, getting to meet Joe Musgrove and Jordan Love – the list goes on.

Looking over NIL and partnership contracts then got me interested in law. I joined the Pre-Law Society with the help of my intramural soccer teammate and gained the confidence to view law as a way to contribute to the field of sports with my desire to build player relationships. Not knowing what I was getting myself into, I ran for executive board. I was nearing my senior year, and I thought I could use some university leadership experience to add to my belt. And to my surprise, I ended up winning the race for secretary.

The same thing applied to the Daily Aztec. It made the most sense to go to school for journalism and take an editor role for the school newspaper. Being selected as Social Media Editor for my senior year, all while balancing other prior commitments, felt overwhelming to say the least. Senior year is usually supposed to be more laid back and relaxing, and it seemed like I combined the workload of the last three years into one.

Nonetheless, I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. I take every experience and opportunity of mine with so much gratitude. And I believe that I wouldn’t have been offered it if I couldn’t handle it all. 

It was that dedication and perseverance that led me to win the Outstanding Media Studies Student award for the 2024-2025 year. As a transfer student, I always thought my contribution to the school and its journalism program would be minimal. With this award I have realized that no matter how long I’m a part of a program and where on the map it is, I’m always going to push myself and make a difference in the communities that I am a part of. 

But, as always, I would like to thank my parents and my family. I’ve never met a more supportive group of people who keep me grounded and motivated to keep moving forward. Through the ups and downs and the struggles with financial aid and navigating the first-generation student experience, I truly couldn’t have done it without them. It is my hope that I have inspired my little brothers and my younger cousins to follow in my footsteps and take advantage of higher education and the freedom of choice that our parents and grandparents didn’t have when moving to the United States.

I would also like to thank every single one of my professors for granting me the opportunity to learn and grow from their curricula and feedback, and passing along their years of expertise onto me. Thank you to all of my mentors for helping a lost, young adult find herself, her voice, and her passions in a short span of four years. Thank you to all of my peers for cheering me on and offering your helping hands in a time when we were all figuring it out together. 

And with that, I leave SDSU with a heart full of gratitude, hope, and love. Thank you for the most amazing last two years and for helping me become the person I am today. Go Aztecs!

Soaking wet and smiling as they stood poolside at the Walter Graham Aquatic Center in Vacaville, mother and daughter Maria Alvarez and Sue Ortiz shared more than just their participation in the Adult Learn to Swim program.

They each had clear memories of fear they felt as children when they entered the water for the first time — and not by choice.

Alvarez, 52, of Fairfield, recalled being 14, forced into the water, thinking she would drown. Saturday was the first time since that scary moment that she decided to do a swimsuit and goggles and lower herself into a pool.

Ortiz, 34, also of Fairfield, remembered as a 7-year-old being pushed by her cousins into Lake Berryessa. Likewise, she had avoided anything like a pool or lake since.

That is, until Charmaine Lee, a retired Vacaville Unified kindergarten teacher, assured them they would be comfortable and do well during the first of two free weekend 30-minute sessions, with the other scheduled for Sunday. The lessons are a collaboration between the city of Vacaville and the Vacaville Swim Club.

Speaking calmly to the women once in the water, Lee, a Masters swimmer, started with the fundamental lesson: breath control, essentially the “baby step” of overcoming fear of water.

Outfitted with goggles, Alvarez and Ortiz followed Lee’s instructions about breathing and bobbing, including the step-by-step immersion of the chin, nose, face, and head. Next came the blowing of bubbles on the water’s surface and also blowing more bubbles with their faces submerged.

Then came the bobbing, five times, with their hands on the pool’s side, then five times freestanding in about 3 feet of water, all done at the shallow end of the pool. The result? Success, smiles and encouragement all around.

Lee did a quick review and then moved the pair on to Step 2: frontal floating, “recovery” from a horizontal to a vertical stance. After reviewing Steps 1 and 2, Lee began Step 3, the back float, as the noontime air under clear skies reached the mid-70s.

“I’m a floater,” said Lee, as she demonstrated a back float, her face skyward, her arms outstretched from her sides.

By turns Alvarez and Ortiz turned onto their backs, with Lee supporting each woman with her own hands, their faces skyward and arms outstretched. “How’s that feel?” she asked.

And the first day’s lessons came to an end, to be followed Sunday with the “water arm cycle,” front glide, kick, arm cycle and recovery and rolling over in the water. And there would be more during the second 30-minute session: “air exchange,” a single arm stroke, freestyle with one breath and recovery, rollover, freestyle with additional breaths, and swimming into deeper water, and jumping into the water.

Once out of the pool, the two women clearly had overcome their fears of water and appeared ready for more lessons.

“I’m very confident,” said Alvarez. “Charmaine is a good instructor.”

“I liked it,” said Ortiz. “I’m more confident in the water.”

To any adult who wants to learn how to swim, she added, “I would say, ‘Face your fears.’ ”

And for Alvarez, learning how to swim will mean she can share the skill with her grandchildren, who already know how to swim, she said.

Mark Frazier, a retired Vacaville Unified administrator, started an Adult Learn to Swim program (ALTS) two years ago because, he said, some 30 to 35 percent of adults do not know how to swim.

During the lessons, one Masters swimmer, like Lee or Frazier and his wife, Lisa, is assigned to one or three adults. The free outreach program’s aim, said Frazier, is to encourage some of novice adult swimmers to sign up for additional lessons, for a fee, during the summer, starting June 16.

During the summer, Frazier organizes two types of classes that meet three times per week for two weeks. Level 1 is for adults “who are anxious around water and feel like they do not have any swimming skills,” he said “We start with the basics of breath control, floating, kicking, and basic beginning stroke development.”

Level 2 is for adults “who can get in the water but would like to learn more and become more proficient with swimming,” he said. Sign-ups are available at www.cityofvacaville.gov/rec.

Frazier, who swam competitively at Merced College and later at San Diego State University, said most of the adults seek the ALTS lessons “because they want to become water-safe and learn how to swim.”

“Most of the adults also share that their children know how to swim, but they do not,” he added. “Many of the adults did not have the opportunity to swim because there was not a lot of available pool space to learn or they did not have access to lessons when younger or when they were older. Most of the adults we have had in lessons have to start from the very beginning: becoming acclimated to the water, becoming comfortable with their face in the water and blowing bubbles.”

In the past two years, the novice adult swimmers in his classes have ranged in age from their 20s to “up into their 70s,” said Frazier, 66, a certified lifeguard and coach through the Masters and the U.S. Swimming programs.

During the summer, the lessons for adults last six sessions over a two-week period, enough time, he added, to witness “good improvement in all of our swimmers, and we start where they feel comfortable and move on from that point.”

While the ALTS lesson do not cover lifesaving techniques, the instructors teach adults how to be more water safe and how they can be safe in the water.

“We teach them how they can stay afloat and move in the water if they happen to find themselves in the water without a flotation device,” Frazier said. “But we do discuss being water safe and how to be proactive in thinking about water safety.”

His hope after the two-day weekend lessons is for the adults to “see personal improvement having overcome any anxiousness or fear about being in the water. From there, I hope they are motivated to take additional lessons in order to learn more.”

During the last two years of the summer lessons, Frazier said all the adults “have felt a sense of accomplishment in overcoming their fear of the water and improving in their water and swimming skills. We have had a few of our swimmers even move on the the Masters swim program. In two weeks you can see a lot of progress.”

Frazier said he grew up swimming and played water polo in college. And during his undergraduate and postgraduate days, he worked as a lifeguard, taught swim lessons, and coached swimmers.

When he started working in Vacaville Unified, he served as the swim and water polo coach at Will C. Wood High for many years while also working as the school psychologist. Just before retiring, he started coaching swimming again at Wood and continues to do so.

When Frazier moved into district administration, he worked as a district administrator in the roles of assessment coordinator, director of special assignments, and as director of academic advancement.

When not teaching swimming, Frazier helps to care for two granddaughters a couple days a week. He also serves as a commissioner on the Vacaville Parks and Recreation Commission and has been working with some city staffers on other events, such as the Vaca Triathlon for kids (as a volunteer).

Of teaching adults to learn to swim, Frazier said that, more than anything, the emotional rewards are considerable when “working with adults and watching them overcome their fear, realize they can improve, and seeing how much they can learn over the course of their lessons.”