VB: The unparalleled dominance of Muncie Burris

MIDDLETOWN – Sometimes I wonder if we truly understand what we are witnessing. 

Let me explain it as simply as possible. In the world of volleyball, there is good, there is very good, there is even great … and then there is Muncie Burris. 

The top-ranked Owls won another Class 2A regional title Oct. 31. For the record, they demolished an unbeaten Northeastern squad, 25-9, 25-7, 25-10, for the championship after having swept No. 10 Park Tudor in the semifinals at Shenandoah. 

In the final, Burris was led by 11 kills from Chelsea Toth and 10 more from Taylor Morey. Allyson Morey supplied 33 assists in just three games. The stat line on Taylor Unroe – the heart and soul of this Burris edition – was four blocks, four kills, seven assists, and a bushel basket of intimidation. 

Burris will now advance to yet another state finals, where they will be a heavy favorite to win yet another state championship. That will make the string of titles, oh I don’t know, ALL OF THEM. Since the IHSAA began class sports, the Owls have never tasted tournament defeat – not one single time – in 12 tries.

Prior to that, Burris won another eight titles. The Owls are 20-1 in championship matches, the lone loss coming in 1983 (15-9, 11-15, 16-14 to Mishawaka).

Northeastern’s name will be added to the endless list of challengers who ultimately learned the harsh truth: Burris is at an entirely different level.

It is true that the fourth-ranked Knights were not Yorktown. They weren’t Muncie Central, or even Center Grove. However, they were an UNDEFEATED 2A team. 

The Knights had faced all comers that the schedule had put before them and unerringly mowed them down. Saturday evening, however, they were never in the match. 

The plain truth is that the reign of Muncie Burris is the most remarkable feat in Indiana high school sports history. Now, I can hear the howls of protest before the ink even dries on the previous sentence. Nonetheless, it is fact.

Yes, there are the 23 straight state championships of the Carmel girls swimming team. That is incredible in its own right. But swimming, for all its majesty, is not a direct-competition sport. The brilliance of one competitor’s effort cannot be blunted by that of another. 

There are the four straight state championships for Heritage Christian’s girls basketball team, or the three-peats of Franklin, Marion, and Lawrence North on the boys side. During those, however, we were awed by the athletic ability of the specific athletes. 

Burris has seldom had overwhelming athletic ability. Indeed, there have been years that when a Burris team ran onto the court, you had to look twice to convince yourself they were not a junior high team.

Granted, the Owls are led by Steve Shondell, the coaching genius who looks more like a literature professor who took a wrong turn coming out of the library. Few question that he is the best to grace a volleyball sideline in this state. 

But, any great coach will tell you their genius ends when the whistle blows to start the game. There will always be the argument that Burris is a private school and can attract all the best players. That simply isn’t true. I have seen the Paige Webers and Darcy Dortons of the world play, and they weren’t wearing Burris uniforms.

Any way you want to look at it, the generation-long performance of Muncie Burris is a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon. It is borne of tradition, discipline, hard work, coaching, talent, community support, and intimidation. 

When it ends, we will never again see anything like it. Be grateful you were here for the original. 

Match 1 – #4 Northeastern def. North Decatur 25-11, 25-22, 25-11

Match 2 – #1 Muncie Burris def. #10 Park Tudor 25-15, 25-19, 25-13

Championship – #1 Muncie Burris def. #4 Northeastern 25-9, 25-7, 25-10