New Palestine High School

The New Palestine volleyball team opened sectional play with a strong 25-17, 25-21, 25-20 victory over Richmond. The Dragons improved to 26-5 with the victory and will advance to Saturday’s 10 a.m. sectional semifinal at Pendleton Heights against Mt. Vernon. The title match will be at 7 p.m. Saturday. Bella Brownfield had a double-double with 11 kills, 14 digs and two aces. Natalie Sevier added 19 kills and five digs. Sam Gooding tallied 34 assists and six digs. Hayden Ramsey had five kills. Azure Flagle led the defense with 15 digs. Makaeli Johnson added 11. Rachel Burke had four blocks.