There’s a reckless abandon in the play of senior Sarah Morton, a fearless nature that makes her an ideal fit as Munster’s libero.

The 5-foot-5 Auburn commit has never been afraid to throw herself into harm’s way in hopes of securing a point.

“It’s a blessing and a curse,” Morton said with a wide smile on her face. “I’m not really thinking about any pain when I play. It’s all adrenaline.”

Sometimes that comes at her own physical peril, like it did during a Class 4A semistate match against McCutcheon last season. Morton went face-first into wooden bleachers while chasing down a wayward ball.

But that same mindset also can result in points at pivotal moments, as it did during the first set of Munster’s 26-24, 25-23, 25-19 Northwest Crossroads Conference sweep at Andrean on Tuesday.

Andrean (14-2, 2-1) started fast in the first set, building a 20-16 lead over Munster (11-3, 2-0) before Morton’s heroics emerged.

As an errant ball sailed well beyond the service line in the back corner of Munster’s side of the court, Morton chased it down at full sprint and, with a diving swing of her right arm, returned the ball to Andrean’s side — sending her team’s bench into a frenzy.

Munster won that point, eliciting another eruption from the Mustangs and, according to coach Brett Boden, altering the trajectory of the entire match.

“That was a momentum-shifter,” Boden said. “Sarah will run through a wall or do whatever she needs to do to get the point. Her teammates know they can count on her.”

Morton attributed her tenacious mentality to her time spent with Lexi Pitsas, a 2017 Munster graduate who later played at Northwestern before returning to the program as the freshman coach.

“I grew up watching her play,” Morton said. “I’d always train and practice with her, so that’s who I wanted to be when I was little. Now I feel like I’m in her shoes. That’s a high expectation, a high bar to clear. But I do want to exceed it.”

Morton relished the atmosphere at Andrean in a match fueled by a conference rivalry between two top programs. Munster was the 4A state runner-up last season and is ranked No. 9 overall in the state by Indiana Prep Volleyball. Andrean is the top-ranked team in 2A.

“These moments are so fun,” Morton said. “It’s what volleyball is about, going after every ball and making those big plays in these big games.”

Andrean coach Grant Bell lamented his team’s inability to hang on to its advantage in the first set.

“We made some mental errors, which is a little frustrating,” he said. “That’s something we can work on — being confident in what we do, even in those tight situations.”

Bell praised the play of sophomore outside hitter Marin Sanchez, who had a team-high 15 kills. She provided another attack option for the 59ers beyond senior outside Angelina Majchrowicz, who added 10 kills to increase her team-leading season total to 161.

“It was nice to see a sophomore take control offensively,” Bell said. “We’ve been counting on Angelina for a long time, so it was nice to see Marin do that in a loud, high-pressure environment.”

Despite the loss, Bell said the lessons learned while facing one of the top teams in the state will pay off in October.

“Having a tough schedule and playing the best competition is going to translate when we get into the postseason,” he said. “We’ll see teams who are going to have the same confidence as us, but physically I think we’ll be able to outmatch them.”

Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.