Fighting for the first ever volleyball title in the first season of the Indiana Northern State Conference, the top two teams, Tippecanoe Valley and John Glenn, met at Rita Price-Simpson Court Tuesday evening for a crucial match. A win for the Lady Vikings would give the team a full two-game edge in the standings, while a victory for the Lady Falcons would tie things up. It was Tippy Valley that emerged victorious with a 3-0 win, putting the team firmly in the driver’s seat in the league.
Mackaylie Costello got things started for Valley with a kill to open up the scoring. Neither side was able to find much separation as the game progressed, with rallies being hard to come by. A big block by Hadley Wise gave the Lady Vikings a 7-5 lead, the first two-point advantage for either side. That play seemed to energize the home side, as the momentum gained allowed the team to open up a four-point edge.
Not long after, back-to-back aces by libero Gaby Gonzalez saw Tippy Valley extend the lead to seven at 13-6. A massive kill a play later extended the lead to eight and forced Glenn to call a timeout. The break in action worked to the advantage of the visitors, as the Lady Falcons were able to ripp off four straight points to cut the deficit in half.
A few more big kills by Costello helped Valley right the ship and kept them in front. Aside from the spurt following the timeout, Glenn was unable to string another run together, which allowed the home team to inch closer to the 25-point threshold. The Lady Vikings got the lead back up to eight at 22-14. A few points later, a kill by Wise gave Valley a 25-16 set one win.
Tippy Valley was able to use the momentum gained from the previous set to get off to a fast start in game two, scoring four of the first five points. Glenn was able to come up with an answer though, scoring three of the next four to make it a one-point game. That’s as close as things would get for a bit, as Valley was able to open things up once again after another quick burst.

    Junior Gaby Gonzalez of Tippecanoe Valley makes a dig on the ball during Tuesday night's home match against John Glenn...Nieter

An ace by Emma Patrick made it a five-point game at 12-7. Another one a point later led to another Lady Falcon timeout with the visitors trailing by six. This time, the break didn’t lead to a Glenn run. Instead, it was more of the same as an Avery Wagoner ace made it 16-8. While the visitors were able to score a point here and there to avoid it getting any worse, Valley continued to apply the pressure and keep the Lady Falcons from beginning to start stringing points together.
Just two points away from going down a commanding two sets to none, Glenn called its second timeout of the set trailing 23-14. It worked somewhat, allowing the visitors to shrink the lead to five at one point, but a kill by Costello put the finishing touches on a 25-19 win that put the Lady Vikings 25 points away from another conference win.
With their backs against the wall, Glenn players were able to start strong and take an early lead in set three. It didn’t last long though, as Valley was quick to tie everything up at 4-4. The home side took its first lead of the game a point later. With the Lady Vikings appearing to take control once again, Glenn was better in this set about not letting things get out of hand. The Lady Falcons were able to go on a run of their own to tie things up again at 9-9.
As had been the case all night long though, once Glenn punched, Valley punched back harder. The home side scored five straight points to open up another big lead as they came closer to victory. The advantage stayed at or around five points as the Lady Vikings continued to control play.
It stayed that way until another burst by Valley made it 20-13 and forced Glenn to call timeout to regroup and try to salvage the match. While the visitors were able to score a few points following the break to inch a bit closer, it just delayed the inevitable, as Valley took the final set, and the match, with a 25-18 win.
The Lady Vikings (16-12, 8-0 INSC) play Thursday on the road at LaVille.