The last three years have served as a return to excellence for the Warsaw volleyball program. Over the past three seasons, the Lady Tigers have won countless tournaments, been undefeated in Northern Lakes Conference play, and as of Saturday night, have hoisted a trophy as sectional champions three straight times. The most recent sectional title came as Warsaw defeated Concord 3-0 at Goshen High School to secure the threepeat in 4A sectional 4.
“I feel like we’re in a really good spot as a program right now. Our pipeline is really good with our elementary and middle school girls, so we’re able to just reload every year,” Warsaw head coach Chandra Hepler said after the game.” As a coach you have to get your girls to buy into what you’re selling them. They have to trust the process. You have to be able to connect with them but also be able to motivate them as well.
“We know what our culture is and we know what we want it to be, so it’s important to have the right people on the bus. We also get so much great support from our fans, our community and our athletic director, and it all speaks volumes as to how successful we’ve been.”
Team captains Maggie Hollon, Ellie Hepler and Krista Lauck were also available for comment.
“Being able to win for each of the last three years has really meant a lot to me,” Ellie said. “Being able to come in and play with three different groups of girls and stay consistent with our success shows our culture and the strength of our program.”
Ellie, who has committed to play for Indiana University when she graduates, has not lost a sectional or conference game during her three years on varsity. “It’s not just me, I rely on my teammates a lot. I try not to focus on myself but bringing the team up. Instead of being hard on myself I can just use that energy to bring everyone else up,” she said.
As for the game itself, it was all Warsaw all the time.
It didn’t take long for the Lady Tigers to jump ahead for the first time, but in the early going, the Lady Minutemen did well to make sure things didn’t get out of hand by picking up some key points to end Warsaw runs before they had a chance to get rolling.
Eventually, the reigning champs were able to find a little separation as an ace for Hollon and a block for Reagan Edwards extended the lead to five. After another point extended the advantage even further, Concord was forced to call its first timeout of the game.
It didn’t do much to stop the bleeding, as the Lady Tigers continued to extend their lead following the break. It reached double digits as Warsaw went up 17-7, and after a massive block by CeCe Goode made it eleven, the Lady Minutemen called for a second TO.
Freshman Maddie Branam added a kill following the time off, continuing a first set that was all Warsaw. Despite a few competitive points won by Concord as the first game neared the end, the Lady Tigers were able to take it easily 25-9 on a block by Branam and Allison Chapman.

    Warsaw freshman Madison Branam goes up to block the kill attempt of Concord's Elveera Astakhov during the second set...Nieter
“I want to give a lot of credit to our coaching staff, we really do have the best staff in the area,” Lauck, a commit to Lander University, said. “They hold us to a standard and days like today it really pays off. From top to bottom our team is strong everywhere and they make sure of that.”
Similar to the first set, things remained tight in the early going of the second. The two teams traded points for a while, with Concord jumping out in front for the first time at 6-5 after an ace. The advantage didn’t last long, as Warsaw was out in front soon after at 8-7, followed by an ace for Hollon that allowed the Lady Tigers to take the first two-point lead of the game. Soon after, an ace for Lexy Whittenberger made it three.
Not needing much to really get going, that proved to be a catalyst for the Warsaw team, as soon the edge had ballooned to six and Concord was calling for timeout. The minute to collect themselves proved to be beneficial for the visitors on the scoreboard, as the Lady Minutemen were able to go on a short run that cut the deficit in half to three.
That’s as close as they would get though, as the high-powered Warsaw offense kept on chugging along. Plenty of players were getting in on the action, with the usual suspects leading the way as the Lady Tigers were back up by six in no time. It would grow larger than that, as Warsaw continued to step on the gas in the final moments of the second set, cruising to a 25-14 on another kill by Hollon to get within a game of another sectional crown.
Hollon, who will play at Tiffin University next season, has added a ton to her game during her time as a varsity player. An outstanding hitter, the senior is second on the team in digs this season as well as fifth in aces.
“Having amazing teammates by my side throughout my career has been a huge help for me,” Hollon said. “It allows me to go out and play how I want to play.”
Perhaps smelling blood in the water, Warsaw came out firing to begin the third set, scoring the first four points to take an early lead. With the advantage up to five at 7-2, the Lady Minutemen elected to call a very early timeout to try and compose themselves.

    Under the watchful eye of head coach Chandra Hepler, Warsaw junior Lexy Whittenberger goes down for a dig during Saturday's sectional championship against Concord...Nieter

While Concord was able to keep things from getting out of hand for a while after the break, the visitors were unable to chip away at the lead. It seemed as if every time the Lady Minutemen were able to pick up a point, the Lady Tigers were right there to match it and keep them at bay. Senior Eva Everest came in to serve for a few points and did well here, picking up an ace that extended the lead to nine.
Sensing the trophy was soon to be in their grasp, Warsaw didn’t slow down. The edge had been extended to 10 at 18-8, forcing what would be the final Concord timeout of the match. An ace for Goode coming out of the break continued the dominant performance, and the Lady Tigers didn’t stop there. Plenty of players were able to come off of the bench and make an impact here as Warsaw put the stamp on a third straight sectional title with a 25-11 win on a serve by the visitors that went long.
“Our consistency is something we talk about a lot,” Lauck said. If we are able to keep playing the way we know we can play, we’re hard to beat.”
Warsaw (28-6) will travel to Twin Lakes High School Saturday to take on Crown Point in the regional game. In each of the last two seasons, The Lady Tigers’ season came to an end in the regional round after winning sectional titles. This year, the team is planning on changing that.
“The last couple of years we didn’t have that type of experience and it showed,” Chandra said. “This year I think we believe more, have more confidence to get it done.
“If we just keep playing how we have been, keep practicing hard, I think we can get it done,” Ellie said. “We really want to get over that hump, it’s been our goal the entire year.”