Grace Spikers Fall To IWU
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Following the Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats' three-game victory (25-21, 25-18, 25-18) over the the Grace College Lancers, fans bombarded to the court to visit with old friends.[[In-content Ad]]The IWU roster features two former Warsaw Community High School students in senior Rebekah Reichard and freshman Kate Denlinger. Another connection between the schools is IWU coach Candace Moats, who coached the Lancers between 1995 and 2002. Moats coached current Grace coach Andria Harshman.
"(Grace assistant coach) Jamie Gill and I both played for her on the team that went to nationals for NAIA," Harshman said. "So it's a big rivalry. I think it was really exciting for the girls to come with that support and care for both teams."
Following the match, Moats was mobbed by friends, an oddity for the coach.
"Usually after a match, I just stand here and let everyone say good-bye to their parents," Moats said. "Then, we get on the bus and leave. So, this is definitely a fun environment for me. I was looking forward to coming here, I really was.
"It was so nostalgic here tonight," she added. "My (former) players coaching; being here in the new facility; being around all the people; having two Warsaw kids on the team. I was so excited to come. It was fun to see Coach Harshman and Jamie (Gill) do such a great job. It really made me proud of them."
Entering the game, the Wildcats may have thought they had a cake walk on their hands. As the No. 1 team in the Mid-Central Conference with a 2-0 mark, 13-9 overall, IWU definitely had an upper hand on the freshman-laden Grace team that entered the contest at 2-7 overall, 0-3 in the MCC.
"The No. 1 team in the conference and the No. 9 team in the conference," Harshman said. "That's what the rankings are after three weeks, we know it and they know it. In my opinion, we made them play out of system more than I've ever seen them play out of system. If we can do that against the No. 1 team, now it's the small adjustments we need to start making."
Through the first two games, Grace hung right with Wesleyan through the first 40 points. In Game 1, the game was knotted at 20-20 until IWU used a 5-1 run to win 25-21. Again in Game 2, Grace fought to within 19-18, but lost the next six points to fall 25-18, and trail 2-0 in the match.
"They just really came at us and found our weaknesses," Moats said. "I just want to tribute that to great coaching. I think Andria's going to do an amazing job here. It just goes to show right there. Them coming out here and being enthusiastic and making good plays, doing good things. They did things I think she told them to do. She just really coached them well."
Harshman's game plan was to limit the IWU hitters' attack opportunities.
"They are a hard-hitting angle and a hard-hitting line team," Harshman said. 'We made them tip a little more. On serve-receive, we made them pull out of that (hard-hitting attack) a little bit. Our defense, we just adjusted to the line against them."
The Wildcats did get their kill opportunities, with junior Kelli Ziegler and Reichard each posting eight.
"It was really fun to be back in Warsaw playing," Reichard, a 2005 WCHS graduate, said. "Just seeing everyone from my past, just come out and support me really means a lot."
Reichard's support has meant a lot to her, but her play has meant a lot to the IWU program. Last season, IWU was the NCCAA National Tournament Runner-Up, MCC Conference Champions, MCC Conference Tournament Champions and an NAIA Region 8 Runner-Up.
"She's just a great player, and does such a great job," Moats said of Reichard, IWU's player of the year the past three years. "There's nothing like a Rebekah. Not only her play, but a great leader. Incredibly athletic, incredible person. She's a great student, and just a real strong individual."
After two close games, Reichard's leadership helped her team take an easier win in Game 3, 25-18.
"They were ready to play," Reichard said of the Lancers. "We just came out a little bit flat. But it was fun to see my team struggle through that, stay together and just get back in the rhythm. Throughout the match, we just kept getting stronger."
In that third game, with IWU up 22-12, Moats put Denlinger into the game, giving the fans a thrill.
Playing in front of her family and friends, Denlinger posted a kill on the first point she was in for.
"Kate is going to be a follower of Bek, I think," Moats said. "She's going to get her time. She's behind a junior right now (Kelli Ziegler). Kate's going to come into her own next year. She's just a quality kid as well."
On top of losing the match, Grace also lost freshman Enrica Verrett, who went down with a leg injury midway through the second game. After leaving the court, Verrett came back on crutches.
"We're thinking ACL," Harshman said of the Verrett injury. "We're pretty much 90 percent sure, but we're going to get that tested and pray that's not what happened. She kind of had some tendinitis and knee problems all year."
With Verrett out, Grace still battled IWU, but just ran out of gas.
"For the first time I saw the maturity happen in them," Harshman said of her team. "The scores were still the exact same. We came back with a big 5-0 run at the end, where they only scored their one point against us. (Freshman) Bethany (Michalski) stepped on the court and did a great job. She did her job. There was no loss there besides Enrica being a definite powerhouse for us."
In the match, Stephanie Lawson, Grace's season-leader in kills, block and aces, kept her strong play up. The Wooster, Ohio product finished with a match-high 11 kills, while freshman Rachel Bult led the Lancers with 16 assists.
Outside of losing Verrett, for what may be the season, enthusiasm still filled the gym following the match, with congratulations being thrown out like the candy from Grace players during introductions.
"The nerves of it for both of us were there," Harshman said about coaching against her former coach. "We talked about it before the game, and it was a little bit of I know what she's going to do, and she knows what I'm going to do. It was just learning to make adjustments at each other during the course of the match. It was fun. I wouldn't have wanted to coach against anybody else. That was absolutely amazing."
INDIANA WESLEYAN DEF. GRACE 25-21, 25-18, 25-18
Kills - Stephanie Lawson (G) 11, Rebekah Reichard (IW) 8, Kelli Ziegler (IW) 8, Enrica Verrett (G) 6, Allison Holloway (IW) 6; Assists - Krystin Coleman (IW) 16, Rachel Bult (G) 16, Christy Beam (IW) 13; Aces - Taryn Cacallas (IW) 2; Digs - Kelly Morris (IW) 15, Kirah Fifield (G) 13, Ziegler (IW) 9, Angela McClure (G) 7, Bult (G) 7
Records: IWU 14-9 (3-0 MCC), Grace 2-8 (0-4 MCC)
Following the Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats' three-game victory (25-21, 25-18, 25-18) over the the Grace College Lancers, fans bombarded to the court to visit with old friends.[[In-content Ad]]The IWU roster features two former Warsaw Community High School students in senior Rebekah Reichard and freshman Kate Denlinger. Another connection between the schools is IWU coach Candace Moats, who coached the Lancers between 1995 and 2002. Moats coached current Grace coach Andria Harshman.
"(Grace assistant coach) Jamie Gill and I both played for her on the team that went to nationals for NAIA," Harshman said. "So it's a big rivalry. I think it was really exciting for the girls to come with that support and care for both teams."
Following the match, Moats was mobbed by friends, an oddity for the coach.
"Usually after a match, I just stand here and let everyone say good-bye to their parents," Moats said. "Then, we get on the bus and leave. So, this is definitely a fun environment for me. I was looking forward to coming here, I really was.
"It was so nostalgic here tonight," she added. "My (former) players coaching; being here in the new facility; being around all the people; having two Warsaw kids on the team. I was so excited to come. It was fun to see Coach Harshman and Jamie (Gill) do such a great job. It really made me proud of them."
Entering the game, the Wildcats may have thought they had a cake walk on their hands. As the No. 1 team in the Mid-Central Conference with a 2-0 mark, 13-9 overall, IWU definitely had an upper hand on the freshman-laden Grace team that entered the contest at 2-7 overall, 0-3 in the MCC.
"The No. 1 team in the conference and the No. 9 team in the conference," Harshman said. "That's what the rankings are after three weeks, we know it and they know it. In my opinion, we made them play out of system more than I've ever seen them play out of system. If we can do that against the No. 1 team, now it's the small adjustments we need to start making."
Through the first two games, Grace hung right with Wesleyan through the first 40 points. In Game 1, the game was knotted at 20-20 until IWU used a 5-1 run to win 25-21. Again in Game 2, Grace fought to within 19-18, but lost the next six points to fall 25-18, and trail 2-0 in the match.
"They just really came at us and found our weaknesses," Moats said. "I just want to tribute that to great coaching. I think Andria's going to do an amazing job here. It just goes to show right there. Them coming out here and being enthusiastic and making good plays, doing good things. They did things I think she told them to do. She just really coached them well."
Harshman's game plan was to limit the IWU hitters' attack opportunities.
"They are a hard-hitting angle and a hard-hitting line team," Harshman said. 'We made them tip a little more. On serve-receive, we made them pull out of that (hard-hitting attack) a little bit. Our defense, we just adjusted to the line against them."
The Wildcats did get their kill opportunities, with junior Kelli Ziegler and Reichard each posting eight.
"It was really fun to be back in Warsaw playing," Reichard, a 2005 WCHS graduate, said. "Just seeing everyone from my past, just come out and support me really means a lot."
Reichard's support has meant a lot to her, but her play has meant a lot to the IWU program. Last season, IWU was the NCCAA National Tournament Runner-Up, MCC Conference Champions, MCC Conference Tournament Champions and an NAIA Region 8 Runner-Up.
"She's just a great player, and does such a great job," Moats said of Reichard, IWU's player of the year the past three years. "There's nothing like a Rebekah. Not only her play, but a great leader. Incredibly athletic, incredible person. She's a great student, and just a real strong individual."
After two close games, Reichard's leadership helped her team take an easier win in Game 3, 25-18.
"They were ready to play," Reichard said of the Lancers. "We just came out a little bit flat. But it was fun to see my team struggle through that, stay together and just get back in the rhythm. Throughout the match, we just kept getting stronger."
In that third game, with IWU up 22-12, Moats put Denlinger into the game, giving the fans a thrill.
Playing in front of her family and friends, Denlinger posted a kill on the first point she was in for.
"Kate is going to be a follower of Bek, I think," Moats said. "She's going to get her time. She's behind a junior right now (Kelli Ziegler). Kate's going to come into her own next year. She's just a quality kid as well."
On top of losing the match, Grace also lost freshman Enrica Verrett, who went down with a leg injury midway through the second game. After leaving the court, Verrett came back on crutches.
"We're thinking ACL," Harshman said of the Verrett injury. "We're pretty much 90 percent sure, but we're going to get that tested and pray that's not what happened. She kind of had some tendinitis and knee problems all year."
With Verrett out, Grace still battled IWU, but just ran out of gas.
"For the first time I saw the maturity happen in them," Harshman said of her team. "The scores were still the exact same. We came back with a big 5-0 run at the end, where they only scored their one point against us. (Freshman) Bethany (Michalski) stepped on the court and did a great job. She did her job. There was no loss there besides Enrica being a definite powerhouse for us."
In the match, Stephanie Lawson, Grace's season-leader in kills, block and aces, kept her strong play up. The Wooster, Ohio product finished with a match-high 11 kills, while freshman Rachel Bult led the Lancers with 16 assists.
Outside of losing Verrett, for what may be the season, enthusiasm still filled the gym following the match, with congratulations being thrown out like the candy from Grace players during introductions.
"The nerves of it for both of us were there," Harshman said about coaching against her former coach. "We talked about it before the game, and it was a little bit of I know what she's going to do, and she knows what I'm going to do. It was just learning to make adjustments at each other during the course of the match. It was fun. I wouldn't have wanted to coach against anybody else. That was absolutely amazing."
INDIANA WESLEYAN DEF. GRACE 25-21, 25-18, 25-18
Kills - Stephanie Lawson (G) 11, Rebekah Reichard (IW) 8, Kelli Ziegler (IW) 8, Enrica Verrett (G) 6, Allison Holloway (IW) 6; Assists - Krystin Coleman (IW) 16, Rachel Bult (G) 16, Christy Beam (IW) 13; Aces - Taryn Cacallas (IW) 2; Digs - Kelly Morris (IW) 15, Kirah Fifield (G) 13, Ziegler (IW) 9, Angela McClure (G) 7, Bult (G) 7
Records: IWU 14-9 (3-0 MCC), Grace 2-8 (0-4 MCC)
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