Triton went 24-6.

Tippecanoe Valley won its first Three Rivers Conference match since 1989.

Warsaw went 19-14 under first-year coach Jamie Byron.

These were a few of the 1996 volleyball highlights turned in by area teams. To see who has a chance to make noise in the sectionals this week, read on.

TRITON TROJANS 24-6

The 24 wins by Triton's volleyball team were the most in school history. The previous best was 19.

"The kids made a big commitment this summer," Triton coach Gayle Perry said. Perry was also Triton's coach when the Trojans won 19. "They came to open gym. Our season basically started after our sectional loss to Plymouth. Our kids are very knowledgeable, and they seem to get better every match."

Triton meets Argos (14-9) in the first round, a team that the Trojans recorded one of their 24 wins against. Argos also handed them one of their six losses.

"We lost to Argos in the finals of our tournament," Perry said. "But when we played them in a regular season match, we beat them."

Even though the Pilgrims are 15-16, they are the favorite to win the sectional.

"Plymouth has to be the favorite," Perry said. "They've won the sectional for what, 15 years in a row?"

Triton played all of the teams in the Plymouth Sectional in the regular season. Triton beat Plymouth, Bremen and LaVille, but lost to John Glenn.

Glenn is the only team standing between Triton and the Northern State Conference title. If Glenn loses tonight, Triton wins it outright. If Glenn wins, Triton shares the title with the Falcons.

"We've seen the teams, but you're only as good as your last match," Perry said.

Megan Sarber and Jennifer Weissert led Triton in kills. Holly Hepler and Heather Barron were Triton's setters. Hepler was Triton's top server, and Teri Hackett was the digs leader.

"I don't think we have one outstanding strength," Perry said. "We're hitting well, passing well. Our serving is there. Our strength is we don't have that one outstanding player who jumps out at you. We try to measure the other teams and attack their weaknesses."

WARSAW TIGERS 19-14

Warsaw again played one of the toughest schedules in the state, and again the Tigers had a successful season.

The Tigers meet 4-17 Central Noble in the first round of the Columbia City Sectional. If the Tigers win that match, they Triton went 24-6.

Tippecanoe Valley won its first Three Rivers Conference match since 1989.

Warsaw went 19-14 under first-year coach Jamie Byron.

These were a few of the 1996 volleyball highlights turned in by area teams. To see who has a chance to make noise in the sectionals this week, read on.

TRITON TROJANS 24-6

The 24 wins by Triton's volleyball team were the most in school history. The previous best was 19.

"The kids made a big commitment this summer," Triton coach Gayle Perry said. Perry was also Triton's coach when the Trojans won 19. "They came to open gym. Our season basically started after our sectional loss to Plymouth. Our kids are very knowledgeable, and they seem to get better every match."

Triton meets Argos (14-9) in the first round, a team that the Trojans recorded one of their 24 wins against. Argos also handed them one of their six losses.

"We lost to Argos in the finals of our tournament," Perry said. "But when we played them in a regular season match, we beat them."

Even though the Pilgrims are 15-16, they are the favorite to win the sectional.

"Plymouth has to be the favorite," Perry said. "They've won the sectional for what, 15 years in a row?"

Triton played all of the teams in the Plymouth Sectional in the regular season. Triton beat Plymouth, Bremen and LaVille, but lost to John Glenn.

Glenn is the only team standing between Triton and the Northern State Conference title. If Glenn loses tonight, Triton wins it outright. If Glenn wins, Triton shares the title with the Falcons.

"We've seen the teams, but you're only as good as your last match," Perry said.

Megan Sarber and Jennifer Weissert led Triton in kills. Holly Hepler and Heather Barron were Triton's setters. Hepler was Triton's top server, and Teri Hackett was the digs leader.

"I don't think we have one outstanding strength," Perry said. "We're hitting well, passing well. Our serving is there. Our strength is we don't have that one outstanding player who jumps out at you. We try to measure the other teams and attack their weaknesses."

WARSAW TIGERS 19-14

Warsaw again played one of the toughest schedules in the state, and again the Tigers had a successful season.

The Tigers meet 4-17 Central Noble in the first round of the Columbia City Sectional. If the Tigers win that match, they would face the winner between Churubusco (9-14) and Whitko (12-18). If they win again, they would face the winner between Churubusco (9-14) and Whitko (12-18). If they win again, they would face Columbia City (25-7) or Tippecanoe Valley (7-14).

The Tigers won the Columbia City Sectional last year.

Byron said her team has done nearly everything she could ask of it. She also said there is room for improvement. The Tigers were 9-2 at one point, but they went 10-12 in their last 22 matches. This season saw Warsaw's Northern Lakes Conference win streak get snapped at 49 games. Concord beat the Tigers on their home floor.

"I think we've done reasonably well this year," she said. "We've dropped a little recently. Areas we still need to work on are blocking and intensity. That's our biggest weakness right now. We're intense one match, but not in the next one. We need intensity every match."

Three girls - Sarah Calhoun, Lisa Estep and Melissa Bolles - have led the way for the Tigers this season. Calhoun and Estep are Warsaw's leading attackers, while Bolles is the assist leader.

"Sarah's a captain, and she has been a leader with her playing ability as well as being a leader on the court," Byron said. "Lisa leads by example. She's a quiet floor leader. Melissa is another leader.

"We've put a lot of responsibility on them. When we need the kill, they're (Calhoun, Estep) the people I want the ball set to."

Byron knows she will have to get a strong performance from those three as well as every other member on the team to get out of the sectional. Ann Fribley, Alyssa Raphael and Sheila Whitaker have also been solid contributors, and Byron will count heavily on them.

The Tigers beat Columbia City earlier this season, but the Eagles have been tough since then. If there is one team standing between Warsaw and the sectional championship, it's Columbia City.

"Columbia City has been on a roll since we beat them," Byron said. "I think they have lost only one or two more since then."

WAWASEE WARRIORS (18-13)

The Wawasee Warrior volleyball team has every right to feel optimistic about its chances in their sectional. They compete in the West Noble Sectional, and no team stands out as a clear favorite. West Noble has the best record at 19-10, while Wawasee is a close second.

"The three teams we played in the regular season (West Noble, Lakeland, Westview) who are in this sectional, we won all three," first-year coach Jason Fleming said. "But they were close."

Fleming's team achieved one of his preseason goals, a .500 or better record. Their first win came against their first-round sectional opponent, Lakeland.

"We came out with a 15-9, 15-9 win," Fleming said. "Still, you can't hold much to that. It was the first match of the season for both teams. We were the better team that night. We are expecting them to have improved, and hopefully, we have too."

Kari Beer led the Warriors in kills this season, while Kara Mathew led in assists. Mathew and Andrea VanCleave were the top Warrior servers. Theresa Lundin was one of the top defensive players. Kaiyra McLaughlin and Lydia Carpenter were the top blockers, and Fleming feels their emergence late in the season has improved the team.

"Our middle blockers have been coming alive," he said. "We're much more dominant on the net blockingwise. We've started incorporating more hitters in our offense. Now, we have a stable of hitters who can put the ball away.

"Kaiyra is our senior in the middle, and Lydia is our junior in the middle. Both are playing well. It's almost like they have had a wakeup call. Both are hitting well, and both are blocking well. Now the backcourt can set up behind them and be confident they will shut down their areas."

Another preseason goal Fleming set was to do well in the NLC, and he admits the 1-5 conference record was disappointing. The one win was a big win - the Warriors beat Concord, the team that did what no other conference team could do the previous seven years - beat Warsaw.

"We were down emotionally before that match, but that added a charge that allowed us to finish out the season the way we have," Fleming said. "We have lost a few, but we have managed to close out a few teams."

One other preseason goal was to do well in the upcoming state tournament. Fleming knows that one is possible considering the sectional field the Warriors are in. He's taking the "Why not us?" approach.

"It could be anybody," he said of who would win the sectional. "If we play well, it could be us."

TIPPY VALLEY VIKINGS (7-14)

Jon Parker joins Byron and Fleming as the local first-year volleyball coaches. Under him, the Vikings did something they had not done in seven years: win a TRC match.

Not only did they win one, they won two.

"I thought we were in every conference match except one," Parker said of his team, which went 2-5 in the TRC. "The only one we weren't really in was Northfield."

The core that led the Vikings this year included Deb Burch, Rhonda Doud, Amy Nellans and Andria Parker. Burch was Valley's top setter, and she also turned in the highest serve percentage. Doud and Nellans had the highest percentage of aces per serve. Andria Parker and Nellans were Valley's leading attackers.

When Parker looks at his team, he doesn't see one superstar.

"I feel like our biggest strength is desire," he said. "We work together. That's what we have to do to be successful. We don't have a dominant area of strength, say like serve reception. We have to play solid all-around to stay in our games."

In Columbia City (25-7), Parker knows his Vikings go up against one of the best teams right away.

"We're not looking beyond Columbia City," he said. "I have talked to some coaches, and I've heard about how good they are. I think they won the Whitko Invitational recently. After our Monday match with Wawasee, we'll spend the whole week on Columbia City."

While Valley finished with a 7-14 overall record, Parker laments about what could have been. His team took several teams to three sets. They lost others by close scores like 15-13, 15-12.

"I told our girls five matches ago I was thrilled with them," he said, "but that I was also somewhat disappointed because I know how close we have been in some matches. We could be 15-5.

"I'm pleased with their attitude, desire and effort. They want to win. They will go into the sectional with the attitude that they want to go on to next week."

WHITKO WILDCATS (12-18)

This has been a rebuilding year for the Wildcats, who lost seven seniors from the 1995 team.

"We've been trying to get more experience this year," Wildcat coach Dave McCracken said. "We've struggled more than usual, although we played well against Warsaw and Columbia City. If we execute as a team, we can play with anyone there."

"There" is the Columbia City Sectional, where his team meets Churubusco (9-14) in the first round. This is the first meeting of the year for Whitko and Churubusco.

Leading the Wildcats into that match will be Amber Landis and BrieAnn Starkweather, who topped the team in kills. Shanna Miner and Tisha Shepherd led in blocks. Landis and Brigitte Goble led in digs. Kelly Osborn was the assist leader, while Goble and Brittany Waybright were the top servers.

McCracken said the favorite tag would probably have to go on Columbia City.

"Columbia City is probably the strongest team overall," he said. "They're peaking right now. They're more hungry than in the past, and they're focused on having a successful year. With the sectional being at their place, I think you have to pencil them in as the favorites."

Whitko advanced to the championship match last year and lost to Warsaw.

MANCHESTER SQUIRES (7-23)

At 7-23, Manchester coach Bruce Bradley admits the season has been a struggle.

"We've had a disappointing season," he said. "We played better our last match of the season and beat Maconaquah. We hope it can carry on into the sectional."

The Squires got ay team, but they've been successful. I've been surprised how well the younger kids have performed."

If Peden doesn't play, the Squires lose one of their best defensive players. She led the team in kills. The Squires will still have Carrie Rodriguez, their best server; Amanda White, their digs leader; and Erin Groombridge, their best setter.

Northfield and Huntington North meet in the first round, and Bradley said the winner there would be the favorite to win the sectional. Huntington has a .500 record, but the Vikings always play a solid schedule.

"There are really two teams that stand out," he said. "Northfield and Huntington, who play each other in the Saturday bye match. I guess because of the record, you would have to give the slight edge to Northfield." [[In-content Ad]]