HUNTINGTON - Who knows what the reasons are? Maybe it is the one-and-done prospects? Maybe it is the adrenaline of playing against better and better teams each step of the way?

Whatever the reasons, the Tiger volleyball team seems to like the postseason. Warsaw continued its inspired play in the tournament with a Huntington Regional title 15-3, 15-10 over South Adams Saturday.

The win gave Warsaw its fourth regional title in the past five years.

It isn't really that amazing that the Tigers are advancing this far into the tournament because they haven't met a team yet that they shouldn't have beaten. It is more the way they have taken apart each of five postseason opponents, not losing a game and not really even coming close.

The success in the tournament also comes right on the heels of a stretch by the Tigers where they won only 10 of 22 games to end the regular season.

"We have had some struggles throughout this season and weren't playing together," senior setter Melissa Bolles said. "When the tournament came, it is just a new team. We wanted it so badly that we played together. It is great."

The fear of losing may be part of it. Warsaw knows that its next loss will be its last game as a team.

"It is all over if we don't win right now, and we are having fun," junior Katie Clemens said. "We figured if it is going to be over, we might as well make it fun."

Warsaw just seemed to elevate its game for the postseason and has been hitting on all cylinders.

"When we are out there anymore from the past struggles that we have had, it is like a new team's out there on the court," senior Ann Fribley said. "It is tournament time, it is time to change everything. The regular season doesn't count; anybody can win."

Most of the players on this year's team had starting or key reserve roles last year when Bellmont ended Warsaw's run of three straight regional championships. It was a feeling that the Tigers did not want to see duplicate itself.

"Last year, Coach (Penny) Salm said 'now you know how it feels, and go out there next year and don't feel like that'," Bolles said. "We went out there and played hard, and we knew what we were shooting for. I think we showed them."

"It is one of the biggest moments that we have been waiting for," Fribley said. "We saw Chandra (Hopkins) and all those guys go to semi-state and that is what we wanted to do."

Hopkins was the big hitter for the Tigers when they last advanced to the semistate two years ago and made it one match away from the state's Final Four.

It appeared as though South Adams might be an adversary to give Warsaw some troubles. The taller Starfires had been the upset specialists already in the tournament, knocking off highly regarded Adams Central and Bellmont in the sectional.

But the Tigers steered away from the South Adams block, which featured 6-foot-4 Susie Meshberger, 6-1 Jaclyn McCabe and 5-11 Jenny Mertz. Instead Warsaw worked on hitting the ball down the line and off the South Adams' block for points and side outs. The game plan worked to perfection.

"We were told that No. 3 (Meshberger) was a big girl, but she miss-hits a lot," Fribley said. "They told us to just hit line, line, and that is what we did tonight, and it really worked for us."

And that was indeed the game plan.

"We noticed when South Adams was playing Southwood earlier, they left a lot of line," Warsaw coach Jamie Byron said. "I said as long as we can get our sets outside, and we can hit lines, we got 'em.

"Our senior setter, Melissa Bolles, did a great job of pushing the ball outside so we could hit the lines," she said.

Warsaw continued another postseason trend when it jumped out equally on South Adams. After two straight Lisa Estep kills, the Tigers had a 10-2 advantage and had South Adams wondering what had happened.

The score went to 14-3, and the Tigers got one when Meshberger hit one into the net.

South Adams turned the tables on Warsaw in the second game, jumping out to the 5-0 lead. But it didn't last for long as the Tigers came roaring back on two kills and a block from Estep.

"You know you have to go up a little later against big girls, and we knew their big girls weren't really strong in the middle," Clemens said. "So we used that to our advantage."

South Adams regained the lead, 9-7, but the Tigers came up with four straight points to take the lead for good on a block from Fribley.

A kill from Calhoun made it 15-10 and sent Warsaw into the customary post game celebration.

"It is a big accomplishment," Clemens said. "We really worked together as a team, and it helped."

Estep led the Tigers with 13 kills, while Calhoun added nine.

"Lisa showed up in a big way for us tonight," Byron said. "But all season long, she and Sarah Calhoun have just stepped up and been our leaders out on the floor."

Warsaw (24-14) faces Fort Wayne Northrop in the first game of the Delta Semistate Saturday at 11 a.m. [[In-content Ad]]