If Warsaw is to stay successful in the 4A volleyball postseason, it will have to remain on the same defensive trek.

Warsaw utilized a double block in the middle of the net in the Goshen Sectional last weekend, and it produced a sectional championship with a surprise win over Elkhart Central in the title match. And it was that defensive clamp that neutralized the Blazers' big hitters.

It is that kind of game plan and mentality that will be necessary against Warsaw's opponent, Fort Wayne Northrop, in the East Noble Regional on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

"They run a lot of middles, like most of the teams we have been playing," Warsaw coach Jamie Byron said. "And we will continue to keep our double block up there. I have seen some weaknesses, and I have seen some good spots for us to pick on."

If Northrop seems familiar to Warsaw, that is because the Bruins were the team who ended the Tigers' season a year ago in the first game of the Muncie Semistate and eventually went on to the state championship match before losing.

The Bruins (35-2) graduated two of their top hitters in Stacy Zimmerman and Kelly Petty, but a good nucleus of players remains, including outside hitter Stephanie Bishop.

"We are going to have to continue to block well at the net, especially in the middle and against Bishop on the outside," Byron said. "If we can get the touches and slow it down and give our offense a chance, we will have a chance. We will continue with the double block, and everybody else has to be ready to pick up anything that rolls off the touch."

Northrop may look similar to last year's team to Warsaw, but the Tigers will bring a new cast of characters for the Bruins to face. All six Warsaw starters are missing from that team, but the Tigers bring the exact same record, 19-14, into this year's contest with Northrop that they had last year before Northrop beat them in two games.

"They are much the same team as last year," Byron said. "I think we are somewhat the same team, there is just a lot more balance with us this year. I don't have to rely on just two hitters.

"We had enough players that were on the team last year, and there is a little bit of that (revenge) figuring into things this week, but we don't mention it a whole lot," she said. "They are familiar, and that is what we are going with. We know they how they play."

Byron also expects the Bruins to again serve her Tigers tough, including Bishop's patented and dangerous jump serve.

"They will be serving us deep, and they will be almost dropping once they get to a certain point," Byron said. "We are not going to get anymore pretty floaters where you have all the time in the world to get over there and play them up. It is crunch time now, and they are going to start serving right at us. If we are not going to be able to pass, then we will be dead."

A big difference between last year's matchup and this year's was not even in control of the players or coaches. With the switch to the multi-class system this year from the single class, the format from the regional has just one match. The winner goes to the Logansport Semistate, and the loser goes home.

"You are always focusing on the first game because that is the one that you have got to win in order to go on," Byron said. "It is nice this year to focus on just Northrop. It makes things a little easier on the coaches. You can keep scouting the one team. On the other hand, they are only worrying about us too."

Starting the season with the young players that Warsaw had, many would expect the Tigers to struggle, and they did. But probably not as much as some might think, and maybe not even as much as last year's team, which hit a big valley midway through the season.

"It may not look like we have improved, but we have just as many losses as we did last year," Byron said. "It makes us feel good. We have improved every step of the way."

Just like most seasons, the Tigers survived a grueling regular season slate against several ranked teams and were able to turn things up at the end of the regular season and into the postseason. There Warsaw encountered something very foreign: being the underdog in a sectional match, as was the case against Elkhart Central.

"I think that was our most enjoyable, gratifying and satisfying win of the season," Byron said. "I had been asking the girls all season when we were going to beat a team we are not supposed to, and that is as close as we have come all year." [[In-content Ad]]