Warsaw Spikers Sweep Penn
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Sweeping the Penn Lady Kingsmen (25-23, 25-17, 25-23), the Warsaw Lady Tigers improved to 25-4 on the year and are 17-1 since Sept. 4, going 10-0 in best-of-five matches.
Asked what separates this year’s team from others he’s had in his seven years at Warsaw, head coach Mike Howard mentioned it may not be his most athletic, but it does work as much as any other.
“The year we had Sarah Shilling and Corinne Coon – that was an unbelievably athletic team,” he said about the 2009 team that went 29-5, losing to Elkhart Memorial in five games after leading 2-0 at the sectional semifinals in Goshen. “We had a great season, then ran into Memorial in the sectional, who ended up losing in the state finals.
“This (year’s) team really commits to playing defense and has great team chemistry,” he added. “That’s something that makes this team really special. Each team has its own identity, and I think this one is still building its identity.”
Based on Monday’s sectional draw, the Lady Tigers may run into Memorial in the sectional finals at Concord, with a possible rematch for Penn looming at regional.
Instead of letting his girls daydream about potential future postseason matchups against teams they’ve already beaten, however, Howard is working to keep them worrying about the present.
“We talked tonight about needing to take care of this week and we’ll worry about the sectional draw next week,” he said. “You can’t look ahead. We’re going to see a good (Class 4A, No. 6) Carroll team – not a good, but maybe a very good or great Carroll team on Wednesday. We have a day to get ready for that. They have a dynamite outside hitter in Jacquelin Quade, who’s already committed to Illinois. That’s also a potential semistate foe, if you want to look ahead. It’s a great match for us to get a look at a really quality team.”
Showing balance against Penn, the Lady Tigers were led by senior Katie Voelz’s 15 kills, followed by junior Caroline Mayer’s eight and senior Celia Heckert’s six.
Also for Warsaw, junior Jordyn Lindeman had four blocks, while sophomore Cassie Hoag recorded 38 assists and 10 digs and sophomore Peyton Adamiec posted a team-high 20 digs.
In the sweep, the tightest game was the opener, which featured seven ties and two lead changes before Warsaw gained control, although Penn didn’t go quietly.
Trailing 24-21, the Lady Kingsmen got two quick points, propelling Howard to take a timeout.
Back from the break, Heckert recorded a kill, putting the game away.
“It was just to be steady,” Howard said of his message at the timeout. “We just needed to handle the ball and make a couple good decisions.”
After dominating Game 2 (25-17), Warsaw opened the third strong, jumping out to a 10-3 advantage.
However, Penn battled back again, drawing to within 24-23 before hitting the ball long on match point.
“They’ve got some good hitters and are athletic, so you need to handle the ball against them and don’t commit errors,” Howard said of Penn. “That’s something we kind of struggled with tonight. We had some hitting errors and just ball-handling errors, but the girls got into the match and were able to battle through those things.”
The Lady Tigers are at Carroll Wednesday, then close the regular season Saturday with the Warsaw Spiker Invitational.
WARSAW DEF. PENN 25-23, 25-17, 25-23
Warsaw Stats: Assists – Cassie Hoag 35; Blocks – Jordyn Lindeman 4; Digs – Peyton Adamiec 20, Hoag 10; Kills – Katie Voelz 15, Caroline Mayer 8, Celia Heckert 6.
Records: Warsaw 25-4, Penn 18-11.
JV – Warsaw def. Penn 25-21, 19-25, 15-7.
Warsaw JV Stats: Aces – Alexie Day 6; Assists – Alicia Sikora 25; Digs – Raina Armey 15, Kenzie Welk 10, Jamie Grose 5, Dayton Groninger 5; Kills – Day 7, Hanna Leach 7, Groninger 6, Nikki Parrett 4.
Warsaw JV Record: 18-2.
9th – Penn def. Warsaw 25-23, 23-25, 15-13.
Warsaw 9th Record: 20-9.[[In-content Ad]]
Sweeping the Penn Lady Kingsmen (25-23, 25-17, 25-23), the Warsaw Lady Tigers improved to 25-4 on the year and are 17-1 since Sept. 4, going 10-0 in best-of-five matches.
Asked what separates this year’s team from others he’s had in his seven years at Warsaw, head coach Mike Howard mentioned it may not be his most athletic, but it does work as much as any other.
“The year we had Sarah Shilling and Corinne Coon – that was an unbelievably athletic team,” he said about the 2009 team that went 29-5, losing to Elkhart Memorial in five games after leading 2-0 at the sectional semifinals in Goshen. “We had a great season, then ran into Memorial in the sectional, who ended up losing in the state finals.
“This (year’s) team really commits to playing defense and has great team chemistry,” he added. “That’s something that makes this team really special. Each team has its own identity, and I think this one is still building its identity.”
Based on Monday’s sectional draw, the Lady Tigers may run into Memorial in the sectional finals at Concord, with a possible rematch for Penn looming at regional.
Instead of letting his girls daydream about potential future postseason matchups against teams they’ve already beaten, however, Howard is working to keep them worrying about the present.
“We talked tonight about needing to take care of this week and we’ll worry about the sectional draw next week,” he said. “You can’t look ahead. We’re going to see a good (Class 4A, No. 6) Carroll team – not a good, but maybe a very good or great Carroll team on Wednesday. We have a day to get ready for that. They have a dynamite outside hitter in Jacquelin Quade, who’s already committed to Illinois. That’s also a potential semistate foe, if you want to look ahead. It’s a great match for us to get a look at a really quality team.”
Showing balance against Penn, the Lady Tigers were led by senior Katie Voelz’s 15 kills, followed by junior Caroline Mayer’s eight and senior Celia Heckert’s six.
Also for Warsaw, junior Jordyn Lindeman had four blocks, while sophomore Cassie Hoag recorded 38 assists and 10 digs and sophomore Peyton Adamiec posted a team-high 20 digs.
In the sweep, the tightest game was the opener, which featured seven ties and two lead changes before Warsaw gained control, although Penn didn’t go quietly.
Trailing 24-21, the Lady Kingsmen got two quick points, propelling Howard to take a timeout.
Back from the break, Heckert recorded a kill, putting the game away.
“It was just to be steady,” Howard said of his message at the timeout. “We just needed to handle the ball and make a couple good decisions.”
After dominating Game 2 (25-17), Warsaw opened the third strong, jumping out to a 10-3 advantage.
However, Penn battled back again, drawing to within 24-23 before hitting the ball long on match point.
“They’ve got some good hitters and are athletic, so you need to handle the ball against them and don’t commit errors,” Howard said of Penn. “That’s something we kind of struggled with tonight. We had some hitting errors and just ball-handling errors, but the girls got into the match and were able to battle through those things.”
The Lady Tigers are at Carroll Wednesday, then close the regular season Saturday with the Warsaw Spiker Invitational.
WARSAW DEF. PENN 25-23, 25-17, 25-23
Warsaw Stats: Assists – Cassie Hoag 35; Blocks – Jordyn Lindeman 4; Digs – Peyton Adamiec 20, Hoag 10; Kills – Katie Voelz 15, Caroline Mayer 8, Celia Heckert 6.
Records: Warsaw 25-4, Penn 18-11.
JV – Warsaw def. Penn 25-21, 19-25, 15-7.
Warsaw JV Stats: Aces – Alexie Day 6; Assists – Alicia Sikora 25; Digs – Raina Armey 15, Kenzie Welk 10, Jamie Grose 5, Dayton Groninger 5; Kills – Day 7, Hanna Leach 7, Groninger 6, Nikki Parrett 4.
Warsaw JV Record: 18-2.
9th – Penn def. Warsaw 25-23, 23-25, 15-13.
Warsaw 9th Record: 20-9.[[In-content Ad]]
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