Warsaw Spikers Take Wawasee
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
One injury.
Two players.
Two teams.
One outcome.
Both Warsaw and Wawasee had a key player who is suffering from a mild back strain. It was just that the Tigers had the depth to overcome Thursday in big Northern Lakes Conference volleyball matchup, 15-7, 15-8, over the Warriors.
Maybe it was too much to ask the Warriors to overcome the absence of middle hitter Lydia Carpenter, who is pretty much Wawasee's go-to player this year. Carpenter, who was checked out by the doctors before the match, was in street clothes watching the match.
"Doctors thought it would a little too much for her," Wawasee coach Jason Fleming said. "She needs to take a break. We have had some tough matches the last week. She was basically off tonight.
"We got hurt a little bit with some inexperience up front," he said. "That is to be expected. The girls played well considering a big of a shake up as that was. It was a blow finding out that she couldn't play tonight. We made the adjustments."
On the other side of the court, the Tigers' middle hitter Sam Wideman was suffering from the same injury, but just at a different stage in the recovery process.
Wideman did play against the Warriors, but when she wasn't in the lineup, Warsaw had a different and effective look.
Jessica Zaugg, who usually shares setting duties with Karla Bailey, moved into an outside hitting position, and the junior lefty helped spark the Tigers' offense.
"We didn't know if we would have Sam, and I told Jessica I might use you as a hitter," Warsaw coach Jamie Byron said. "And she was ready. She was the difference tonight. I put her in, and they really didn't know what to expect out of her because she is a setter, and she is always left-handed."
With Wawasee probably counting on the 6-foot-1 Carpenter more than the Tigers do with Wideman, it provided the Tigers with an edge.
"It was a huge difference," Byron said of Carpenter's absence. "We probably would have still been in the third game right now (minutes after the match ended) if Carpenter had played. She is a tremendous player. She has over 300 kills this season. We were looking forward to playing against her."
Without Carpenter, the Warriors had the firepower to sideout with the Tigers, but not enough to make the big runs, and Warsaw took advantage.
In game two, Wawasee led 6-4 before the Tigers went on a 7-0 run to make it 11-6 as Warsaw's Liz Owens served up all seven points. The two teams traded a few sideouts after that, but eventually the Tigers got the four points they needed to win the game and the match.
"We got burned on a couple of runs," Fleming said. "We were ahead at one point in the second game 6-4, and you turn around and it is 10-6. That was a rotation that we just couldn't get out of it. Most of our experienced hitters were in the backcourt, and Warsaw was blocking well."
After suffering through an 0-4 day this past weekend at the Ben Davis Invitational, Byron was hoping for some more fire out of the Tigers, and she got it in the first game.
Warsaw jumped out to a 12-4 lead as Alyssa Raphael and Nancy Mason took turns abusing the Warrior defense. Mason had four kills and two blocks in the early going, while Raphael got three kills.
Raphael closed out the first game with a kill to give Warsaw the 15-7 win.
"We always get excited when it is a big rival like Wawasee," Byron said. "More than anything we were just wanting to come out and play with some heart and some intensity.
"We played at Ben Davis this weekend and played hard at times, but we weren't jelling as a team," she said. "It was very inconsistent play. Tonight, I thought we focused very well. We knew what we had to go out and do."
Mason led the Tigers with eight kills, Raphael added seven and Zaugg got five kills and an ace. Owens added four aces and seven digs, and Bailey got 28 assists.
For Wawasee, Kara Mathew paced the Warriors with five kills and two blocks; Darcy Replogle had three kills and Sarah Frantz was 10-for-10 serving with two aces.
The win comes on the heels of a NLC loss by the Tigers (3-1 in the NLC) last week to Plymouth and puts them back in the hunt for the conference title. Warsaw's fate in the conference title race will come down to a trip to Nappanee Oct. 2 to take on NorthWood, who hasn't lost a NLC match this season.
"NorthWood is undefeated right now, but I told the girls not to rule anything out," Byron said. "If we come out and play then like we did against Wawasee, we will give NorthWood a good match. We are looking forward to it. If we beat them, we could have a three-way championship. We want to get a piece out of it."
Warsaw won the JV match 15-1, 15-5.
Warsaw was paced by Laura Overton with four kills. Also, Megan Burns had four aces, Ryann Jones and Janelle Kesler two aces, and Amie Poling six digs. The Warsaw JV team is 10-5, while Wawasee is 4-8.
For Wawasee's JV team, Gennie Brissette had two kills.
Wawasee (13-12, 2-3) is at the Homestead Tournament Saturday. Warsaw (8-11, 3-1) hosts the Warsaw Invitational Saturday at 10 a.m. [[In-content Ad]]
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One injury.
Two players.
Two teams.
One outcome.
Both Warsaw and Wawasee had a key player who is suffering from a mild back strain. It was just that the Tigers had the depth to overcome Thursday in big Northern Lakes Conference volleyball matchup, 15-7, 15-8, over the Warriors.
Maybe it was too much to ask the Warriors to overcome the absence of middle hitter Lydia Carpenter, who is pretty much Wawasee's go-to player this year. Carpenter, who was checked out by the doctors before the match, was in street clothes watching the match.
"Doctors thought it would a little too much for her," Wawasee coach Jason Fleming said. "She needs to take a break. We have had some tough matches the last week. She was basically off tonight.
"We got hurt a little bit with some inexperience up front," he said. "That is to be expected. The girls played well considering a big of a shake up as that was. It was a blow finding out that she couldn't play tonight. We made the adjustments."
On the other side of the court, the Tigers' middle hitter Sam Wideman was suffering from the same injury, but just at a different stage in the recovery process.
Wideman did play against the Warriors, but when she wasn't in the lineup, Warsaw had a different and effective look.
Jessica Zaugg, who usually shares setting duties with Karla Bailey, moved into an outside hitting position, and the junior lefty helped spark the Tigers' offense.
"We didn't know if we would have Sam, and I told Jessica I might use you as a hitter," Warsaw coach Jamie Byron said. "And she was ready. She was the difference tonight. I put her in, and they really didn't know what to expect out of her because she is a setter, and she is always left-handed."
With Wawasee probably counting on the 6-foot-1 Carpenter more than the Tigers do with Wideman, it provided the Tigers with an edge.
"It was a huge difference," Byron said of Carpenter's absence. "We probably would have still been in the third game right now (minutes after the match ended) if Carpenter had played. She is a tremendous player. She has over 300 kills this season. We were looking forward to playing against her."
Without Carpenter, the Warriors had the firepower to sideout with the Tigers, but not enough to make the big runs, and Warsaw took advantage.
In game two, Wawasee led 6-4 before the Tigers went on a 7-0 run to make it 11-6 as Warsaw's Liz Owens served up all seven points. The two teams traded a few sideouts after that, but eventually the Tigers got the four points they needed to win the game and the match.
"We got burned on a couple of runs," Fleming said. "We were ahead at one point in the second game 6-4, and you turn around and it is 10-6. That was a rotation that we just couldn't get out of it. Most of our experienced hitters were in the backcourt, and Warsaw was blocking well."
After suffering through an 0-4 day this past weekend at the Ben Davis Invitational, Byron was hoping for some more fire out of the Tigers, and she got it in the first game.
Warsaw jumped out to a 12-4 lead as Alyssa Raphael and Nancy Mason took turns abusing the Warrior defense. Mason had four kills and two blocks in the early going, while Raphael got three kills.
Raphael closed out the first game with a kill to give Warsaw the 15-7 win.
"We always get excited when it is a big rival like Wawasee," Byron said. "More than anything we were just wanting to come out and play with some heart and some intensity.
"We played at Ben Davis this weekend and played hard at times, but we weren't jelling as a team," she said. "It was very inconsistent play. Tonight, I thought we focused very well. We knew what we had to go out and do."
Mason led the Tigers with eight kills, Raphael added seven and Zaugg got five kills and an ace. Owens added four aces and seven digs, and Bailey got 28 assists.
For Wawasee, Kara Mathew paced the Warriors with five kills and two blocks; Darcy Replogle had three kills and Sarah Frantz was 10-for-10 serving with two aces.
The win comes on the heels of a NLC loss by the Tigers (3-1 in the NLC) last week to Plymouth and puts them back in the hunt for the conference title. Warsaw's fate in the conference title race will come down to a trip to Nappanee Oct. 2 to take on NorthWood, who hasn't lost a NLC match this season.
"NorthWood is undefeated right now, but I told the girls not to rule anything out," Byron said. "If we come out and play then like we did against Wawasee, we will give NorthWood a good match. We are looking forward to it. If we beat them, we could have a three-way championship. We want to get a piece out of it."
Warsaw won the JV match 15-1, 15-5.
Warsaw was paced by Laura Overton with four kills. Also, Megan Burns had four aces, Ryann Jones and Janelle Kesler two aces, and Amie Poling six digs. The Warsaw JV team is 10-5, while Wawasee is 4-8.
For Wawasee's JV team, Gennie Brissette had two kills.
Wawasee (13-12, 2-3) is at the Homestead Tournament Saturday. Warsaw (8-11, 3-1) hosts the Warsaw Invitational Saturday at 10 a.m. [[In-content Ad]]