Warsaw Takes Care Of East Noble
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
GOSHEN -ÊEven if Warsaw's volleyball team loses its next match, the Tigers won one more postseason match in 1999 than they did in 1998.
In 1998, Warsaw's season ended with a first-round sectional loss to Elkhart Central.
In 1999, Warsaw brushed off East Noble 15-8, 15-2 in Thursday's Goshen 4A Sectional first-round match. Never mind that East Noble ended the season 4-23; the Tigers (17-16) weren't about to apologize for the draw.
"We played well tonight," Warsaw coach Itanya Coon said. "We won the game. This was a good morale booster for the girls."
Said East Noble coach John Arnold: "Some of our kids, you could tell they thought they couldn't beat that team."
The Tigers started out with several tips in the first game; by the time the second game had ended, they blitzed East Noble with power kills from their outside hitters, namely Kristen DeGeeter and Kyla Stanley on the left side.
"The first game we covered the tips better than we normally do," Arnold said. "The second game we weren't able to move to the ball in time when they showed their power."
The two teams were stuck at 2-1 in the second game after several sideouts when Warsaw shook off East Noble and raced out to a 10-1 lead. Five of the eight points in the 8-0 run came on kills by DeGeeter, who led the Tigers with nine kills in two games. Then Stanley took over on the outside and helped close out the 15-2 win with a handful of kills.
"Kyla and Kristen did well," Coon said. "They got some nice sets out there, they took their time, and they got good hits. They were effective on the outside for us."
But DeGeeter and Stanley are only two players. There are five key statistical categories in volleyball, and five different Warsaw players led each category.
Andrea Saldivar led with three aces, middle hitter Kara Kesler with five blocks, setter Amie Poling with 16 assists, outside hitter Ryann Jones with seven digs and DeGeeter with her nine kills.
One player on East Noble's team, senior outside hitter Amber Sabrosky, concerned Coon more than others.
"We weren't trying to keep the ball away from her," Coon said. "We just wanted the girls to be aware when she was on the front row we would have to play extra-tough defense."
After watching Warsaw's outside hitters dissect his team, Arnold applauded the Tigers.
"That's a nice ballclub," he said. "You give them a free ball, they will tear you up. They dug the ball really well. There were a lot of balls where we had the opportunity to score or get a sideout on, and all of a sudden it's right back on our side of the court.
"They out-hustled us. We're slow to begin with."
The Tigers face 28-4 Concord in Saturday's match, scheduled to begin around 2 p.m. Concord advanced by beating Elkhart Central (23-11) 15-10, 15-6.
The first Saturday match, 11-21 Goshen against 22-10 Elkhart Memorial, has been moved from an 11 a.m. start to a 12:30 p.m. start.
Concord, who beat Warsaw 15-10, 15-13 in early October, has won 16 straight matches. Concord's volleyball team is not ranked in the latest coaches' poll.
Coon knows East Noble is no Concord.
"They are probably 200 percent better than East Noble," she said. "We're gonna have to play a lot better Saturday."
At the same time, Coon didn't sound like a coach who minded facing Concord when interviewed before Thursday's Concord/Elkhart Central match.
"We've played Concord and played well against them," she said. "If we play them, we know what we're facing. If we play Elkhart Central, they were already beaten by Concord once this season. Either way, it's gonna be a good game."
WARSAW DEF. EAST NOBLE 15-8, 15-2
Warsaw stats
Aces - Andrea Saldivar 3, Lindsay Woods 2, Amie Poling 1, Hilary O'Connell 1
Service points -ÊSaldivar 8, Woods 8, Ryann Jones 5, O'Connell 4
Kills -ÊKristen DeGeeter 9, Kyla Stanley 6, Woods 5
Blocks -ÊKara Kesler 5 (1 solo), Poling 4, Nerecia Taylor 2 (2 solo)
Assists -ÊPoling 16, Abby Sumpter 3
Digs -ÊJones 7, O'Connell 5, Kesler 5
Records -ÊWarsaw 17-16, East Noble 4-23
Next -ÊWarsaw (17-16) vs. Concord (28-4), approximately 2 p.m. Saturday
*The start times for Saturday's Goshen Sectional have changed. The first match of the day, Goshen (11-21) vs. Elkhart Memorial (22-10), has been moved from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The championship match will be played at 7 p.m. [[In-content Ad]]
GOSHEN -ÊEven if Warsaw's volleyball team loses its next match, the Tigers won one more postseason match in 1999 than they did in 1998.
In 1998, Warsaw's season ended with a first-round sectional loss to Elkhart Central.
In 1999, Warsaw brushed off East Noble 15-8, 15-2 in Thursday's Goshen 4A Sectional first-round match. Never mind that East Noble ended the season 4-23; the Tigers (17-16) weren't about to apologize for the draw.
"We played well tonight," Warsaw coach Itanya Coon said. "We won the game. This was a good morale booster for the girls."
Said East Noble coach John Arnold: "Some of our kids, you could tell they thought they couldn't beat that team."
The Tigers started out with several tips in the first game; by the time the second game had ended, they blitzed East Noble with power kills from their outside hitters, namely Kristen DeGeeter and Kyla Stanley on the left side.
"The first game we covered the tips better than we normally do," Arnold said. "The second game we weren't able to move to the ball in time when they showed their power."
The two teams were stuck at 2-1 in the second game after several sideouts when Warsaw shook off East Noble and raced out to a 10-1 lead. Five of the eight points in the 8-0 run came on kills by DeGeeter, who led the Tigers with nine kills in two games. Then Stanley took over on the outside and helped close out the 15-2 win with a handful of kills.
"Kyla and Kristen did well," Coon said. "They got some nice sets out there, they took their time, and they got good hits. They were effective on the outside for us."
But DeGeeter and Stanley are only two players. There are five key statistical categories in volleyball, and five different Warsaw players led each category.
Andrea Saldivar led with three aces, middle hitter Kara Kesler with five blocks, setter Amie Poling with 16 assists, outside hitter Ryann Jones with seven digs and DeGeeter with her nine kills.
One player on East Noble's team, senior outside hitter Amber Sabrosky, concerned Coon more than others.
"We weren't trying to keep the ball away from her," Coon said. "We just wanted the girls to be aware when she was on the front row we would have to play extra-tough defense."
After watching Warsaw's outside hitters dissect his team, Arnold applauded the Tigers.
"That's a nice ballclub," he said. "You give them a free ball, they will tear you up. They dug the ball really well. There were a lot of balls where we had the opportunity to score or get a sideout on, and all of a sudden it's right back on our side of the court.
"They out-hustled us. We're slow to begin with."
The Tigers face 28-4 Concord in Saturday's match, scheduled to begin around 2 p.m. Concord advanced by beating Elkhart Central (23-11) 15-10, 15-6.
The first Saturday match, 11-21 Goshen against 22-10 Elkhart Memorial, has been moved from an 11 a.m. start to a 12:30 p.m. start.
Concord, who beat Warsaw 15-10, 15-13 in early October, has won 16 straight matches. Concord's volleyball team is not ranked in the latest coaches' poll.
Coon knows East Noble is no Concord.
"They are probably 200 percent better than East Noble," she said. "We're gonna have to play a lot better Saturday."
At the same time, Coon didn't sound like a coach who minded facing Concord when interviewed before Thursday's Concord/Elkhart Central match.
"We've played Concord and played well against them," she said. "If we play them, we know what we're facing. If we play Elkhart Central, they were already beaten by Concord once this season. Either way, it's gonna be a good game."
WARSAW DEF. EAST NOBLE 15-8, 15-2
Warsaw stats
Aces - Andrea Saldivar 3, Lindsay Woods 2, Amie Poling 1, Hilary O'Connell 1
Service points -ÊSaldivar 8, Woods 8, Ryann Jones 5, O'Connell 4
Kills -ÊKristen DeGeeter 9, Kyla Stanley 6, Woods 5
Blocks -ÊKara Kesler 5 (1 solo), Poling 4, Nerecia Taylor 2 (2 solo)
Assists -ÊPoling 16, Abby Sumpter 3
Digs -ÊJones 7, O'Connell 5, Kesler 5
Records -ÊWarsaw 17-16, East Noble 4-23
Next -ÊWarsaw (17-16) vs. Concord (28-4), approximately 2 p.m. Saturday
*The start times for Saturday's Goshen Sectional have changed. The first match of the day, Goshen (11-21) vs. Elkhart Memorial (22-10), has been moved from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The championship match will be played at 7 p.m. [[In-content Ad]]