Warsaw Wins Volleyball Sectional Title
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
DUNLAP - For Elkhart Memorial's varsity volleyball team, it was the same result, only against a different opponent in a different year.
After falling to Concord the past two years in the sectional championship, Memorial fell 8-15, 15-7, 15-8 to Warsaw Saturday in the championship match of the Concord Sectional.
The loss ends Memorial's season at 27-8 and stops a 13-game win streak. Memorial last lost Sept. 23, also to Warsaw. Warsaw, which won the sectional for the first time since 1997, advances to the Huntington North Regional with a 25-8 record.
Warsaw moved on to Saturday's Concord Sectional championship by defeating Concord 15-11, 15-9 in the semifinal round; Memorial advanced by topping East Noble.
"Obviously the weaknesses we've had all year were showing tonight," Memorial coach Jacquie Rost said. "I thought we needed to block better than we did. I don't think the girls were tentative, just a little slow."
While the Crimson Chargers may have been slow in the final two games, they jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead on the serving of junior Whitney Boling - the first server of the game.
The Tigers came back and trailed 7-6 and then 10-8 before Memorial junior Ruth Schallhorn served the final five points of the game.
"The first game we came out with a bad start," Warsaw coach Tanya Coon said. "We didn't have our normal substitutions. The second game we got it right and showed mental toughness."
Memorial's Deanna McClure served up the first point of the second game, but it was Warsaw that jumped out to a big lead this time.
Behind the serving of sophomores Nicole DeFord and Mechelle Henderson, junior Abby Sumpter and seniors Kara Kesler and Amie Poling, the Tigers jumped out to leads of 9-1 and 11-4 before winning 15-7.
Kesler finished the game with 15 digs and 10 kills, while Sumpter finished with 43 assists and seven digs. Senior Lindsay Woods finished with nine kills and five blocks, while DeFord finished with 10 kills, six digs and four blocks.
Memorial senior Shaun McAllister, who played with a chipped bone in her right foot, and who has a full-ride scholarship to play at the University of Cincinnati, finished the game with 20 kills and four blocks, while Boling ended the evening with 17 digs and a pair of aces.
"She's a very good player," Coon said of McAllister. "We adjusted well to what she went for. We had a tough time shutting her down, but the girls picked it up well. It took 12 people to win the sectional, and it'll take 12 people to win the regional."
The third game saw 30 sideouts before either team could build a lead of more than two. A service point by McAllister put Memorial up 6-3, but senior Andrea Saldivar served up a point on Warsaw's next possession.
Sophomore Tina Osborn's serving gave the Crimson Chargers an 8-4 lead, but again the Tigers came back, this time with three service points from Sumpter.
Memorial took a 12-7 lead, but Kesler's serving gave the Tigers a 12-11 lead. Warsaw led 14-11, but a side-out gave Memorial one last chance. Boling served up two points, but after a side-out, Memorial failed to return a DeFord serve, and as the ball hit the floor giving the Tigers the sectional title, Memorial's players hit the floor in tears.
"I was hoping it was our year," Rost, whose team set a school record this year for wins in a season, said. "Runner-up in the sectional final is a little disapointing for how good this team is. Warsaw came to play. They had their bad moments, but we had more."
The Tigers will play McCutcheon (30-6) at 12:30 Saturday in the Huntington North Regional. Marion (28-8) will play Fort Wayne Snider in the opening game.
Championship match
Warsaw def. Elkhart Memorial 8-15, 15-7, 15-13
Kills - Warsaw: DeFord 12, Kesler 10, Lindsay Woods 9. Memorial: Shaun McAllister 20
Assists - Warsaw: Sumpter 43. Memorial: Deanna McClure 34.
Aces - Warsaw: Poling 1, DeFord 1. Memorial: Whitney Boling 2
Digs - Warsaw: Kesler 15, Sumpter 7, Andrea Saldivar 6, Poling 6, DeFord 6. Memorial: Schallhorn 19, Boling 17
Blocks - Warsaw, Sells 15, Woods 5, DeFord 4. Memorial: McAllister 4.
Records: Warsaw 25-8, Memorial 26-8
Semifinal match
Warsaw def. Concord 15-11, 15-9
Warsaw leaders
Kills - Nicole DeFord 10, Kristen DeGeeter 10, Myra Sells 9
Assists - Abby Sumpter 36
Digs - Sumpter 9, Lindsay Simcoe 7, Amie Poling 6
Blocks - Sells 3, Kara Kesler 2, DeFord 2
Records: Warsaw 24-8, Concord 13-16 [[In-content Ad]]
DUNLAP - For Elkhart Memorial's varsity volleyball team, it was the same result, only against a different opponent in a different year.
After falling to Concord the past two years in the sectional championship, Memorial fell 8-15, 15-7, 15-8 to Warsaw Saturday in the championship match of the Concord Sectional.
The loss ends Memorial's season at 27-8 and stops a 13-game win streak. Memorial last lost Sept. 23, also to Warsaw. Warsaw, which won the sectional for the first time since 1997, advances to the Huntington North Regional with a 25-8 record.
Warsaw moved on to Saturday's Concord Sectional championship by defeating Concord 15-11, 15-9 in the semifinal round; Memorial advanced by topping East Noble.
"Obviously the weaknesses we've had all year were showing tonight," Memorial coach Jacquie Rost said. "I thought we needed to block better than we did. I don't think the girls were tentative, just a little slow."
While the Crimson Chargers may have been slow in the final two games, they jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead on the serving of junior Whitney Boling - the first server of the game.
The Tigers came back and trailed 7-6 and then 10-8 before Memorial junior Ruth Schallhorn served the final five points of the game.
"The first game we came out with a bad start," Warsaw coach Tanya Coon said. "We didn't have our normal substitutions. The second game we got it right and showed mental toughness."
Memorial's Deanna McClure served up the first point of the second game, but it was Warsaw that jumped out to a big lead this time.
Behind the serving of sophomores Nicole DeFord and Mechelle Henderson, junior Abby Sumpter and seniors Kara Kesler and Amie Poling, the Tigers jumped out to leads of 9-1 and 11-4 before winning 15-7.
Kesler finished the game with 15 digs and 10 kills, while Sumpter finished with 43 assists and seven digs. Senior Lindsay Woods finished with nine kills and five blocks, while DeFord finished with 10 kills, six digs and four blocks.
Memorial senior Shaun McAllister, who played with a chipped bone in her right foot, and who has a full-ride scholarship to play at the University of Cincinnati, finished the game with 20 kills and four blocks, while Boling ended the evening with 17 digs and a pair of aces.
"She's a very good player," Coon said of McAllister. "We adjusted well to what she went for. We had a tough time shutting her down, but the girls picked it up well. It took 12 people to win the sectional, and it'll take 12 people to win the regional."
The third game saw 30 sideouts before either team could build a lead of more than two. A service point by McAllister put Memorial up 6-3, but senior Andrea Saldivar served up a point on Warsaw's next possession.
Sophomore Tina Osborn's serving gave the Crimson Chargers an 8-4 lead, but again the Tigers came back, this time with three service points from Sumpter.
Memorial took a 12-7 lead, but Kesler's serving gave the Tigers a 12-11 lead. Warsaw led 14-11, but a side-out gave Memorial one last chance. Boling served up two points, but after a side-out, Memorial failed to return a DeFord serve, and as the ball hit the floor giving the Tigers the sectional title, Memorial's players hit the floor in tears.
"I was hoping it was our year," Rost, whose team set a school record this year for wins in a season, said. "Runner-up in the sectional final is a little disapointing for how good this team is. Warsaw came to play. They had their bad moments, but we had more."
The Tigers will play McCutcheon (30-6) at 12:30 Saturday in the Huntington North Regional. Marion (28-8) will play Fort Wayne Snider in the opening game.
Championship match
Warsaw def. Elkhart Memorial 8-15, 15-7, 15-13
Kills - Warsaw: DeFord 12, Kesler 10, Lindsay Woods 9. Memorial: Shaun McAllister 20
Assists - Warsaw: Sumpter 43. Memorial: Deanna McClure 34.
Aces - Warsaw: Poling 1, DeFord 1. Memorial: Whitney Boling 2
Digs - Warsaw: Kesler 15, Sumpter 7, Andrea Saldivar 6, Poling 6, DeFord 6. Memorial: Schallhorn 19, Boling 17
Blocks - Warsaw, Sells 15, Woods 5, DeFord 4. Memorial: McAllister 4.
Records: Warsaw 25-8, Memorial 26-8
Semifinal match
Warsaw def. Concord 15-11, 15-9
Warsaw leaders
Kills - Nicole DeFord 10, Kristen DeGeeter 10, Myra Sells 9
Assists - Abby Sumpter 36
Digs - Sumpter 9, Lindsay Simcoe 7, Amie Poling 6
Blocks - Sells 3, Kara Kesler 2, DeFord 2
Records: Warsaw 24-8, Concord 13-16 [[In-content Ad]]