LIGONIER -ÊAs one of the youngest teams in the area last season, the Wawasee Warrior volleyball team certainly saw its share of down times in suffering through an 8-24 season.

This year, though, the Warriors have a year of experience under their belts. That experience nearly paid off with a sectional title Saturday at the West Noble Class 3A sectional tournament.

Wawasee opened the day by beating Lakeland in the semifinal round 21,16, 21-16, 17-21, 21-18.

In the title game the Warriors were denied the sectional crown as the team fell to Northridge in three straight games by the counts of 21-15, 21-10, 21-12.

"We've come a long way," said Wawasee head coach Amy Miller. "We still don't have a competitive edge but we'll get that with more wins."

Against Lakeland the Warriors were nearly unstoppable.

Jen Minear got Wawasee started with a kill and a tip before an ace from teammate Kasey Bollier gave the team a 5-1 lead. The Warriors then used an 11-3 run fueled by a kill by Andra Aaron, a tip by Minear and a block from Bollier.

Wawasee ended the first game on a kill from Aaron.

The second set saw more strong play at the net for the Warriors as Minear and Jessie Wolf each smacked down kills to put the team up 6-5. From there the team relied on its serve. Aaron served three-straight points and Bollier added an ace as the team used a 5-1 run to end the game.

Game three was close as kills from Minear, Keri Cook and Wolf helped Wawasee build a 5-3 lead. But with the score tied at 11-all the Lakers embarked on an 8-2 run that Wawasee never recovered from.

To start game four it looked like that momentum Lakeland had grabbed in the previous set was still going as Wawasee found itself in a 4-2 hole. But a block from Minear and a kill from Cook got the team back on track as the team pulled away and Wolf finished off Lakeland with a kill.

"I think they may have underestimated us," said Miller after the match. "We had lots of mistakes when we played them earlier this year."

As easy as it was for Wawasee to dismiss Lakeland it was apparent from the opening serve of the championship game that Northridge would not go down as easy.

The Raiders started the game with three-straight points before Minear got Wawasee on the board with a kill. Kills from Cook and Cheryl Thomas pulled the Warriors to within one point at 7-8.

From there though Northridge went on a 6-3 run that Wawasee never recovered from.

In game two it was two big runs by the Raiders that did in Wawasee.

After a kill by Cook pulled Wawasee close at 5-2 Northridge went on a 6-2 run. A kill for the Warriors by Aaron got Wawasee within eight at 13-5 and gave the team some momentum as they scored three-straight points.

Northridge used a 6-0 run this time to end the Wawasee threat.

It looked like Wawasee had solved its problems at the start of game three when Claire List served up an ace. A kill from Aaron put the Warriors up 3-2 but this time a 5-1 run by the Raiders put Wawasee in a hole.

Kills from Cook, Aaron and Wolf kept things close at 13-8.

The story of the match though continued for Northridge as the team this time used a 6-0 run to end the game and Wawasee's season.

"I absolutely respect Angie Miller and her girls," said Amy Miller after the loss. "We have nothing to hang our heads about."

By going 1-1 in the sectional tournament the Warriors end their year with a record of 17-16. The good news for the team is that Wawasee only loses one senior, Cook, to graduation.

Amy Miller is hoping this run through the tournament serves as a spring board for next season.

"We'll have a strong season next season," said Amy Miller. "Hopefully we'll be starting out at a higher level."

NEW HAVEN

SEMISTATE

GIRLS

Team Scores - Northridge 62, DeKalb 89, Concordia 119, Homestead 172, Northrop 200, Western 220, Angola 222, Jay County 240, Carroll 250, Goshen 251, North Side 297, East Noble 299, Delta 314, Winchester 333, Richmond 337, Yorktown 346, Huntington North 409, Northwestern 454, Kokomo 475, New Castle 497

Top 15 Individuals - 1. Alissa McKraig (Con) 13:56, 2. Amy Kempf (Car), 3. Rachel Stichter (Wawasee), 4. Adele Mitchell (Con), 5. Megan Jackson (NR), 6. Leslee Getts (DeK), 7. Sarah Manck (Con), 8. Aimee Gingerich (NR), 9. Jaime Boswell (DeK), 10. Katie Jenkins (Rich), 11. LeAnn Sarka (Hom), 12. Alyssa Johnston (JC), 13. Annina Gruber (Wes), 14. Samantha Lee (Hom), 15. Amber Wray (NS)

Local Finishers - 3. Rachel Stichter (Waw) 14:18, 37. Laura Lash (T. Valley) 15:50

BOYS

Team Scores - Northrop 84, Hunt. North 102, Northridge 148, West Noble 164, Snider 186, Concordia 199, Blackford 212, Muncie Burris 221, East Noble 260, Marion 263, Oak Hill 279, Elkhart Memorial 288, Western 327, Leo 345, Columbia City 356, Warsaw 376, North Side 394, Richmond 395, Centerville 412, Winchester 502

Top 15 Individuals - 1. Alan Hiner (Fremont) 15:27, 2. Kyle Walsh (Wes), 3. Luke Stoffel (Wawasee), 4. Ken Collins (NR), 5. Brennon Plotner (Nor), 6. Nate Luebke (New Haven) 7. Adam Lenz (Bla), 8. Chris Gaffer (Nor), 9. David Andrews (Rich), 10. Dustin Rose (OH), 11. Corey Koch (Lakeland), 12. Trevor Hughes (HN), 13. Joel Liechty (EN), 14. Troy Hileman (New Haven), 15. Braxton Fritz (NR)

Local Finisher - 3. Luke Stoffel (Wawasee) 15:42

Warsaw Finishers - 44. Ryan Holbrook 16:52, 72. Jacob Gall 17:17, 91, Jeremy Blackburn 17:33, 101. Kyle McNulty 17:43, 138. David Compson 18:42, 139. Peter Mansfield 18:42, 150. William Olds 19:29 [[In-content Ad]]