MENTONE - Jason Fleming slammed his folder to the ground and rammed his hands together for a timeout.

The Wawasee volleyball coach wasn't about to let this one get away.

Wawasee opened the 1997 season by beating Tippecanoe Valley 15-12 in game one. The Warriors looked on their way when they jumped ahead 11-5 in game two.

Then Valley got a side out.

When Rhonda Doud stepped in to serve, Valley stepped back into the game. One serve dropped in. Then another. And another.

The Vikings ran off five in a row to close the gap to 11-10.

Fleming called his timeout, and jabbed his finger at the floor - get over here now.

His timeout pulled his team out of the haze. Fleming's chat sparked a 4-0 Wawasee run that gave the Warriors the 15-10 win in game two.

"I just wanted to let them understand the situation," Fleming said. "When you're up on a team 11-5 ... maybe they were getting a little too complacent. It was like, oh, it's just one more point. Well, one more point kind of adds up.

"I told them I needed to know if they could find it in themselves to stop that run. They had a good server (Doud) who was serving the ball really well. I think we did a fine job of finding it on those last few points. (Darcy) Replogle did a nice job of closing us out on serves."

The Warriors went through a lull the first game, but like the second game, it wasn't costly.

Wawasee took 9-5 and 12-7 leads in the opening game, only to see Valley pull into a 12-12 tie. The Vikings found a hole in the middle of Wawasee's defense and kept hammering at it until Wawasee sealed it off. Andria Parker delivered a kill and two service points.

But the Warriors fought off Valley's run to get the win.

Controversy struck at the first match. When Wawasee went up 13-10 in the second game, Tippecanoe Valley coach Jon Parker called a timeout. Problem was, he didn't have any left. Parker asked both official scorers before the timeout how many he had left. Both said one.

Both were wrong. Valley was out of timeouts, but since the official scorers told Parker wrong, the referees didn't penalize the Vikings. They told both teams to retake the floor.

Since Wawasee won, not much came of the mix-up.

"I can remember a few years ago that cost a team a state match, because they called too many timeouts," Fleming said. "I saw the point of view of the official, but it's just something I didn't think would be a factor this early in the season."

Andrea VanCleave and Kara Mathew turned in big performances for the Warriors. VanCleave had five kills and 10 digs, and Mathew had six kills and eight digs to go along with 11-for-11 serving.

Fleming highlighted VanCleave's contributions.

"Andrea was all over," he said. "Her confidence level is up. She looked like a leader out there."

Parker had seven kills to lead Valley, while teammates Jennifer Studebaker and Brandy Manns added three each. Doud was 14-for-15 serving with four aces. Parker was 10-for-11 serving with three aces.

Wawasee, 19-14 last year, is 1-0 this year. Valley, 7-15 last year, is 0-1.

"I was pleased with the match," Fleming said. "There was a few points where we got a little sloppy and had some miscommunication. I think that was because it's early in the season."

Fleming and Parker agreed on one thing: They had seen their teams look better.

"It's kind of a disappointing start," Parker said. "We looked better at practice than at the game. It was a tough opener. Wawasee traditionally has good volleyball teams. We made nice offensive plays, but they kept digging them up."

Fleming, too, had seen better practices.

"Actually, I think they play harder in practice," he said. "They're looser. They're not jittery. They played reserved tonight. At practice, it's all out. Go-at-it time. As soon as they stepped on the floor for an official match, I think it got to them a little bit."

WAWASEE 15, 15

TIPPECANOE VALLEY 12, 10

Wawasee kills leaders - Kara Mathew 6, Andrea VanCleave 5, Darcy Replogle 2

Wawasee digs leaders - VanCleave 10, Mathew 8, Replogle 5

Wawasee serves leader -ÊMathew 11 for 11

Wawasee assists leader - Frantz 16

Valley kills leaders - Andria Parker 7, Jennifer Studebaker 3, Brandy Manns 3

Valley serving leaders - Rhonda Doud 14 for 15, four aces; Parker 10 for 11, three aces

JV score: Tippecanoe Valley 15, 16

Wawasee 10, 14 [[In-content Ad]]