Lady Tigers Win Volleyball Sectional
October 15, 2018 at 5:00 p.m.
Lady Tigers Win Volleyball Sectional
By Dale [email protected]
For the Warsaw Lady Tigers, a 25-17, 25-17, 25-23 win over the Northridge Lady Raiders ended a 14-year wait.
With their three-game sweep of Northridge, which came after they survived a five-game thriller by beating Elkhart Memorial in the semifinals earlier in the day, the Lady Tigers won the program’s first sectional championship since 2004.
As a result, Warsaw (29-7) will play Michigan City (29-7) in the first semifinal of the LaPorte Regional on Saturday. Penn (31-5) will play Munster (32-4) in the other semifinal.
“When I first got the job, the kids told me how long it’d been since they’d won sectionals,” said third-year Warsaw coach Rick Ashmore, whose team has won 13 of its last 14 matches.
“We put it in as one of our goals to win the sectional and advance in the state tournament. We’re looking at a group of kids, you saw freshmen out there, you saw seniors out there ... everybody contributed.
“Different people gave us the win on Thursday against Goshen, and different people stepped up today and gave us what we needed.”
Senior Kacy Bragg finished the championship match with 37 assists, seven kills, five blocks, three digs and three service aces.
Just preschool age the last time Warsaw won a sectional title in volleyball, Bragg was certainly excited to accomplish the feat her senior year.
“We wanted to win so bad, and this is so amazing,” said Bragg, who tallied 55 assists, 15 digs, 12 blocks and seven kills in the semifinal victory over Memorial.
“Talking to my sisters who have played here and who wanted a sectional but didn’t get it, to get it my senior year with this group of girls is so special to me. These seniors have been so amazing, and we’ve been together so long, getting the sectional title is amazing.”
Senior Katie Swanson had 11 kills and four blocks against Northridge, while freshman Cora West added 11 digs and six kills, sophomore Betty Barnett 10 kills, sophomore Elizabeth Schmidt 11 digs, and senior Erin Peugh and freshman Kylie Smith nine digs each.
Warsaw ended its sectional drought by being able to string together points at key moments against Northridge.
After the Lady Raiders sliced Warsaw’s lead to 16-15 in Game 1, the Lady Tigers rattled off eight straight points. Northridge responded with two quick points, but Warsaw finished things off for the 25-17 set win.
The teams were tied at 5 in the second game, and Warsaw notched nine of the game’s next 10 points en route to another 25-17 win.
Facing elimination, Northridge battled in the third game, a set that featured 13 ties and six lead changes before the Lady Tigers were able to celebrate.
“That’s kind of been the story of the second half of our season, we’ve been really resilient and working hard together,” said Northridge coach Jodi Steele, whose team finished the season at 9-24.
“Our passing game and defense really improved, and I?think that showed a little bit at the end.”
Warsaw beat Northridge 25-15, 25-16, 25-15 on Sept. 4 during conference play, and the Lady Tigers were the only team of the four that played at Memorial Saturday to have a winning record.
“That was a long time ago,” Steele said of her team’s progress since losing to Warsaw about a month and a half ago.
“We got so much better at our game. We’re still pretty young, they’re still learning some stuff. We improved a lot, and we knew who their good players were and who to key on, but they executed really well tonight.”
WARSAW DEF. NORTHRIDGE 25-17, 25-17, 25-23 (sectional final)
Warsaw leaders – Kacy Bragg 37 assists, 7 kills, 5 blocks, 3 digs, 3 aces; Katie Swanson 11 kills, 4 blocks; Cora West 11 digs, 6 kills; Elizabeth Schmidt 11 digs; Betty Barnett 10 kills; Gwyn Bellamy 8 kills, 2 blocks; Erin Peugh 9 digs; Kylie Smith 9 digs; Kennedy Lauck 2 kills, 1 block
Records: Warsaw 29-7, Northridge 9-24
WARSAW DEF. ELKHART MEMORIAL 25-19, 24-26, 23-25, 25-22, 15-6 (semifinals)
Warsaw leaders – Bragg 55 assists, 15 digs, 12 blocks, 7 kills; Peugh 35 digs, 4 assists; Schmidt 15 digs; Smith 15 digs; Swanson 10 kills, 8 digs, 8 blocks; Barnett 15 kills, 4 blocks; Lauck 12 blocks, 6 kills, 3 digs; Rachael Yeager 5 digs, 4 blocks; West 18 digs, 16 kills, 2 blocks; Bellamy 9 kills, 5 digs, 5 blocks; McKenna Hawblitzel 4 digs, 2 aces
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For the Warsaw Lady Tigers, a 25-17, 25-17, 25-23 win over the Northridge Lady Raiders ended a 14-year wait.
With their three-game sweep of Northridge, which came after they survived a five-game thriller by beating Elkhart Memorial in the semifinals earlier in the day, the Lady Tigers won the program’s first sectional championship since 2004.
As a result, Warsaw (29-7) will play Michigan City (29-7) in the first semifinal of the LaPorte Regional on Saturday. Penn (31-5) will play Munster (32-4) in the other semifinal.
“When I first got the job, the kids told me how long it’d been since they’d won sectionals,” said third-year Warsaw coach Rick Ashmore, whose team has won 13 of its last 14 matches.
“We put it in as one of our goals to win the sectional and advance in the state tournament. We’re looking at a group of kids, you saw freshmen out there, you saw seniors out there ... everybody contributed.
“Different people gave us the win on Thursday against Goshen, and different people stepped up today and gave us what we needed.”
Senior Kacy Bragg finished the championship match with 37 assists, seven kills, five blocks, three digs and three service aces.
Just preschool age the last time Warsaw won a sectional title in volleyball, Bragg was certainly excited to accomplish the feat her senior year.
“We wanted to win so bad, and this is so amazing,” said Bragg, who tallied 55 assists, 15 digs, 12 blocks and seven kills in the semifinal victory over Memorial.
“Talking to my sisters who have played here and who wanted a sectional but didn’t get it, to get it my senior year with this group of girls is so special to me. These seniors have been so amazing, and we’ve been together so long, getting the sectional title is amazing.”
Senior Katie Swanson had 11 kills and four blocks against Northridge, while freshman Cora West added 11 digs and six kills, sophomore Betty Barnett 10 kills, sophomore Elizabeth Schmidt 11 digs, and senior Erin Peugh and freshman Kylie Smith nine digs each.
Warsaw ended its sectional drought by being able to string together points at key moments against Northridge.
After the Lady Raiders sliced Warsaw’s lead to 16-15 in Game 1, the Lady Tigers rattled off eight straight points. Northridge responded with two quick points, but Warsaw finished things off for the 25-17 set win.
The teams were tied at 5 in the second game, and Warsaw notched nine of the game’s next 10 points en route to another 25-17 win.
Facing elimination, Northridge battled in the third game, a set that featured 13 ties and six lead changes before the Lady Tigers were able to celebrate.
“That’s kind of been the story of the second half of our season, we’ve been really resilient and working hard together,” said Northridge coach Jodi Steele, whose team finished the season at 9-24.
“Our passing game and defense really improved, and I?think that showed a little bit at the end.”
Warsaw beat Northridge 25-15, 25-16, 25-15 on Sept. 4 during conference play, and the Lady Tigers were the only team of the four that played at Memorial Saturday to have a winning record.
“That was a long time ago,” Steele said of her team’s progress since losing to Warsaw about a month and a half ago.
“We got so much better at our game. We’re still pretty young, they’re still learning some stuff. We improved a lot, and we knew who their good players were and who to key on, but they executed really well tonight.”
WARSAW DEF. NORTHRIDGE 25-17, 25-17, 25-23 (sectional final)
Warsaw leaders – Kacy Bragg 37 assists, 7 kills, 5 blocks, 3 digs, 3 aces; Katie Swanson 11 kills, 4 blocks; Cora West 11 digs, 6 kills; Elizabeth Schmidt 11 digs; Betty Barnett 10 kills; Gwyn Bellamy 8 kills, 2 blocks; Erin Peugh 9 digs; Kylie Smith 9 digs; Kennedy Lauck 2 kills, 1 block
Records: Warsaw 29-7, Northridge 9-24
WARSAW DEF. ELKHART MEMORIAL 25-19, 24-26, 23-25, 25-22, 15-6 (semifinals)
Warsaw leaders – Bragg 55 assists, 15 digs, 12 blocks, 7 kills; Peugh 35 digs, 4 assists; Schmidt 15 digs; Smith 15 digs; Swanson 10 kills, 8 digs, 8 blocks; Barnett 15 kills, 4 blocks; Lauck 12 blocks, 6 kills, 3 digs; Rachael Yeager 5 digs, 4 blocks; West 18 digs, 16 kills, 2 blocks; Bellamy 9 kills, 5 digs, 5 blocks; McKenna Hawblitzel 4 digs, 2 aces
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