Warsaw Volleyball Falls In Concord Sectional Final
October 17, 2021 at 9:34 p.m.
Warsaw Volleyball Falls In Concord Sectional Final
By Connor McCann-
Penn, a familiar sectional opponent for Warsaw, had eliminated the Tigers in the previous two postseasons. It was more of the same in a tough match for Warsaw, who struggled to go on a run of longer than two or three points.
“We felt ready for the game. We had watched a lot of film, had a game plan but when it came down to it, Penn put a lot of pressure on us,” Warsaw head coach Chandra Hepler said. “We had way too many errors and couldn’t get the momentum that we needed and when they went on runs, we never countered.”
Leading the way statistically for the Tigers were the familiar faces that had done so all season long. Senior Abby Sanner and sophomore Melaina Hawblitzel shared the leaderboard with eight kills each. Sanner also picked up the lone Warsaw block. After combining for eight aces in their semifinal game against Northridge, the Tigers could only manage three against the Kingsmen, two by senior Abbie Porter.
Senior Kylie Smith had 19 digs, and junior captain Avery Hales had a team-high 24 assists.
“At the beginning of the season we had a lot of unseasoned players, and I think some of our immaturity showed with a lack of mental toughness,” Hepler said. “But I saw that progress and I saw it strengthen over the season. Our seniors have made such an impact on Warsaw volleyball and I think they all rose to the occasion, especially in sectionals. They left it all on the court.”
The Tigers will graduate six seniors in the spring: Sanner, Porter and Smith, as well as Sadie Walden, Cora West and Allison Heinrich. But Warsaw will also return a plethora of key players, including the captain Hales. Hepler says taking down Penn in the sectional remains a goal going into next year.
“It’s bittersweet when you have such high hopes, but I schedule our games to be as tough as possible, our strength of schedule is up there with the top teams in the state,” Hepler said. “We know that Penn is our stopper and we have to progress throughout the season so that we can compete with them. But we are going to take them down.”
Warsaw finishes the season with a 20-14 record, and looks on to next year.
“You will always be entertained by our players; they’re always going to be exciting to watch. I’m excited to see the unity from our team and our program. We have a lot of big hitters returning and we’re excited to get started again,” Hepler said.
Warsaw Defeats Northridge In Sectional Semi
CONCORD – Before falling in the championship game, Warsaw picked up a win Saturday morning, defeating Northridge in straight sets, 25-13, 25-17, 25-19. It was a dominant showing from the Tigers for what was their 20th and final win of the season.
Warsaw came out firing on all cylinders in the first game, getting to a11-2 advantage before the first timeout.
“We went out and set the tone,” Hepler said. They felt the confidence by getting ahead and the momentum was huge for us. The better we start, the better we finish.”
After trailing 7-5 in game two, the Tigers answered in a big way, going on an 18-5 run to steal all momentum back from Northridge and take a commanding 2-0 advantage in the match.
“Sometimes when you win a first game 25-13 like we did, you come out a little relaxed in the next game. Sometimes the same sense of urgency isn’t there,” Hepler said. “We talked about that during the timeout, and we saw them execute the right way.”
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Penn, a familiar sectional opponent for Warsaw, had eliminated the Tigers in the previous two postseasons. It was more of the same in a tough match for Warsaw, who struggled to go on a run of longer than two or three points.
“We felt ready for the game. We had watched a lot of film, had a game plan but when it came down to it, Penn put a lot of pressure on us,” Warsaw head coach Chandra Hepler said. “We had way too many errors and couldn’t get the momentum that we needed and when they went on runs, we never countered.”
Leading the way statistically for the Tigers were the familiar faces that had done so all season long. Senior Abby Sanner and sophomore Melaina Hawblitzel shared the leaderboard with eight kills each. Sanner also picked up the lone Warsaw block. After combining for eight aces in their semifinal game against Northridge, the Tigers could only manage three against the Kingsmen, two by senior Abbie Porter.
Senior Kylie Smith had 19 digs, and junior captain Avery Hales had a team-high 24 assists.
“At the beginning of the season we had a lot of unseasoned players, and I think some of our immaturity showed with a lack of mental toughness,” Hepler said. “But I saw that progress and I saw it strengthen over the season. Our seniors have made such an impact on Warsaw volleyball and I think they all rose to the occasion, especially in sectionals. They left it all on the court.”
The Tigers will graduate six seniors in the spring: Sanner, Porter and Smith, as well as Sadie Walden, Cora West and Allison Heinrich. But Warsaw will also return a plethora of key players, including the captain Hales. Hepler says taking down Penn in the sectional remains a goal going into next year.
“It’s bittersweet when you have such high hopes, but I schedule our games to be as tough as possible, our strength of schedule is up there with the top teams in the state,” Hepler said. “We know that Penn is our stopper and we have to progress throughout the season so that we can compete with them. But we are going to take them down.”
Warsaw finishes the season with a 20-14 record, and looks on to next year.
“You will always be entertained by our players; they’re always going to be exciting to watch. I’m excited to see the unity from our team and our program. We have a lot of big hitters returning and we’re excited to get started again,” Hepler said.
Warsaw Defeats Northridge In Sectional Semi
CONCORD – Before falling in the championship game, Warsaw picked up a win Saturday morning, defeating Northridge in straight sets, 25-13, 25-17, 25-19. It was a dominant showing from the Tigers for what was their 20th and final win of the season.
Warsaw came out firing on all cylinders in the first game, getting to a11-2 advantage before the first timeout.
“We went out and set the tone,” Hepler said. They felt the confidence by getting ahead and the momentum was huge for us. The better we start, the better we finish.”
After trailing 7-5 in game two, the Tigers answered in a big way, going on an 18-5 run to steal all momentum back from Northridge and take a commanding 2-0 advantage in the match.
“Sometimes when you win a first game 25-13 like we did, you come out a little relaxed in the next game. Sometimes the same sense of urgency isn’t there,” Hepler said. “We talked about that during the timeout, and we saw them execute the right way.”
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