ELKHART - Chandra Hepler, head coach of the Warsaw volleyball team, has made her team’s goals clear in each year of her tenure: Win the Northern Lakes Conference and win the sectional.
For the second straight season, both have been accomplished.
“All of these girls have bought into what it means to be apart of Warsaw volleyball and I couldn’t be happier to see them accomplish their goals, because I know how much work has gone into getting here,” Hepler said after the Lady Tigers’ 3-1 victory over the Kingsmen of Penn in the IHSAA Sectional 4 championship game Saturday night. “These girls deserve every bit of this success.”
The game’s first set was pivotal to Warsaw’s success. The Lady Tigers got off to a sluggish start, making far too many unforced errors in the game’s opening points. Despite this, the set remained extremely close early, much to the delight of the near capacity crowd, which made its presence felt right out of the gates. Eventually, Penn would begin taking advantage of the Warsaw miscues more frequently, extending its lead in a hurry.
After Hepler called her second timeout of the game with her team trailing 21-15, junior Maggie Hollon began serving, which flipped the game on its head. With Hollon delivering quality serves across the court, the Lady Tiger offense began finding some consistency, leading to a long run. After trailing by six not long ago, Warsaw was able to not only chip away at the deficit, but take the lead at 22-21.
What happened next was nothing short of extraordinary, as the two depleted sides fought through their fatigue to play some incredible volleyball. Kills came through with a little extra oomph. Knee guards were getting plenty of use as players dove to the floor to keep a point alive. Eventually, after over 15 back-and-forth points, Warsaw was able to escape with a 30-28 win.
“We were super exhausted, mentally, it’s hard,” senior Leah Henderson said after the match.
Fellow senior Claire Reichenbach agreed.
“It’s so rewarding to come back from a deficit like that and it was such a momentum boost into the second set and the rest of the match.”
The momentum was clearly on the side of the Lady Tigers in the second set, as Warsaw enjoyed a wire-to-wire 25-20 victory that was relatively drama free. The Kingsmen were consistently able to stop runs long enough to stick around, but never enough to jump in front. The Lady Tigers’ third senior, Melaina Hawblitzel, was everywhere all night long, but showcased her abilities incredibly well in this set, leaping out of the gym for some massive kills. Not long after it seemed as if Warsaw was about to drop the match’s first set, the team was now just a game away from another trip to regionals.

    Warsaw senior Melaina Hawblitzel reaches back to keep the ball in play during the first set. Photo by Gary Nieter

“When a first set gets up there in points it's really hard to come back in the next one and rebound,” Hepler said. “I felt really confident when I saw what we did in the second.”
With their season on the brink of extinction, the Kingsmen came out with purpose in the third set, once again coming out on top after a neck-and-neck early portion. This time, Penn did not allow Warsaw to stage a late comeback, holding on to win 23-25 and force a fourth set.
As was the case with the second set, the Lady Tigers got off to a lightning quick start in game four. Warsaw never slowed down from there, extending its lead to double digits on the final point of the match, an ace by libero Ellie Hepler to clinch the sectional title with a 25-15 win.
“These girls have dealt with a lot of adversity this season, so this was nothing new to them,” Hepler said. “We work so much on the mental side of the game and they are ready for anything.”
“Once we got those jitters out early, I think we kind of felt unstoppable,” Richenbach added.
It’s the second straight year Warsaw has defeated Penn on its way to a sectional crown, dispatching of the Kingsmen in the semifinals last season. Three years ago, Hepler referred to Penn as the team’s “stopper”, a hurdle it could not get over. With Saturday night’s win, Warsaw has now defeated the Kingsmen four straight times.
“From the parents, to the kids, to the coaches, we have built an environment here that I hope these girls will want to be a part of for a long time,” Hepler said. “We have the right people on the bus. I think that speaks volumes to our culture. We’ve built something special here.”
Hawblitzel (19), Henderson (15) and Hollon (14) were the Lady Tigers’ leading attackers, finishing with double digit kills. Ellie Hepler led the team in digs with 23 as well as aces with three. Avary Hoeppner had 42 assists while adding 15 digs of her own. Allison Chapman had three blocks.
Warsaw will take on a familiar foe in the regional semifinal next Saturday: host school LaPorte. The Lady Tigers took the Slicers down 3-0 in the regional semis last year before falling to Lake Central in the regional championship.
“We’re ready to go win regionals,” Hawblitzel said. “We feel good and think we can go pretty far.”