Warsaw spikers improve to 7-0 with 25-15, 25-20, 25-20 win
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
Mike Howard admitted the match was sloppy at times, but overall Warsaw’s varsity volleyball coach was pleased with Monday evening’s sweep of the visiting Homestead Spartans. After all, the 25-15, 25-20, 25-20 win improved the Lady Tigers to 7-0 on the season. And despite things getting interesting after Warsaw raced out to a 13-2 lead in the third game, only to see Homestead close the gap, the Lady Tigers have some momentum going into Saturday’s loaded tournament at Mishawaka. “There was some good things, there was some bad things,” said Howard. “We served the ball really well tonight, which set the table for us. Our ball-handling got a little sloppy at the end of sets, which is something we’ll have to work on, and maybe a little more defensive intensity, but overall you gotta be happy with the way we served. “And then getting our middles involved was something we wanted to do, and we did that to some success tonight.” In Monday’s opening game, the teams were tied at 1, 2, 3 and 5 before Warsaw built a 12-8 advantage and eventually pulled away for the 25-15 victory. In Game 2, the Lady Tigers led 5-1 early before the teams were knotted at 14-14. In the final game, Warsaw built what seemed to be a commanding 13-2 lead before having to squash a Homestead rally. “That happens sometimes, where you win the first two sets and kind of relax a little bit,” said Howard. “It’s just a lack of concentration, and it’s something hopefully we’ll work on this week in practice and try and be better about. “It’s good to be able to finish there and to put a ball away at the end when you need it, and to get some different people involved ... we’ve been a little outside heavy in our first few matches and it was good to go to the middle today. It was good to see those kids have success, Lexie (Day) and Jordyn (Lindeman), and to see Courtney (Steffensmeier) come through and take a couple nice swings on the right side.” Cassie Hoag led the Lady Tigers with 24 assists, 10 digs and two aces, while Peyton Adamiec added 15 digs. Lindeman tallied seven kills and two blocks, while Caroline Mayer and Day finished with seven and six kills, respectively. Haley Peterson led the winners in aces with three. The Lady Tigers are in action again Saturday in the Mishawaka Invitational. “Our next match is the Mishawaka Invite ... Elkhart Memorial in our pool, Carmel, the state champ, and then Mishawaka Marian,” said Howard. “The other pool is Cathedral, and Lafayette Harrison, and South Bend St. Joe. So, it’s a rockin tournament with some great teams.” Warsaw made it a complete sweep Monday against Homestead, as the JV and freshmen teams also won in consecutive games.
