Valley Spikers Rally To Beat TritonBOURBON – For Tippecanoe Valley’s volleyball team, coming back from two games down borders on standard operating procedure. On the other side of the net, Triton going to five was uncharted territory. The Lady Trojans went up two sets before dropping the next two, then fell behind 6-0 in the fifth. Triton clawed back to within one point before falling 20-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-12 to the Lady Vikings in a non-conference match Thursday in the Trojan Trench. After Triton’s win in the first set, the second game was tied 11 times before the home team won the last for points to take the set, setting up Valley’s dramatic comeback. “We kind of dominated those first two games. Then (Valley) kind of went to this soft serve approach and we lost our minds for a while,” Triton head coach Gayle Perry said. “We couldn’t get a good pass on the net after that. We had good passes, but we couldn’t get them on the net, so we couldn’t attack. “We’re about power. That’s how I built this team; I want them to hit the ball. They kind of changed their strategy and found a way that worked, we just didn’t want to get our feet to the ball.” The Lady Vikings had been down 0-2 on the road before; they came back to win at Wawasee on Aug. 23 and forced a fifth set before falling at North Miami on Wednesday. In addition, at least two other matches, according to Valley head coach Mallory Eaton, have gone the distance. Valley began the long trail back by building and maintaining a six-point lead in the third set, then erasing a four-point deficit in the fourth game to win. Eaton said the Lady Vikings have discovered a higher level of play that kicks in when they’re in deep trouble. “I hate that it comes to that, I don’t know why that’s our thing,” Eaton said. “There’s just something about having no other options for us. “When we know it’s win or go home, these girls want to win. They want it deep down, but it’s about building that confidence. If we’d just do that in game one, then we wouldn’t have to be in these type of situations. We hardly played a fifth game last season, and this year we’ve probably played four or five of them already. Eaton wishes her team would be a little more consistent and, like all coaches, would prefer to play with a lead instead of needing the dramatic scenario to win. “They’re high school girls, so you never what you’re going to get,” she said. “One of the things we say in practice is, ‘collaborate or fail. Those are your options. You either work together or you’re going to fail.’ They chose to collaborate tonight.” “I changed some things up and Taneisha (Brown) brought a lot of energy. She was hustling out on the court and I think she was literally that game changer for us and everybody followed suit.” Valley senior Abby Betten paced the Lady Vikings with 21 kills, 19 digs and three aces. Sophomore Emily Peterson led her team with 41 assists. Perry said the Lady Trojans continue to progress as the season moves along, and there was take-away value in the loss. “We grew through the match, sometimes you have to lose before you can win,” said Perry. “It was a great match for us to learn in and to grow in. I thought we played with great passion the whole match. “I was talking to them tonight about stuff we went over in practice. Things like talking to their setter, calling their sets, before the play ever starts, just trying to get them more game knowledge and strategy knowledge. I’m amazed at how little they know about the game. They have good skills, but they don’t understand strategy. We’re still learning. “We’re fighters. We were able to pull it back together, and that’s progress for us. Usually, we panic and it’s over. We’re getting closer to where we need to be. It’s a journey. Half of the reward of the season is the journey they take as players. Wherever they start is definitely not where we’re going to end up.” Junior Nichole Sechrist had 20 kills to lead Triton. Hannah Wanemacher had 38 assists, and Quinn Downing had 22 digs. Triton (6-4) hosts its varsity tournament on Saturday. Valley (11-5) travels to Columbia City for a non-conference match Monday.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY 3, TRITON 2 TV 20 23 25 25 15 TRI 25 25 19 21 12 Valley statistical leaders: Kills – Abby Betten 21; Assists – Emily Peterson 41; Digs – Betten 19; Aces – Betten 3 Triton statistical leaders: Kills – Nichole Sechrist 20, Courtney Jennings 12; Assists – Hannah Wanemacher 38; Digs – Quinn Downing 22, Wanemacher 13; Blocks – Jennings 3. Records: Valley 11-5, Triton 6-4 JV – Valley def. Triton 25-21, 25-15 Valley statistical leaders: Aces – Allison Betten 3; Assists – Sarah Myers 5; Kills – Gabby Olson 5; Digs – Anna Walters 4.
