SOUTH WHITLEY - After dropping the first game, the Tippecanoe Valley Lady Vikings came back to get a four-game win in Three Rivers Conference volleyball action Wednesday in South Whitley.
Taking on the Whitko Lady Wildcats (4-17, 0-6 TRC), Valley (12-16, 2-4 TRC) won the closely-contested match 20-25, 25-14, 25-23, 25-21 with some solid defense."They moved the ball around real nicely and they played good defense," Whitko coach Doug West said about Valley. "It was not easy to get the ball down on the floor.
"The team that digs and keeps that ball moving, they can force the other team to make a mistake," West added.
It's not like Whitko made that many more mistakes than Valley, as the match was tied 32 times and the lead exchanged hands 17 times.
Despite West's view of the Vikings' defense, Valley coach Emily Finken was a little more critical of her team, instead praising Whitko's defensive prowess.
"Whitko picked up a lot of balls, but I want to be the team that's scrappy," she said. "I felt we were really challenged in that department."
The Valley defense was mostly challenged by six-foot Whitko senior Rachelle Kessie, who finished the game with 12 kills and four blocks.
"Our goal is to get strings of points when we have Rachelle going across the front row," West said. "Then, when she goes out for three rotations, our goal is to certainly not give up strings of points, but to go points for points. Then, when she comes back in, we can get more strings.
It easier to get more strings of points when she's blocking and attacking."
However, Kessie can't be on the floor at all times, and Valley took advantage by running three different 6-0 runs on the night, which were big in a tight match.
Although Valley doesn't have a girl with the height and power of Kessie, they do have a solid front line of seniors Chelsea Hoffman and Jordan Satoski, along with sophomore Kaley Shewman.
In the win, Hoffman had a match-high 12 kills, while Shewman posted 11 and Satoski finished with five.
"It comes down to who's attacking more aggressively at the end of a rally," West said. "We did it well at different points and they did it well at points."
Finken is all about attacking aggressively, but even more than that, she wants her girls to attack creatively.
"We need the girls to be consistent," she said. "I don't think we're there yet, and sectionals is right around the corner. I'm not panicking, but I want the girls to know we need to be consistent. I also try to tell them to be creative with their hits. A lot of the time, they just want to go up there wailing every time. A lot of the time, it's not about hitting it as hard as you can. It's about hitting it to the open spots. So you have to create those open spots."
The creativity came in handy after Whitko came back from a 21-18 hole in the fourth game to tie the game at 21-21.
After calling a time out, Finken only used a few seconds to get her message across, and it must had worked as her girls scored the next four points to wrap up the match.
"I don't particularly like time outs," Finken said. "I just think they cut the momentum out, so I try to be as quick as possible. I just told the girls, 'We passed really well tonight and we need to put the ball down.'."
"They came away with some good net play to finish off rallies right at the end," West said.
Whitko hosts an invitational Saturday, while Valley's next match is Tuesday at Southwood.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY DEF. WHITKO 20-25, 25-14, 25-23, 25-21
