AKRON - In 25 years as Tippecanoe Valley High School's Athletic Director, Duane Burkhart doesn't remember the Vikings beating county rival Warsaw.
The Vikings and their fans, as well as the Tigers and their fans, will probably remember Monday night's regular season finale in Akron, where Valley beat Warsaw 28-26, 25-23, 16-25, 21-25, 15-11.Valley's win came a week after the Vikings beat conference rival Southwood for just the second time in school history.
Needless to say, in front of a rowdy Viking student section and a large number of adult fans, there was excitement in Valley's gym last night.
"This is a big deal for us," said first-year Valley coach Jennifer Phillips. "This was a really exciting match. My girls were fired up and ready to go. I'm so proud of them."
With the win, the Vikings improved to 20-11 heading into Thursday's 6 p.m. match against Columbia City in the NorthWood Sectional. The Tigers, who fell to 21-11 on the season, are in action again Saturday at approximately 1 p.m. against Elkhart Central in the Northridge Sectional.
In Monday's match against the Tigers, the Vikings were able to pull out a narrow win in the first game and then jump out to a 20-10 lead in the second game before Warsaw closed the gap.
According to Warsaw coach Doug West, it was the Vikings' energy and enthusiasm that his team had trouble with.
"After Valley won the first game and it was close, they really ramped it up a level," said West. "They had a lot of enthusiasm and energy and we didn't early on."
The Tigers found some enthusiasm of their own in the third and fourth games, winning both and forcing a game-five tiebreaker.
"That was the part of the match that was exciting to see," said West. "We were down 2-0, but we fought back. I'm certainly happy about that."
Phillips was happy about the fact that her team won the first two games against the Tigers, setting the tone and putting Warsaw on its heels.
In the win over rival Southwood, Valley lost the first two games and had to fight and scrap to win the match in five games.
In a recent match against Bremen, the Vikings came out flat in the early going before rallying to win.
Monday, it was a different story for Valley, and Phillips was happy to see it.
"That's something we worked on all week," Phillips said of trying to take control early. "We tried new things in practice. My girls came out ready to go tonight."
With the match knotted at two games apiece, the teams battled back and forth in the tiebreaker game before the host Vikings took a 12-7 lead.
The first four games of a best-of-five high school volleyball match are played to 25 points, with the winning team having to win by two.
The Tigers cut the Valley advantage to 12-10, but the Vikings pushed their lead to 14-10 and eventually won the tiebreaker 15-11.
And when the ball finally hit the floor on Warsaw's side for the final time, Valley's players and fans had fun celebrating a win that sends them into sectional play with confidence and momentum.
"This is a big deal for us," said Phillips. "Our next match, we play Columbia City in the sectional. We're excited about the future. We've had a tough last couple weeks, playing Southwood and Warsaw, but we feel like the girls can do anything. We think they can conquer anybody they play. They're playing well at the right time."
Junior Karla Vogel led Valley in assists with 35 and was second on the team in digs with 19. She also had 10 kills in the win. Classmate Stacie Hoffman tallied 19 kills and 18 digs, while senior Chelsea Eaton finished with 21 digs and 16 kills.
For Warsaw, senior Kate Denlinger tallied 20 kills and nine digs, while classmate Shelby Runnells led the team in digs with 17.
Sophomore Sarah Shilling finished with 15 kills for Warsaw, while senior Allison Reichard led the team with 35 assists.
T. VALLEY DEF. WARSAW 28-26, 25-23, 16-25, 21-25, 15-11
(Valley Leaders)
Aces - Ashley Hendrix 2, Karla Vogel 2, Chelsea Bibler 1, Breanna Parker 1, Stacie Hoffman 1
