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AKRON - First-year Tippecanoe Valley volleyball coach Jon Hutton knew his team had it in them, and the last two matches the Vikings have proved it.
After topping Rochester Monday for the first time in nearly 20 years of Three Rivers Conference play, Valley hosted and defeated conference foe Whitko 15-6, 15-8 Wednesday night. Valley's JV team topped the Wildcats 5-15, 15-7, 15-10, while the freshman Vikings won 5-15, 15-13, 15-4.
"We're playing the ball we've always had inside us, it's emerging now," Hutton said. "People are understanding their roles now. They're all getting it done. When I look at my stats at the end of the day, all the kids are getting it done."
With the win Wednesday, the varsity Vikings improve to 12-14 overall and 2-4 in the TRC; Whitko falls to 3-19.
Valley jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the first set with Beth Leckrone, Sherise Denny, and Heather Ramsey serving. Whitko cut the deficit to two on a service point from Heather Blocher and a pair of aces from Stacy Socha.
With Denny and Abby Shafer serving, the Vikings jumped out to a 10-4 lead before the Wildcats attempted a comeback, making it 12-6.
Denny served the last three points of the first set for the win, the last being an ace.
"We were able to finish things off," Hutton said. "Our ability to put the ball down and our serving consistency was a big difference tonight. I thought those two things made a big difference. They struggled to put the ball back at us."
The teams were knotted at seven in the second set before Viking Cassie Perkins served up three points. Lacey Stump and Leckrone served up a point each and Valley took a 12-7 advantage. Socha served up a point to make it 13-8, but Shafer served up the last two points to finish off the Wildcats.
Denny tallied 20 assists, 10 points and two aces for the Vikings, while Chelsea Stavedahl had five kills and five blocks. Billie Jo Rosenstiel, Leckrone and Shafer had three kills each for Valley.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY DEF. WHITKO 15-6, 15-8
Valley leaders - Sherise Denny 20 assists, 10 points, 2 aces; Heather Ramsey 2 points, 1 ace; Beth Leckrone 9 points; Chelsea Stavedahl 5 kills, 5 blocks; Abby Shafer 3 kills; Beth Leckrone 3 kills, 5 blocks; Billie Jo Rosenstiel 3 kills, 1 block; Lacey Stump 1 bock; Alyssa Anglin 9 digs
Valley record: 12-14, 2-4 TRC
JV - Tippecanoe Valley def. Whitko
5-15, 15-7, 15-10
* Whitko stats were not available
Grace Women's Soccer Loses To St. Francis On Late Goal
Times-Union Staff Report
WINONA LAKE, IN - The Grace College women's soccer team just fell short of a large upset Wednesday, losing to Mid-Central Conference opponent St. Francis 1-0 on a goal in the 89th minute of action.
Both teams entered the game unbeaten in MCC play.
Grace was the aggressor for much of the game, outshooting St. Francis 14-10.
But with just over one minute to play, a kick into the box was deflected by Grace goalie Hannah Loss. However, Loss was out of the goal mouth and St. Francis' Angie Knerr floated a shot over Loss' outstretched arms as she raced back to the goal for the only score.
Grace (6-4-2, 2-1-1 MCC) lost for the first time this season at home and will play at Mt. Vernon Nazarene Saturday at 3 p.m.
ST. FRANCIS 1, GRACE 0
St. Francis 0 1 - 1
Grace 0 0 - 0
Scoring - 1. St. Francis, Angie Knerr (unassisted), 89:00. Shots on goal - Grace 14, St. Francis 10. Saves - Hannah Loss (Grace) 11, Natalie Wiegmann (St. Francis) 12.
Records - St. Francis 10-3-1, 3-0 MCC; Grace 6-4-2, 2-1-1 MCC
Valley's Jackson Ends Record-Setting Season
Times-Union Staff Report
DUNLAP - Tippecanoe Valley No. 1 singles player Phil Jackson ended his tennis season Wednesday at the Concord Regional as he was defeated 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 by Angola's Cole Twitchel.
The two players were tied at 3 in the first set before Jackson won the next three games for the win. After falling 6-0 in the second set, Jackson jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the third set. Twitchel tied the game at 4, but Jackson took leads of 5-4 and 6-5. Twitchel eventually won the tiebreaker, handing Jackson his first loss of the season.
"Phil has had an excellent season, going 20-1 and setting a school record," Valley coach Rod Hamman said. "He worked hard in the offseason to improve his game and it paid off. Not only is he a great player, but also a blessing to be around. Phil has been an outstanding leader and role model for our team."
Jackson plans to play tennis at Indiana Wesleyan University next year.
Concord Individual Regional
Singles
No. 1 - Cole Twitchel (Angola) def. Phil Jackson (T. Valley) 3-6, 6-0, 7-6 (7-3)
LCA Ties CMA In Boys Soccer Home Closer
Times-Union Staff Report
WINONA LAKE -ÊLCA took the field Tuesday night against Culver Military Academy for the last home game of the season and tied CMA 1-1. It was a defensive battle until the last 10 minutes of the match. LCA sophomore John Franklin broke the scoreless tie in the 73rd minute when he was able to beat a CMA defender along their goaline and then beat the goal keeper as well. The LCA lead didn't last long as CMA senior Pablo Martinez scored the equalizer in the 77th minute. CMA dominated the match offensively, outshooting LCA 20-10. LCA goalkeeper Dan Clemens came up with 19 saves, while Dan Blocher also cleared a shot off the line, saving a goal.
"We were disappointed that we weren't able to sneak away with the win after taking the lead late in the game," said LCA coach David Underwood. "At halftime we talked about ways to help preserve a victory late in the game if we were to take the lead, but we didn't execute that strategy very well. Normally, I wouldn't be too pleased with a draw; however, this was a good result for us. CMA has a great team this year. They have beaten some teams that are ranked in the state and we knew they had a potent offensive attack. In fact, coming into tonight's match CMA has been held to only one goal or less only four times all season. Having a young team like we do, I am never sure how our guys will respond, but we played well tonight and did a good job frustrating CMA's key players. Hopefully, this will give us a good boost to finish strong the remainder of the season."
LCA will play at Argos Saturday at 7 p.m.
Scoring - John Franklin (LCA) 73rd minute unassisted; Pablo Martinez (CMA) 77th minute unassisted
Shots on Goal -ÊCMA 20, LCA 10; Saves -ÊCMA 9, LCA 19; Corner Kicks -ÊLCA 4, CMA 1
GIRLS SOCCER
WARSAW 3, CGA 1
Wednesday in Culver
Warsaw's varsity girls soccer team picked up its 12th win of the season Wednesday, defeating host Culver Girls Academy 3-1. The Tigers finish the regular season with a 12-2-2 record. Chelsea Boyd scored two girls for Warsaw, while Tracy Stump scored the third goal.
Warsaw goals - Chelsea Boyd 2, Tracy Stump 1
MANCHESTER 3, PERU 1
Wednesday in North Manchester
Manchester's varisty girls soccer team picked up its third win of the season Wednesday, hosting and topping Peru 3-1. Amy Vogel, Katy Vogel and Kendra Gidley all scored goals for the Squires, while Sarah Grant and Kaitlin Van had assists. Manchester is 3-5 on the season and plays Saturday at Franklin.
Manchester goals - Amy Vogel 1, Katy Vogel 1, Kendra Gidley 1
Manchester assists - Kaitlin Van 1, Sarah Grant 1
