Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
AKRON - A pair of schools separated by a small stretch of blacktop, Tippecanoe Valley took the long road to a varsity volleyball win over backyard rival Rochester Monday evening.
On the downside of the first two games in the best-of-five series, the host Vikings fought back and won the final three for a 21-23, 20-22, 21-13, 21-13, 15-13 victory over the eighth-ranked Zebras.
"I love this team because they never say die," second-year Viking coach Jon Hutton said. "These girls always, always fight back. People would think Valley was an automatic win a couple years ago, but now we've got pride in Valley volleyball."
Its program no longer a slouch, Valley improved to 18-4 overall and 4-1 in the Three Rivers Conference. The state-ranked Zebras fell to 20-7 and 2-4.
Their backs to the wall, trailing 2-0 in the match score, the Vikings took a 5-2 lead in the third game and never trailed again, picking up Valley's first win when junior Heather Ramsey served up the final two points.
With Ramsey at the service line in the fourth game, the Vikings went from leading 3-1 to an 8-2 advantage when Ramsey served up five straight points, including two aces. The Zebras got within five points twice the rest of the game, 16-11 and 17-12, but Ramsey served up three more points in her next attempt to make it 20-13 and sophomore Amanda Wiley got Valley the winning point when she tallied a kill on Zebra Ashley Lowe's serve.
The match tied at two games apiece, the teams battled back and forth in the fifth and final game, with Rochester calling a time out when the Vikings led 9-7.
After Wiley served up three points for Valley, Rochester lost service rights when senior Chelsea Stavedahl blocked junior Jamie Fornal's serve, dropping the ball at the Zebra's feet.
Rochester came back to trail just 14-13, but a Viking defensive point with junior Allie Gottschalk serving gave Valley the win, sending its fans into a frenzy and Hutton to pump his arms in the air.
"Rochester is a tough squad, they're never gonna lay down and die," Hutton said. "We got ahead of ourselves early in the match and Rochester played super smart ball, finding the holes and shooting the gaps."
A match filled its share of excitement, both teams' players all over the court saving ball after ball, junior Beth Leckrone led Valley with 20 digs, while Sherise Denny had 13 and Chris Swanson 10. Denny led the Vikings in assists with 30.
Wiley led the team in kills with 10, while Stavedahl had nine and Leckrone seven.
The Vikings are in action again Wednesday at Three Rivers Conference rival Whitko.
TIPPECANOE VALLEY DEF. NO. 8 ROCHESTER
21-23, 20-22, 21-13, 21-13, 15-13
(Valley leaders)
Kills - Amanda Wiley 10, Chelsea Stavedahl 9, Beth Leckrone 7
Digs - Leckrone 20, Sherise Denny 13, Chris Swanson 10
Blocks - Stavedahl 4
Assists - Denny 30
Aces - Heather Ramsey 4
JV - TIPPECANOE VALLEY DEF. ROCHESTER 21-7, 21-12
Kills - Ashley Potter 8
Digs - Holli Jackson 7
Aces - Jackson 5
Blocks - Jackson 1
Assists - Lindsay Wiley 7
Valley JV record: 21-1
