Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Tippecanoe Valley volleyball coach Jon Parker calls Monday's match with Southwood "the biggest match of the year for us."
Wednesday's 15-10, 15-11 win over Whitko saw to that.
The win over Whitko assured Valley of two things: One, the Vikings will finish the season with their best Three Rivers Conference record in school history. Two, it gives them a crack at the TRC title.
Valley, 21-8 overall and 5-1 in the TRC, hosts No. 4 Southwood (26-3), the undefeated first-place team in the conference.
In a way, it's a no-lose proposition for Valley.
If the Vikings win, they share the conference championship with Southwood and Rochester, who is 6-1 in the TRC. If they lose, they still finish 5-2 in the TRC, a school record. The previous best was 4-3. Besides, they entered the Southwood match as the underdog.
Wednesday's match with Whitko (8-16, 2-5 TRC) served as final tune-up for Valley, which has no matches over the weekend.
Valley's Jamie Doud delivered 22 assists and one ace against Whitko. Lynette Wilcox intimidated up front with nine kills and six blocks. Kyleigh Gast added six kills, while Jennifer Studebaker finished with five kills and three blocks. Inga Vandermark chipped in with four kills and two aces.
"We changed a few things around halfway through the season," Parker said. "The key for us last night was we were trying to run our offense, trying to run quicks in the middle to free up outside people.
"Last night our blocks at the net was a big key - Lynette and Jennifer were outstanding."
Parker has urged his team to be more aggressive. He realizes errors will be made by encouraging this, but he does not mind these errors because these are errors made when his team was attacking.
He looked back at Monday's 15-11, 15-10 loss to Rochester, currently the second-best team in the TRC.
Against Rochester, we were trying to hit down the line," Parker said. "We made some errors, but we weren't sitting back and letting them beat us. We took it to them.
"You have to do that when you play teams like Rochester or Southwood. If you give them a lot of free balls, you will get a lot of shots coming back at you."
Since Parker began leading the program in 1996, records have routinely fallen at Valley. Last year the Vikings set a school record with 22 wins, eclipsing the previous record of 16, set under Parker the year before.
The Vikings have set one other team record this season in addition to TRC wins. They began the season 7-0, the best start to a season ever by a Valley volleyball team.
Should they beat Southwood then beat Bremen, they will finish 23-8 and set the school record for wins for the third straight year.
"Our girls are playing with confidence," Parker said. "We're right where we want to be. This is the first time we've had a shot at the conference at the end of the season. That's all we can ask for."
TIPPECANOE VALLEY DEF. WHITKO 15-10, 15-11
Wednesday in Akron
TV stats leaders (no Whitko stats were available)
Assists - Jamie Doud 22
Service points -ÊDoud 9, Lynette Wilcox 7, Inga Vandermark 6
Aces - Vandermark 2, Doud 1
Kills -ÊWilcox 9, Kyleigh Gast 6, Jennifer Studebaker 5, Vandermark 4
Blocks -ÊWilcox 6, Studebaker 3
Records -ÊValley 21-8 overall, 5-1 TRC; Whitko 8-16, 2-5 TRC
JV - TIPPECANOE VALLEY DEF. WHITKO 15-7, 115-13
TV leaders -ÊKris Sanders 9 for 9 serving, 3 aces; Tera Wong 5 digs; Alyssa Anglin 9 for 9 serve reception
TV JV record - 13-14
9TH - TIPPECANOE VALLEY DEF. WHITKO 15-9, 7-15, 15-8
TV leaders - Kathy Prater 14 for 14 serving, 3 aces; Sherise Denny 11 for 13 serving, 4 aces; Kelly Sanders 11 for 12 serving
