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Fresh off the heels of winning their fourth straight Northern Lakes Conference championship, the Warsaw volleyball team shifted its focus to winning its fourth straight sectional title. With the added benefit of playing at home, the Lady Tigers passed their first test with flying colors on Thursday night, defeating Northridge 3-0 in their quarterfinal game.
“These girls have risen to the occasion. Every challenge we’ve put in front of them they’ve tackled with grit, tenacity and love for each other,” Warsaw head coach Chandra Hepler said. “I’m just excited to watch them and see where they can go.”
With the home crowd getting into it early, Warsaw got off to a hot start by scoring the first three points of the match. The visitors responded to this early punch from their opponents with one of their own, as they rattled off four of the next six to make it a one-point game. While most points were short, an occasional rally would dazzle the crowd as both sides were able to showcase just how hard they were working.
The Lady Tigers remained in front as the two teams began to settle in, but Northridge did well to keep their foes from going on an extended run to put things out of reach. The Lady Raiders were able to briefly earn a tie at 9-9, but a serve out of bounds put the hosts right back in front.
Reagan Edwards proved to be the go-to option for the Warsaw offense during this stretch. Playing way above the net, the sophomore picked up a pair of back-to-back kills that extended the lead to three.
“To see her as a sophomore responding to the pressure and rising above it, I was ecstatic to see her taking charge in that first set,” Hepler said.
At this point, momentum really started to shift in favor of the host school. A couple of points later, Ellie Hepler made a diving, one-handed dig that eventually led to another thunderous kill for Edwards. With the Tiger Den roaring, Northridge was forced to call time.
The break didn’t do much to stop the bleeding, as the Lady Tigers were now fully rolling. An ace by Madison Branam extended the lead to seven at 18-12, the largest of the first set thus far. It didn’t take long to eclipse that, as towards the end of the first set, it had reached double digits. Northridge battled back a tad, but a block by Cassandra Jackson put the finishing touches on a 25-16 win in the opener.
That momentum carried into the second set, as Warsaw scored five of their first six points. This allowed them to stay in front by a considerable margin for a good chunk of the set. As was the case in the previous game, the Lady Raiders battled valiantly in the front half, keeping things from getting out of hand.
Around the same point the hosts started separating in the prior set, they began to do so once again. Warsaw extending its lead to six for the first time was enough for Northridge to call for timeout. It didn’t do much, as soon a backhanded kill by Maddie Williamson made it an eight-point game.
With coach/mom looking on, senior Ellie Hepler keeps the volley going during Thursday night's sectional match against Northridge...Nieter
Williamson and Jackson combined for a block a few points later that made it a 20-10 contest. A second timeout didn’t do anything to halt Warsaw’s momentum either, and it wasn’t long until the team was wrapping up the second set with a 25-13 win on a CeCe Goode kill. Two sets down, and it was all Lady Tigers.
With the season on the line, the Lady Raiders showed some fight to begin the third set, getting out to an early 5-2 lead. The hosts were able to stick around after this initial avalanche, but continued to trail.
After 20 points had been played, Northridge was still in front at 12-8. A big reason for the visitors’ new found success was the ability of their front line to start blocking shots. The largest the lead got to was five before Warsaw was able to begin chipping away again. After a competitive stretch, an ace by Lexy Whittenberger made it a one-point game. Moments later, a kill by Goode tied things up, forcing a timeout.
“We knew they were going to come out swinging with their backs against the wall. They’re playing with all heart at that point,” Hepler said. I think it was good for our girls to have to fight through a set to remind them that it’s not going to be easy moving forward.”
After the break, a kill by Williamson gave the Lady Tigers their first lead of the set at 17-16. Things were still close when the Lady Raiders burned their final timeout of the set trailing 21-19. From that point on, it was all Warsaw. The hosts wrapped things up by scoring four of the final five points to finish off the sweep with a 25-20 win on a kill by Harper Setser
Warsaw (27-4) will take on Concord in the sectional semifinals at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
