Hosting Columbia City Tuesday, the Warsaw volleyball team seemed able to turn it on and off whenever it wanted in a four-game victory. After committing seven service errors in a 25-17 opening-game loss, the Lady Tigers then dominated the Lady Eagles 25-8 in the second. In the third game, Columbia City held a 13-12 lead, but Warsaw then unleashed a 10-0 run behind the serving of junior Jordyn Lindeman to win it 25-14, before claiming the match with a 25-17 victory in the fourth game. The opening-game service errors could be attributed to the week layoff between Tuesday’s match and their sweep at East Noble. However, Warsaw head coach Mike Howard also thought the excitement of having a bigger crowd at the Tiger Den contributed to the girls being overly amped. “We’ve been wanting to get our crowd a little bit bigger, a little more animated and we got that tonight,” he said. “I think they were just putting a little bit too much into everything. We were a little loud – as we say – with everything. We were hitting the ball a little too crazy. We were serving a little too loud, serving into the net. We love the fact that we have a crowd here, we want to keep that and continue that because it was tremendous. Once we were able to settle down and relax, eliminating our errors, we were alright.” Senior Katie Voelz was definitely loud from the get-go, and in a positive way. Racking up 25 kills, Voelz had 11 of them in Warsaw’s opening 19 points of the match. “She’s still recovering from an ankle she rolled a couple weeks ago,” Howard said of Voelz. “So, she gets a little stronger each match and gets a little more dynamic at the net. She’s just steady for us. She stepped into a roll of the primary hitter this year and has been really solid. Teams know it’s coming to her and still have a tough time stopping her.” Along with Voelz’s effort, Lindeman also had seven aces and six kills in the victory, while sophomore Cassie Hoag had 37 assists, 17 digs and three aces. The win improves Warsaw to 12-3 on the season, and the Lady Tigers will try to run their Northern Lakes Conference record to 4-0 with a win at Plymouth Thursday. “We just want to stay focused,” Howard said about the possibility of getting the team’s second NLC title in three years. “We have a tough match against Plymouth and we just want to keep it rolling so we’re in a good position to win conference. It’s sort of where you want it. It’s in your hands and someone has to come get it from you.”
