Warsaw volleyball coach Rick Ashmore left it to his seniors to end the season strong Wednesday.
They responded valiantly, pulling off a 3-0 sweep of Concord in a Northern Lakes Conference home match.
The Lady Tigers won 25-9, 25-15, 25-12.
Ashmore put out a senior-dominated lineup with only a few younger players.
That included seniors Addie Dickeroff, who had 14 digs, and Courtney Chookey, who tallied nine digs.
Though the Lady Tigers didn’t know the exact lineup until they showed up Thursday, they still charged out to a 9-3 lead in Game 1.
They rode that momentum to take a 1-0 match lead. They made mistakes early in Game 2 to allow Concord to come within four points, but went on a 5-0 run for the 16-7 lead and never relented for the 2-0 match advantage.
Game 3 was more of the same. With Warsaw up 24-12, the crowd gave the emotional seniors a minute-long standing ovation.
It was a reward for the impact they’ve had on the program. Ashmore credited them with not only being strong on the court, but also with mentoring underclassmen and middle school players.
Warsaw was without Kylie Smith, who was injured and will be back Monday.
The Lady Tigers faced a depleted Concord roster that was plagued by injuries.
Considering her team’s predicament, Concord coach Kelly Chupp was proud of her players’ resilience.
“I felt like we didn’t really give up,” she said. “We hustled after balls, and that hasn’t happened a lot.”
Warsaw ended its regular season 26-7 overall and 6-1 in the NLC, while Concord finished 4-25 and 0-7 in league play.
Warsaw won the JV match 25-6, 25-16. Tessa Wood had nine kills and five digs for the Lady Tigers, while Abbie Porter registered 22 assists and six digs.
Warsaw’s Katie Schmidt recorded seven digs, while Kendra Love had five digs and Gwyn Bellamy notched five kills.
The Lady Tigers won 25-15, 25-16 in the freshman match.
