Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Having won five straight sectional championships, the Warsaw volleyball team headed to Culver Community High School on Saturday afternoon looking to capture their first regional title during this stretch. Going up against a good Crown Point side, the Lady Tigers showed flashes at moments, but were never able to sustain enough to avoid a 3-0 sweep that ended their season.
Neither side was able to string many points together in the early stages of the match, and service errors were a big part of that. Over the course of the first 10 points of the match, four of them were committed, three by Warsaw and one by Crown Point. The service miscues were just about the only mistakes either side was making in the early going, as both offenses looked crisp to begin the contest.
This led to some incredibly even play in the first set. The first two-point lead of the match came in the form of a 9-7 advantage for the Lady Bulldogs, but that was quickly erased by the orange and black. The pair of sectional winners appeared incredibly evenly matched from the jump, with a ton of points being won after long rallies that showcased the skillsets of both sides. Crown Point forced the first timeout of the match by taking a 13-10 lead, forcing Warsaw to talk things over.
Following the break, the Lady Bulldogs remained in control of the match, able to come up with points in crucial moments to halt Lady Tiger runs and keep momentum from swinging the other way. Late in the set, they extended their lead to four at 20-16, putting the first pressure point of the match squarely on the back of their opponents.
Another service error at an inopportune time resulted in a side-out for Crown Point, and from that point on, they took control of the set. The Lady Bulldog defense was able to come up with dig after dig to turn away the orange and black attack, setting up their hitters for some thunderous kills of their own. After leading for a majority, Crown Point took the opening set 25-19.
Upon winning the opener, the home team on the scoreboard wasted no time putting the pressure on their opponent once more. Scoring five of the first six points of the second set, the Lady Bulldogs forced a very early timeout by their opponent, who was left scrambling looking for a way to get back into this game.
On the backs of their defense and better service, the visitors were able to form a response after the break, tying things up at five all with four straight points of their own. The game of runs was only beginning, as Crown Point would go on to score three straight themselves, just for their opponent to match it once more. However, another 4-0 run by the red and white went unanswered, leading to the Lady Tigers burning their final timeout of the set after just 20 total points.
It looked as if perhaps the experience differential between the two teams was on full display here. Crown Point, loaded to the gills with upperclassmen, was playing incredibly sharply. Thier players always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, and their attackers at the net were doing a really good job at placing their kills in precise areas of the courts that could not be reached by the defense. On the other side, Warsaw looked downright out of sync at times. A lack of communication led to players being bunched up, resulting in those open spots for the Lady Bulldogs to aim at.
Sophomore Harper Setser of Warsaw stays focused during Saturday's regional match against Crown Point...Nieter
The longer this second set went on, the more it favored Crown Point. The home side continued to grow closer and closer to the 25-point threshold while in complete control of the match. The final result was a 25-15 win for the red and white for a 2-0 lead that put the Lady Tigers just one set away from another regional defeat.
With their backs against the wall, the Lady Tigers were able to get the start to the third set that they were looking for by jumping out to an early advantage. The visitors let things get away from them once again, allowing the Lady Bulldogs to briefly jump in front, but this time, Warsaw righted the ship in a hurry and began stringing points together themselves. Harper Setser was really starting to get into a rhythm attacking the ball, and her third kill of the set forced the first Crown Point timeout of the match with her team leading 12-8.
As the set wore on, that advantage shrunk a bit but the orange and black were able to remain in front. After a second set that felt like Warsaw had everything go against it, it was now the visitors that were coming up with the momentum-shifting plays that allowed them to keep the lead. It wasn’t until an incredibly long rally late in the set that was won by Crown Point that the Lady Bulldogs finally jumped in front with a 17-16 edge.
The lead change resulted in a timeout call by the Lady Tigers, but it didn’t do anything to stop the bleeding. Their opponents kept the gas pedal on the floor after the break, scoring three straight points to take a 20-16 lead and really put the visitors on the brink.
The run continued from there as well, as Crown Point scored four straight after another timeout to reach match point on a 9-0 run. Needing to score at least eight straight points to save their season, the Lady Tigers were able to manage three before the Lady Bulldogs finished things off with a 25-19 victory.
