Wawasee Remains Calm Against Westview

SYRACUSE - Don't worry coach, we have everything under control.

This was probably what the members of the Wawasee volleyball team were saying to Warrior coach Jason Fleming Monday against Westview.

Twice, Wawasee had big leads against Westview and twice the margins shrank quickly.

But more importantly, twice Wawasee stayed calm and was able to pull out wins in a 15-13, 15-10 decision against Westview.

"We have been working on closing (stopping) big runs," Fleming said. "They ran on us a little bit, but they (Wawasee) never really got afraid that they were in jeopardy of losing. Which in itself, is a battle. They felt like they were in control. They probably felt like they were in control more than I did."

Wawasee led 12-3 in game one when Fleming decided to put in some of his younger players in. Westview responded by going on a 6-0 run and cutting the margin to 12-9. But Wawasee held its composure and stayed cool for the 15-13 win.

"When we got up on them in the first game, I thought it would be a good opportunity to get some of my younger kids playing time in a varsity match," Fleming said. "And they ran on us, but that is to be expected with a little less experience on the court."

In game two, the lead was 9-5 before Westview closed slightly at 10-7.

It was a big win for Wawasee, especially after a emotionally-tough loss to Triton in the championship game of the Triton Tournament Saturday.

"We were emotionally drained for tonight after Triton on Saturday," Fleming said. "I thought they did a good job of coming in and getting themselves composed after two days."

As usual, the offense was paced by their two middle blockers, Kara Mathew and Lydia Carpenter. The hard-hitting duo were pretty much unstoppable when they had the opportunities. Their importance was evident by the fact that when Westview made its big runs, Carpenter and Mathew were not in the lineup.

Mathew led Wawasee with 10 kills, while Carpenter added five kills and three blocks.

"I would not want to think that our entire offense is run off of them (Carpenter and Mathew)," Fleming said. "Maybe at the beginning of the season we had a little more of that, but now we are becoming a more balanced offense. They are terminal hitters. The ball goes up, and they will either get a kill or an error. That is the way they approach the ball.

"We are getting a lot of positive offense from our outside hitters, (Darcy) Replogle and (Andrea) VanCleave," he said. "Both are putting some kills together. That helps our balance."

After a somewhat slow start to the season, Fleming said his Wawasee squad is coming together at the right time.

"If we can control first-ball pass and run a solid offense, I feel we can play with about anybody," Fleming said. "Pressure is the main thing we are working on, the kids need to be able to perform under pressure."

Wawasee (10-8) is at Concord Thursday.

Westview won the junior varsity match, 15-2, 5-15, 15-11. Andrea Gingerich had six kills and Erica Auker two blocks for Wawasee (4-6).