SYRACUSE — After celebrating senior night Tuesday, the Wawasee High School volleyball team had to battle hard for five-game win over Triton. Dropping the first two games (25-14, 25-17), things began to click for Wawasee when it took the next two (25-17, 25-12). After dominating the fourth game, Wawasee put itself in another hole in the fifth, trailing 10-5 before coming back to get the 15-12 victory, improving to 17-14 on the year. “When you’ve lost the first two games, then climb over that mountain to get back tied, the fifth game starts and you go, ‘We feel really good, but could we have done a little better?’” Wawasee head coach Jeff Phillips said about the slow start in the fifth. “You also get worried that a race to 15 is an error game more than a race to 25.” Following a kill by sophomore Seaquinn Bright, Wawasee pulled within 11-7 in the fifth. Taking serve, Bright kept Triton off-balance, as two-straight points came off bad serve-receives by the Lady Trojans, setting up easy kills for Wawasee senior Paige Hlutke. Behind Bright’s serve, Wawsaee took a 13-11 lead, and ultimately got the win. “We don’t really rely on aces a lot,” Phillips said, although his squad had 12 Tuesday night, six coming in the fourth game alone. “We probably had more aces tonight than we’ve had all season. That’s a nice addition, but we really like to serve the ball in play, and basically let our block and defense do the things they can do.” Senior Alli Ousley didn’t only lead Wawasee with 32 assists, but also had five aces, with juniors Tia Long and Grace Ondrla each recording two. Watching her team lose its two-game lead, then a five-point advantage in the first-to-15 fifth game, Triton coach Samantha Willsey felt the letdown was mental. “I think we may have gotten a little overconfident,” she said. “It was also their senior night, so they were able to pull it together. They really wanted to win, and I think they had that desire a little bit more than we did in that third set. Then, they took it from there.” Along with overcoming the usual pitfalls that come with receiving flowers and announcing college plans prior to a volleyball match, Phillips’ team was also trying to overcome the loss of junior attacker Addison Ayres, who’s lost for the remainder of the season with a knee injury. “Senior night was one part of it,” he said. “People come out a little emotional. You’ve got three-year starters and people realizing this is one of their last matches. Then, you couple that with Addison Ayres’ knee injury and having to revamp an entirely new lineup.” Wawasee did fine up front without Ayres, as sophomore Meghan Fretz had 15 kills, followed by Bright’s 13 and Hlutke’s 10. Defensively, sophomore Liz Hardy had three-and-a-half blocks and Fretz put up three, while senior Aly Anderson had 43 digs. For Triton, senior Becca Kennedy led the team with six kills, senior Krystal Sellers recorded 17 assists, sophomore Quinn Downing finished with three aces and 13 digs, while senior Lauren Hostrawser had four blocks and freshman Nicole Sechrist contributed three. As the regular season nears its end, Wawasee finishes up Northern Lakes Conference play at home against Northridge Thursday, getting a last attempt to break into the conference win column. Triton also faces another NLC opponent Thursday, traveling to Plymouth. Closing the regular season against two larger schools may be tough, but Willsey loves the schedule as her team gears up for the Class 1A postseason next week. “I’m excited that we finish with a tough schedule,” she said. “Knowing we can compete with these tougher teams, I feel confident going into sectionals.”
