OSSIAN — In first-round action of Class 3A Sectional 23 at Norwell High School Thursday, the Whitko volleyball team hung around, but couldn’t get the win over Heritage. After losing the opening game 25-15, the Whitko Lady Wildcats (7-21) came back to take the second 25-13, but were nipped 27-25 in the third before being overwhelmed in the fourth, 25-13. Heritage (12-16) moves on to Saturday’s 10 a.m. semifinals against Mississinewa, which defeated Eastbrook in four games earlier Thursday night. Going in, Whitko coach Brandy Smith was optimistic her team could get the win, even though it fell to the Lady Patriots on Oct. 6 at the Whitko Invitational. “They beat us there, but they didn’t seem like the Heritage team they’ve been before,” Smith said. “We had a little hope, but we had to play our best game. We did that at times.” They played their best in the second game and also in the third, overcoming an 11-5 hole to reel off 10-straight points and take a 15-11 lead. But just as the Lady Wildcats got the lead in the third, Heritage responded with a 4-0 spurt, and the two traded punches the rest of the game until the Lady Patriots came out on top. Despite the loss, Smith was pleased with how her team performed, not only in the match, but during the entire season. “We definitely ended the season a lot better than we did last year,” she said, referring to last year’s 5-23 record. “We had a better record, we finished fourth in the conference, so we’re moving up. Nothing is going to happen overnight.” According to Smith, the biggest change in this year’s team has been communication. “We’ve never been a team that’s been loud, that’s been aggressive on the court,” she said. “When you saw that from us tonight, that’s when we played well. That’s been an up-and-down thing, because it hasn’t been consistent in the program. That’s what we’re working on.” A constant for Whitko has been senior Meghan Peters, who played her final match Thursday after three-straight seasons as the team’s starting setter. “She didn’t miss a single point this season,” Smith said of Peters. “We definitely lose the experience at that position. We’re going to have something new to work with next year.” In all, Whitko graduates three players, but returns its attackers in juniors Whitney Hobbs and Taylor Zwick, as well as sophomore Maddie Gawthrop. In the loss, Gawthrop led the team with 11 kills, followed by Hobbs’ nine and Zwick’s eight. Peters posted a team-high four aces and 30 assists.
