LIGONIER — The Whitko volleyball team had its season come to an unexpected end Tuesday at West Noble High School. Opening Class 3A Sectional 21 against the host West Noble Lady Chargers (7-27), the Whitko Lady Wildcats fell in four games (25-15, 22-25, 25-21, 25-19), ending their season at 9-25. Making the loss unexpected was the fact Whitko had just defeated West Noble in two games (25-21, 26-25) at the Oct. 12 Whitko Invitational. “We came in very confident,” Whitko coach Brandy Smith said. “(West Noble was) a very different team than what we saw (at the invitational), but we’re also a very different team than what we showed tonight. It’s very disappointing.” West Noble proved how different this matchup would be early, winning the opening game 25-15. “They were on their game,” Smith said of the Lady Chargers. “They had a much better block. We didn’t have any trouble with them at the tournament.” West Noble coach Danielle Powell also viewed her team’s ability to get hands on balls at the net as a difference between the two meetings this year. “We blocked a lot of balls to the floor and that’s a great part of your defensive right there,” Powell said. “Our middles did a great job of closing and that really paid off.” The change in West Noble seemed to throw Whitko off its game, getting a deer in the headlights look going early in the match. “They were letting their nerves get to them,” Smith said. “They weren’t confident hitting the ball and you could definitely see that. And it wasn’t just one person, it was the whole team hitting errors.” Trailing 13-8 in the second game, Whitko appeared to have shaken the nerves, winning seven-straight points to go in front 15-13 and ultimately win the game 25-22. However, West Noble rebounded, winning the next two games and advancing to Saturday’s 11 a.m. semifinal against Tippecanoe Valley. “This wasn’t the ending we wanted, but it was a good season for us,” Smith said. “We just need to move forward from here. “We’re losing a couple of strong players, but we have a good core coming back,” she continued. “I’m excited about things to come.” The strongest player leaving is senior Whitney Hobbs, who had 11 kills, four aces and three blocks in the loss, but junior Maddie Gawthrop had a strong showing, tallying 14 digs, eight kills and three blocks. Another junior, Elaine Warner, was Whitko’s other stat leader, posting 32 assists, 16 digs and three aces. For West Noble, senior Rachel Schermerhorn had 11 kills and 17 digs, while senior Kelsie Peterson finished with 27 digs, 17 assists and three kills. While seniors led the way against Whitko, they’re the only two on the West Noble roster, which started those two, along with two sophomores and two freshmen. That youth has led to a seven-win season, but during an upbeat pre-game warmup, the girls didn’t have the look of a team that had struggled as much as it has this year. “We knew this was going to a be year of learning, of growth and rebuilding this program,” Powell said. “They have taken it in stride. Losses are hard, but they do it with grace.” One of those losses was a sweep (25-21, 25-20, 25-12) on Aug. 22 at Tippecanoe Valley. “Having seen them in just our second match, you can expect that they’ve grown and improved – but so have we,” Powell said of Valley. “It will be an interesting matchup. The girls will have to just go out, play hard and really bring the very best game they can bring and work together like they did tonight.”
