LAPORTE – Nerves forced errors, which spelled the end of Warsaw’s volleyball season Saturday.
The Lady?Tigers lost 3-1 in a regional semifinal match to Michigan City at LaPorte High?School.
Warsaw lost 25-17, 27-25, 27-29, 25-11.
It was the Lady Tigers’ first regional appearance in 14 years.
“As a program, we haven’t been to this level in a long time, so it was a little bit of nerves,” said?Warsaw coach?Rick Ashmore.
The Lady Tigers’ started the match with a mistake-laden Game 1, as 12 of City’s first 14 points were attributed to Warsaw errors.
The Lady?Wolves remained focused and took advantage of Warsaw mistakes to take a 1-0 match lead.
“We were trying to stay calm and stay patient,” said City coach TR Harlan. “Kind of let that first wave go over, and then it just becomes a volleyball match.”
Warsaw fought fiercely in Game 2 to hold a 20-16 lead.
However, City went on a 5-1 run to tie the score at 21.
From there, the Lady?Tigers and Lady Wolves played cat and mouse until the score was deadlocked at 25.
Once again,?errors doomed Warsaw. A lift and a passing error gave City the 2-0 match lead.
The Lady Tigers showed no quit, though.
Facing elimination down 20-17 in Game 3, Warsaw went on a 5-0 run.
The squads traded the lead twice more before a Gwyn?Bellamy kill and City hitting error gave the Lady?Tigers the Game 3 win.
“We have learned how to grind out wins, and I thought we had a chance to come back, even down 2-0,”?Ashmore said.
Game 3 turned out to have exhausted?Warsaw, though.?The?Lady Tigers made several unforced errors to start Game 4, and the Lady Wolves once again stayed patient and cruised to the match victory.
“We’ve been preaching all year, ‘Just do what you’re supposed to do,” Harlan said. “Just do your job and everything else will take care of itself.”
Warsaw senior Kacy Bragg tallied 50 assists, 14 digs, six kills and four blocks in her final appearance as a Lady Tiger, while senior Katie Swanson recorded 11 kills and three blocks, and senior Erin Peugh registered 38 digs.
Reece Shirley led City with 17 kills, 17 assists and 13 digs, while Emily Kinney recorded 29 assists and six kills, Alexa Sparks notched 26 digs, and Hannah Noveroske had 13 kills.
Penn won the regional, beating Munster in a semifinal match before defeating City (30-8) in four games in the championship.
Warsaw ended its season at 29-8. Ashmore hopes this year will serve as valuable experience for his underclassmen.
“Hopefully we’ll learn from and it and (work on) what we need to work on,” he said. “But we tasted what it is to win a sectional and move on.”
MICHIGAN CITY DEF. WARSAW 25-17, 27-25, 27-29, 25-11
