Peyton Adamiec passes the ball for Warsaw Saturday versus Elkhart Memorial in the Mishawaka Invitational.

MISHAWAKA – Score the first bout of the annual Warsaw versus Elkhart Memorial heavyweight volleyball prizefight as a TKO for the Crimson Chargers.

Perennial power Memorial simply overpowered the Tigers Saturday as the two clashed in the final pool play match of the outstanding Mishawaka Invitational.

Coach Jacquie Rost’s team relied on its usual blue-collar display of grit to down Warsaw 25-12,  25-19.

The Chargers wrapped up pool play in the eight-team event at 3-0, while the Tigers finished at 0-3. Memorial went on to lose 2-0 to Cathedral in the championship match, while Warsaw downed Lafayette Harrison 2-0 to take seventh place.

Warsaw entered play Saturday sporting a perfect 7-0 mark two weeks into the season. The Tigers dropped a pair of tough 2-1 matches to Class 4-A No. 8 Carmel (25-22, 24-26, 19-17) and Class 3-A No. 11 Mishawaka Marian (25-21, 22-25, 18-16) in their loaded pool before running into a buzzsaw in Memorial.

The Chargers, who have seven seniors, came out smoking versus Warsaw, Memorial, which had just beaten No. 8 Carmel 2-0 prior to playing the Tigers, rolled to a 14-1 lead in the first set. Setter Krystal Grubb ripped off a dozen straight points from the service line to set the tone in the opener.

“Overpowering,” said Warsaw coach Mike Howard about the display by Memorial. “Their commitment to winning was overpowering. If you can’t match that, then this is what happens. They are just gritty, tough kids who are supremely confident.

“Their defense is as good as any team I’ve seen in a long time. They don’t concede a single touch. Jacquie has a big team this year in terms of their size and I think it’s the best team she’s had in the last 4-5 years.”

Blake McGarvey serves receive for the Tigers.

Memorial, which is ranked No 10 in Class 4-A, lost to eventual state champion Carmel in the semistate final last season. The Chargers have become a force statewide.under Rost with four trips to the State Finals, including Class 4-A runner-up finishes in 2007 and 2009.

“I’ve been very blessed in my 21 years to have kids who buy into what we are doing and great coaches on our staff,” said Rost. “It’s a blue-collar type mentality that we want to outwork you that has given us our success. Our defense is gritty.”

“Warsaw just couldn’t pass in system today. Our serving looked good and I was really happy with our serve receive. We’re excited to get to play in the big gym (in the title match). This is the first time in the 4-5 years we have been coming here that we won our pool and play in the finals.”

The pair of Northern Lakes Conference rivals will not have to wait long for an even bigger showdown. The two open league play at Warsaw Tuesday night. The Tigers beat Memorial 3-2 last year en route to the NLC title. Warsaw also beat Memorial 3-2 during the 2012 regular season to snap the Chargers’ 76-match NLC win streak which dated back to their first year in the league in 2001.

“It comes down to our girls believing in themselves and each other,” Howard said of the rematch. “You have to play with more passion than Memorial. It’s going to take a monumental effort, but it is something that we are capable of doing. We have great players. The dynamic is different this year. We have a lot of players back from last year, but a lot of them are in different roles for us.”

Caroline Mayer serves it up for Warsaw.

Rost says the NLC opener is a key match.

“The NLC is important to us and it matters,” Rost remarked. “Our ultimate goal is State, but one of our goals is to win the NLC.”

Memorial lost to a juggernaut in the final Saturday. Tall and talented Cathedral, sporting the No. 1 ranking in the nation according to prepvolleyball.com, prevailed 25-11, 25-17. The Fighting Irish, who have won six state titles under longtime coach Jean Kesterson, have nine players committed to play Division I college volleyball. That list includes libero Kendall White, the tourney MVP Saturday and one of six seniors. White is headed to college power Penn State.

Cathedral came into the tourney Saturday already owning early-season wins over Indiana powers Center Grove and Brownsburg and a 3-2 win over Louisville Assumption, which is ranked No. 1 in Kentucky and No. 11 nationally.

Kesterson, whose team lost to Carmel in the 4-A state title match in 2014, is in her 26th year at Cathedral and 40th year of coaching overall. She returned to the bench this season after having open-heart surgery in February.

Jordyn Lindeman and Caroline Mayer, two of the six seniors for the Tigers, each had 20 kills Saturday. Senior Haley Peterson added 17 for the Tigers. Senior Peyton Adamiec led the team with 54 digs and five aces. Junior Cassie Hoag had 85 assists and 26 digs, while Lindeman had six blocks.

Elkhart Memorial libero Lindsey Stahl prepares to make a play Saturday.