Hannah-Marie Lamle (14) celebrates a point with her teammates during Thursday’s 3-0 loss to Goshen. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

SYRACUSE – It was the beginning of a new era for Wawasee volleyball…again.

The Lady Warriors played their first game under interim head coach Ryan Edgar Thursday night following the resignation of first-year head coach Chris Cole. There was plenty of enthusiasm from the home team but a more experienced and fundamentally sound Redskin squad left victorious with a 3-0 sweep.

Wawasee came out firing in game one and had plenty of opportunities to start the night with a win. But, the young squad managed to shoot itself in the foot just enough times before falling 26-24.

The energy slowed on Wawasee’s side and Goshen took advantage to grab a 25-15 decision in the second game. The Redskins raced out to an 8-0 lead in game two, fueled by Calsey Gruzdov. The senior played a key role in a win over Wawasee in Syracuse during her sophomore season, she continued her knack for nagging the Warriors tonight. Gruzdov led all players with 14 kills and two blocks and, unofficially, led everyone in the gym with her energy level.

Liz Hardy calls for the ball.

Wawasee’s energy level bounced back in the third game but the redskins would hold off a late push from the home squad to win 25-19.

Edgar took over for Wawasee on Tuesday and had two practices to get ready for the rest of the season, but his focus was not so much on building a game plan as much as it was on building up some relationships.

“Seaquinn Bright made this all very easy,” began Edgar. “She stepped up and thanked us coaches for stepping in and helping out with the situation.

“My biggest thing was, for these first two days, that we had to get to know these girls and they had to get to know us. We had to gain their trust. Luckily we knew a lot of them from their middle school years. But we had to make sure that they knew that we’re here for them and, from this point on, we’re going to focus on making them better.”

Laci Loy returns a ball for the WHS C-team.

As for Thursday’s effort, Edgar was impressed given all of the distractions.

“We just wanted to remain positive tonight, that was the goal,” Edgar remarked. “If we did something right, we celebrated it. We wanted to wash off any mistakes and just stay together as a team. The girls busted their butts tonight and that’s what we really wanted to see.”

Becca Anderson led Wawasee with eight kills and two aces. Bright added nine digs. Hannah-Marie Lamle tallied five kills for Wawasee in addition to being a vocal presence on the court.

Wawasee (1-11, 0-2) will host Westview Monday evening.

Olivia Clouse led Wawasee’s JV with six kills in a 2-1 win. The JV team is now 9-2 on the season and 1-1 in NLC play. JV coach Stephanie Denlinger praised the girls ability to bounce back from a game one defeat to win the next two.

Wawasee’s C-team hosted both Northridge and Goshen in the annex gym. The Warriors downed Goshen 2-0 but fell 2-1 to the Raiders. The C-team is now 4-5.