Liz Hardy goes up for a block during Thursday’s contest against Plymouth. Hardy led the team in blocks for the the contest. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

SYRACUSE — It was an eye-opening experience for the Wawasee volleyball team Thursday night. The Warriors have been trying to find an identity through their first few games and that showed when they hosted Plymouth in the first conference match for both teams. The visiting Pilgrims were impressive on their way to a 3-0 sweep.

The two teams played an entertaining first game full of runs and big plays. The Pilgrims escaped 25-19 and never looked back. The next two games were both dominant showings by the visiting team as Plymouth won 25-8 in both sets.

“Honestly, the difference was how Plymouth swung with confidence,” said Wawasee coach Kayla Riportella. “They swung with authority and they ran their offense. That’s something that we did in the first set, we fought with them. I think we took them off guard a bit, but after that we just let them play their game. We’re working on it, but that’s the reality, we let them play their game.”

The Warriors went toe to toe with the Pilgrims in that first set, but Plymouth adjusted going into the second game and Wawasee was then forced to play catch-up against a superior team. While there were still positive plays from the home team, the breaks simply were not going in favor of Wawasee. Plymouth was able to get into a groove and build itself a big lead early in both of the final two sets. Those early leads were more than enough to push Wawasee on its heels and ultimately give the Pilgrims the win.

Taylor Mock

“It’s only uphill from here,” Riportella stated. “These girls know this conference, especially my seniors, they know what’s coming. They know we’ve got Warsaw, they know we’ve got Memorial. They know Concord has skill, that’s another great program.

“We have to learn that we’re competitors. I don’t think these girls realize, yet, just how competitive they can be when they fight for it. Every point. Every match. All night. We’re still taking mental naps. We’ll get through it.”

Madie Wilson led the Warriors with 17 digs. Seaquinn Bright had 11 digs. Olivia Clouse had three kills. Taylor Mock recorded five assists while Liz Hardy had a pair of blocks.

Wawasee (2-5, 0-1) will play at Goshen next Thursday.

In the evening’s first contest it was a rare loss for Wawasee’s JV team. Plymouth swept Wawasee 25-16, 25-13. Wawasee is now 8-3 on the year.

Wawasee’s C-team fell to 2-4 on the year after taking a loss to Plymouth. The ladies will play at Goshen next Thursday.

Ashley Beer