Tippecanoe Valley junior Sophie Bussard reacts to a kill while Shayleigh Shriver, left, and Olivia Trippiedi also celebrate the point during a match with Wawasee Wednesday in Akron. Also pictured is Wawasee’s Cassie Ponce. (Photos by James Costello)

AKRON —With only one player listed at 6 feet and everyone else on her roster measuring 5’8” or less, Tippecanoe Valley volleyball coach Mallorie Eaton knows her team is likely to be undersized most nights the Lady Vikings step on the floor. Fortunately for Valley, the Vikings appear more than able to make up for those shortcomings with some on-court savvy and an accurate service game.

Host Tippy Valley battled back from a nip-tuck loss in the opening game, effectively burying Wawasee with long runs in the second and third games, then held off the visiting Warriors for a 23-25, 25-15, 25-11, 25-23 victory in the two teams’ opener in Akron Tuesday night.

All told, the Vikings recorded an 86.8 percent service percentage en route to the win.

“We don’t have a lot of size, and we never really have,” explained Eaton. “I grew up on serve and pass so we constantly work on the serve and pass game. I think at all levels that’s what wins. Where we don’t have the height advantage we can earn it back with ball control and with serving a nice, heavy ball to get them out of system.”

Senior libero Olivia Trippiedi tallied four aces without a single error for the night, while junior outside hitter Shayleigh Shriver served up six for the hosts, whose consistency serving the ball led to long runs in the second and third games. The Vikings commanded double-digit cushions early in both sets, and Wawasee never really regrouped until the fourth.

Shayleigh Shriver serves the ball in the third game Wednesday.

“Shay, last year, she was number three in all of 3A with her aces and her points,” said Eaton of Shriver. “We’re pretty blessed that we have good servers, but I push aggressive serving. I’m OK to give some errors; the only way you’re going to get points is to really earn them. So we had a few balls even go longer than the court, but I’m OK with that because I think the first attack is the serve.”

As good as Valley’s service game was, Wawasee coach Kayla Riportella thought much of those long runs had to do with her team’s serve receive. The hosts finished with a total of 19 aces, but the Warriors’ stats credited the guests with 19 serve receive errors, including seven in the lopsided third game alone.

“They came out strong, and I just think it’s a similar pattern to what I had last year: They doubt their ability. They’re capable, but they second-guess,” said Riportella. “I lost six big seniors last year, so we’re filling the gaps, and I do have a young team. So we’re making some rookie errors right now.”

Wawasee started strong, seizing control of the first game with a 7-1 run midway through after a back-and-forth start that saw the two teams knotted at 7-7. The Warriors closed the set on a 3-0 run for a narrow win but couldn’t roll that momentum into the second game, where they quickly fell behind, 9-2. It was a particularly emotional match for senior right side hitter Cassie Ponce, whose junior season ended with an on-court injury opposite Tippy Valley last season.

“Cassie Ponce, this was a really tough match for her considering our last match against Tippy last year, third set she came down and broke her ankle. So this was her first match back in season because that put her out the rest of her junior year,” Riportella explained. “First game back she did a good job. She was a huge vocal presence on my court today, and I think that helped keep our momentum up when we had it.”

Wawasee’s Tiffany Koble passes the ball.

Junior outside hitter Peyton Rookstool put in a solid all-around match with 14 digs and team-highs of seven kills and three aces, sophomore setter/ right side hitter Elizabeth Kleopfer tallied 12 assists, five kills and two aces, and senior libero Tiffany Koble notched a match-high 21 digs. But it was junior setter/ defensive specialist Brooke Heche’s decision-making that stood out most to Riportella.

“I think Brooke Heche overall ran a very strong offense for me this match — just her placement of the ball, her decisions on a lot of sets. Offensively I was very proud of her and her performance today,” said the Wawasee coach.

Pacing the Tippy attack was junior middle hitter Sophie Bussard with 10 kills, and she tallied a balanced nine digs to match. Shriver finished with nine kills, 13 digs and a solo block in addition to her standout service performance, while junior setter Emily Peterson passed out 23 assists, and sophomore middle hitter Makenzie Woodcox finished with six kills.

The Warriors next look to bounce back in their home-opener with Fairfield Thursday night, when Tippy Valley hosts West Noble in another match-up between Sectional 21 rivals.

“We could’ve won sectional a couple years ago, and West Noble thumped us in sectional last year so it’s a big time grudge match. We want to put a banner in this gym,” said Eaton.

“I think that’s going to give me a great benchmark of where are we right now and where we need to be.”

Tippy Valley’s Amy Baca attacks while Wawasee’s Peyton Rookstool, left, and Hannah-Marie Lamle get set to defend.