Warsaw Volleyball: Impressive Start For Talented Tigers
WARSAW – The Warsaw volleyball team has a lot of the fine ingredients needed to cook up something special this season.
The Tigers started their winning recipe Tuesday night in impressive fashion in the season opener.
Warsaw, boasting a deep and talented roster, showed plenty of hustle in outlasting Leo 3-1 in the Tiger Den.
The hosts, led by the veteran trio of junior Kacy Bragg, senior Lexie Day and junior Erin Peugh, prevailed 25-21, 21-25, 27-25, 25-22 in a long back-and-forth tussle.
The Tigers, who lost just one senior from last year’s 20-14 team, are a deep and talented bunch for sure.
Despite missing a pair of starters due to injuries, coach Rick Ashmore’s team flashed its potential and depth versus a strong Leo squad led by standout sophomore hitter Brooke Smith.
Ashmore, now in his second season, saw plenty to like as his team showcased a versatile offense, a great defensive effort by libero Peugh and the stellar all-around skill set of Division I prospect Bragg, a savvy and smooth southpaw setter/opposite.
The Tigers also have a pretty good freshmen class as the duo of Betty Barnett and Kennedy Lauck each made their varsity debuts and had an impact right away. The pair, who were in the starting lineup, along with classmate Elizabeth Schmidt, give Warsaw quite the promising future.
“I thought that we showed a lot more grit tonight and were able to grind out a win, something we had trouble doing last season,” noted Ashmore when asked about the hustle plays made by his team.
“That’s a step forward and really good to see. The thing is that we got some hustle plays that were big, especially in that third set. The thing is that we just have to keep improving. If we do that, we can compete with anyone. We saw that this summer.”
Warsaw pulled away from a close opening set to take take a 1-0 lead. The hosts took advantage of several key Leo attack errors late and also got big kills from Day and senior Hanna Leach late in the first game.
The Tigers were their own worst enemy in the second set as service errors allowed Leo to even the match.
The pivotal third set was where the Tigers showed a ton of grit, led by Peugh. The junior, who is a floor burn waiting to happen, showed her might with several huge defensive saves late. The Tigers were able to scramble and score key points out of system in the game.
Leo led 21-18 in the key third set before Warsaw rallied back. Leach had a key kill and Day was outstanding with back-to-back kills, including a fine tip kill which gave her team a 23-22 lead. Leo then led 24-23 before another Day slam evened it. The Tigers went up 25-24 on a Leo error before the Lions made it 25-25 on a block. Barnett then delivered a blast and another Leo hitting error gave Warsaw the game.
The Tigers rolled to a 14-7 lead in the fourth set before Leo came back to pull within 21-17. Day was big again with a pair of blasts to spark her team down the stretch to earn the win.
“We’re missing two starters and to have our freshmen step up the way they did tonight speaks volumes,” said Ashmore. “They have all played at a very high level (as teammates on a Dunes Club team) and played against really good competition. Their advancement has allowed us to move some players to different positions.
“Lexi has really stepped up for us passing the ball. I thought that Kacy and Emaili (Grose) did a good job moving the ball around for us tonight. Kacy is just a great player. Her leadership is a big thing this season.
“I expect Erin to play like she did tonight. She is just so solid. The thing is that these kids want to learn.”
Junior Rachel Yeager is out for the season due to a shoulder injury from the Spring tennis season. She will have surgery later this week. Nikki Parrett, one of four seniors, is out due to a knee injury.
Day and Leach led the way offensively for the Tigers. Day and Peugh were the leaders on defense, while Barnett and Bragg led in service aces. Bragg and Grose shared the setting duties, while Barnett, Lauck, Leach, Bragg and Day led the blocking parade.
Warsaw won the junior varsity match 2-0 to give new coach Kelsey Bonewits the win in her debut. Bonewits, a 2012 Griffith High School grad and a former standout middle blocker and captain at Wayne State University, replaces Chandra Hepler. Hepler left the program two weeks ago to take an assistant coaching position at Taylor University.
Warsaw will host Huntington North Thursday night and then play in the Kokomo Invitational on Saturday.