The Elkhart Memorial Crimson Chargers and Warsaw Tigers were winners Thursday night in first-round matches of a Class 4A girls volleyball sectional at Goshen High School.
Senior Brittany Anglemyer recorded 18 kills as Memorial defeated Northridge 25-12, 25-9, 25-16. Warsaw topped the Goshen Lady Redskins 25-17, 25-8, 25-14 in the opener.
The sectional continues on Saturday with Warsaw facing Memorial at 11 a.m., followed by Elkhart Central and Concord around 12:30 p.m. in semifinals.
Winners return for the championship match at 7.
Goshen got off to a good start, taking an 8-3 lead on an ace by junior Kaitlyn Troyer.
“The first game we played until a point and then the momentum stopped and never returned,” Goshen coach Kera Maure said.
“We were not hitting. Warsaw didn’t serve many aces in the opening game, but then they started to.
“We are a short team but you still have to get kills. The few times we tipped the ball to the middle we scored.”
Senior Olivia Zepeda had three kills and junior Lizz Kleinsmith two to lead the Redskins. Kleinsmith had 10 assists, senior Jordyn Myers 18 digs, junior Kaitlyn Troyer three aces and 21 digs.
“One thing we did was play defense,” Maure said. “We worked our tails off by going after every ball and trying to keep them from hitting the floor. Troyer played an awesome game. She kept a lot of balls alive.”
Goshen finishes 13-20.
“We were nervous at the start,” Maure said. “If we don’t have anyone believing we can win, how are we going to win? It’s a mental thing we have to get over. We have to starting winning to begin believing we can.
“I’m a competitor and never go into any match thinking we are not going to win.”
Anglemyer was a dominant force for Memorial at the net.
“She elevates above the blockers,” Memorial coach Jacquie Rost said. “If you don’t get a double block on her, you are going to be sorry. She has a fast arm swing. The physical talents like jumping and hitting have always been there, but she has improved this season by becoming a smarter player.”
Northridge coach Jodie Steele said, “Anglemyer was on her game. We tried our best to slow her down, but couldn’t.”
Despite the victory Rost knows her team can and needs to play better.
“We had some problems serving and at this level that is nothing more than a lack of focus,” she said. “We were lucky that didn’t hurt us.
“We consider the state tournament the second season. We have to got better each match, because the competition does.”
Besides Anglemyer, senior Krystle Troyer accumulated nine kills.
“We are fortunate to have girls who can pound the ball,” Rost said. “Our front line is tough and the setter (junior Brianna Moore) did a nice job using all three. She is deceptive and the other team doesn’t always know who she is going to.”
Junior Tori Roberts had four kills, senior Katie Schultz five digs, junior Kerri Doutlick five digs and 12 assists to lead Northridge.
“I thought we played good and stayed with Memorial to the end,” Steele said. “We were able to talk to the girls about playing every serve and not taking time to think about mistakes.”
Northridge lost a key hitter when junior Shelby Schmucker left with an injury when Memorial was leading 4-3 in the third game.
“She came down on another player’s foot and rolled an ankle,” Steele said. “We had to mix things up a little, but (senior) Megan Robinson came in and stepped it up.”
Northridge finishes 10-21.
Sports
Goshen, Northridge bumped by Class 4A powerhouses
- Sports
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GIRLS BASKETBALL: On to the finals
Northridge’s very young girls basketball team — a squad without a single senior — has the Raiders within one victory of the school’s first-ever sectional championship.
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Panther-Charger final
The No. 3-ranked NorthWood “Black Swish” survived an upset bid by a determined group of Fairfield Falcons Friday night in the high school girls basketball Class 3A sectional at Wawasee.
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Kelly, Irish reshuffle coach lineup
When a football team falls short of its goals, changes are often made to the coaching staff.
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BOYS BASKETBALL: Redskins prevail
When a game is on the line, you need for your seniors to step up and show the way to victory.
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BOYS BASKETBALL: Minutemen win
It was a test of wills Thursday night in a high school boys basketball game at Northridge.
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COLLEGE BASKETBALL: No. 23 Indiana charges past Illinois
Indiana coach Tom Crean challenged his team to be tougher than Illinois on Thursday night.
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Season becoming more and more unpredictable
After several excellent weeks of picking winners in local high school boys basketball games it was another down week with the season’s lowest mark at 5-5 (50.0 percent).
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Sometimes it’s more than a game
Most of the time, the phrase, “It’s only a game” applies to sports – especially the high school variety.
But there are exceptions. And last night’s Northridge-Wawasee boys basketball game in Middlebury is one of them. -
The Green Party
It had nothing to do with the environment, but the Middlebury community went “green” last Saturday night.
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Generating a spark
For weeks the Goshen High School boys basketball team has been looking for the kind of big win that can provide a spark to a squad that has worked hard all season but struggled to find the win column as of late.
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