It’s been a minute or two since Whiteland opened the season winning six of its first seven matches.
Despite some minor third-set struggles, this Warriors squad has done so, the latest triumph being Tuesday’s 25-15, 25-18, 20-25, 25-22 victory at Greenwood.
Led by the 12 kills of senior outside hitter Kennedi Morrison, eight from sophomore middle blocker Sophia Dyer and seven from junior Kiley Sullivan, Whiteland improved to 6-1 overall and 1-0 in the Mid-State Conference.
The Woodmen fall to 0-5 and 0-2.
“Historically, I do think Greenwood has won over Whiteland, so this was a big match for us,” Warriors coach Jenny Munn said. “I told them coming into the season that when I look at our schedule, there’s no reason we cannot have all these wins.
“You just have to walk into this gym and expect to win. That’s what they did tonight. I said, ‘I don’t care if they beat you the last 10 years, we’re going to expect to win.’ They did good. They finished.”
The Woodmen actually held a 6-2 advantage to open the first set before Whiteland put together an 8-1 scoring run. Munn’s team used yet another 8-1 burst to close the set after Greenwood closed to within 17-14.
Whiteland jumped out to a 20-10 lead in the second, but the Woodmen rallied with five consecutive points, a run highlighted by a kill from Tori Ortman, consecutive service aces from senior Kaitlyn Newett and a block from senior Brooklyn Bell.
Greenwood closed to 21-18, but the Warriors got the message and produced the next four points, including two Dyer kills and an Addie Stoll ace.
The Woodmen played their best in the third set, racing to a 10-5 lead and leading by as many as eight (22-14) before holding off a Whiteland charge. The Warriors broke free from a 5-5 deadlock in the fourth, led 18-15, and then watched as Greenwood responded to go ahead, 22-19.
Whiteland called timeout, regrouped and closed with a 7-1 flurry led by Morrison’s three kills.
Bell paced the Woodmen with a team-high 14 kills to go along with two aces. Another senior, Amy Luttrell, added five kills, as did Ortman. Newett finished with four aces.
Greenwood coach Zach Mackie sees his team improving with every match.
“The third and fourth sets, I mean, you could see a little bit of potential as far as what we can do,” Mackie said. “It was a little flash in the pan. Got me a little bit excited, but it’s got to be for a whole match. It’s got to be for every set.
“Credit to Whiteland, which is a pretty good team. They have improved over the last couple of years, and I knew this was going to be a dogfight. I think Addie Whitecotten played really well as well. I kind of threw the libero jersey at her, and she wasn’t expecting it. That was kind of a little twist in the action.”
Both teams are back in action on Thursday as Whiteland travels to New Palestine and Greenwood hosts Indian Creek.
