PLEASANT HILL – Mississinawa Valley went on the road and did something they haven’t done in a long time, by picking up a big win in women’s volleyball against the Newton Indians to remain undefeated in the WOAC at 4-0 a game behind league-leading Arcanum at 5-0. Franklin Monroe is the other remaining league team still undefeated at 4-0.
The Blackhawks stand at 8-3 overall having dropped a game to a tough Parkway team, to Brookville in their own Blackhawk Invitation and to Arcanum in the season-opening Greenville Federal tournament.
Newton falls to 7-5 overall and 2-3 in the conference with losses to Tri-Village, Arcanum and Mississinawa Valley.
In the opening set the Indians jumped ahead early playing solidly to earn a 25-19 win.
Mississinawa in the 1st three years of the league … and even extending years before that hasn’t won a game in conference against Newton and sometimes that can affect how a team thinks … but that didn’t seem to faze the Hawks.
Mississinawa Valley responded in the 2nd and 3rd sets winning 25-18 and 25-16 and they did it with good serving, a fast offense and by defending well.
“The key for us was not to let that 1st game affect our play going forward. My team is very good at no matter what’s going on not getting down on themselves and I think they’re kind of getting well-known for coming back. So, it’s not good to count them out ever, they just keep pushing each other,” Mississinawa Valley coach Nancy Whitted said coming back and winning the next two sets.
But Newton has a reputation and a program that is used to winning and after trailing 8-4 in the 4th set they battled their way back to take an 11-9 lead. If you’re a fan of volleyball watching the 4th set was worth the price with long volleys, athletic plays with all the emotions going back and forth by both teams with every point being crucial … but in the end, the Blackhawks found a way to squeak out the win 28-26.
Veteran Coach Danita Rapp talked about how her Lady Indians team fought to come back.
“Sometimes it comes down to more of our mental game than anything, and sometimes we just get kind of locked up, not for any one reason. It would make it easier if there was an obvious area to fix, but sometimes it’s really more about making connections and keeping the momentum on either side. But I was really proud of our girls and how in the fourth set, they regrouped, and they really dove in to try to regain control,” Rapp stated.
Newton had some gaps to fill from last year’s team due to graduation but has 5 seniors on the team this year mixed in with some youth, 3 freshmen and a sophomore along with 3 juniors.
“We have a unique dynamic being senior heavy, and then we have freshmen who are doing great, but when you have underclassmen on your court, they’re also learning and they’re figuring themselves out. You know, I feel like they’ve contributed really well this year. And ultimately, I believe, the girls are going to figure it out. It’s just taking us a little bit to figure out how to push at crucial points. I’m proud of them tonight, they did everything I asked of them and we’re going to show back up on Saturday and look to get a win,” Rapp concluded.
The finish by Mississinawa in the 4th set goes a long way to building confidence for the Blackhawks that they can overcome adversity and just continue to play the game and believe in each other and positive things will happen.
“These girls and this team rebound really quickly when they are tested, they’re such smart players with good court knowledge. They’re aware of what the other team is doing. So, if they’re down in a few points, it really doesn’t affect them that much which is why they’re always able to respond really well,” Whitted commented.
Leading the Blackhawks in the game was Makenna Hoggatt with 15 kills, followed by Cora Hoggatt with 11. Cora also led in blocks with 3 and Allyson Waymire added 2. Digs were led by Allyson Waymire with 19 and Danika Neargarder added 18.
The win sets up a showdown between the Trojans and the Hawks on Tuesday, September 17th at Mississinawa Valley.
“We’re really looking forward to playing Arcanum. They are solid, they are good and don’t make very many mistakes, you know. We have a team of girls that love the game of volleyball, are having a lot of fun and they deserve a game like this,” Whitted concluded.
