Warsaw’s Jordyn Lindeman blasts a kill past two Concord blockers Thursday night. Lindeman led the Tigers to a 3-0 NLC win at Concord.

DUNLAP – There was plenty of incentive for the Warsaw volleyball team to play well Thursday night at Concord.

It was the final Northern Lakes Conference match of the season for the Tigers.

It was also against a possible sectional foe.

The incentive was plenty enough to fuel the fire as the surging Tigers took care of business to the tune of a 3-0 NLC victory in McCuen Gym.

Warsaw rode its normal strong service game and the big right arm swings of Jordyn Lindeman to a 25-17, 25-20, 25-15 win over the host Minutemen in the league finale.

Senior middle Lindeman powered down a team-high 13 kills as the Tigers won their seventh straight match.

Senior Lina Mayer continued her stellar season with 12 kills for the winners.

Warsaw improves to 20-7 overall and finishes at 5-2 in NLC play. Concord drops to 15-13 overall and goes to 3-3 in league action.

Warsaw coach Mike Howard saw his team control the majority of the match against a Concord team who they had defeated 2-0 in the Michigan City Invitational back on Sept. 19.

“We thought that we had a big advantage in the middle and that played out tonight,” said Howard. “We’re bigger and more athletic there and that played to our advantage.

“Winning 3-0 tonight was what we wanted to do. It was an NLC match and it was also a possible sectional opponent. We talked in practice about how everyone looks at scores, even though they really don’t matter. But it’s important from a confidence piece for the kids.

Libero Peyton Adamiec led the Tigers with 25 digs.

“We defended okay tonight and had stretches where we handled it clean. We served well and that’s the part of the game that we stress. Serving is the first stage of our defense. When we serve tough and how we are capable it just makes everyone’s job easier.”

Junior Cassie Hoag served up four aces in the win, while Haley Peterson and Mayer each had three.

The opening set was close midway through at a 10-10 stalemate. The Tigers then took control with a 6-0 run., sparked by the big serving effort of Blake McGarvey. The senior defensive specialist had back-to-back aces in the pivotal stretch.

The Tigers fell behind 14-10 in the second set before Howard opted for a timeout. Warsaw rallied to tie the game at 18-18 before using a 5-0 run to build a 23-18 advantage. Mayer started the surge with a huge kill and Hoag ended the key run with an ace.

Warsaw dominated the final game of the match. The Tigers raced to a 10-4 lead and rolled from there. Courtney Steffensmeier ended the win with a kill for match point.

Junior setter Hoag racked up 34 assists in the NLC win. Lindeman had two blocks and Mayer one. Senior libero Peyton Adamiec led the defense with 25 digs and senior McGarvey had 11.

Haley Peterson’s strong serving helped Warsaw win at Concord.

Sophomore Grace Kindy led Concord with eight kills and 10 digs. Sophomore Ella Cunningham had seven kills. Sophomore Sage Iavagnilio had six aces and seven digs and sophomore Kenady Sullivan seven digs and 21 assists.

Both Warsaw and Concord will play in the seven-team Class 4-A Penn Sectional the week of Oct. 19. The Tigers play at Penn on Monday night, host Carroll Wednesday and then have their own Tiger Spiker Invitational Oct. 17 to finish out the regular season. The draw for the sectional will be held by the IHSAA on Monday morning.

The Warsaw junior varsity team continued its outstanding season with another win Thursday night. Coach Chandra Hepler’s squad beat Concord 25-23, 25-22 to improve to 18-1 overall and finish a perfect 7-0 in the NLC.

Abby Serbousek had six kills and Hannah Leach three to lead Warsaw. Raina Armey had six digs, while Nikki Parrett and Jamie Grose each had five and Alicia Sikora and Erin Peugh four each. Sikora had 11 assists and Kacy Bragg five. Katie Swanson had three aces and Sikora and Parrett each had one. Leach had one block for the JV winners.

Warsaw plays at Penn Monday night. Concord hosts NLC foe Plymouth on Tuesday evening.

The Warsaw volleyball team breaks their huddle at Concord Thursday night.