Senior libero Peyton Adamiec was outstanding Monday night for Warsaw in a 3-0 win at Penn.

MISHAWAKA – The Warsaw volleyball team looked right at home in the Penn Palace Monday night.

Coach Mike Howard hopes his team remains that comfortable and confident when they return there for postseason play in 11 days.

The Tigers continued their strong play of late by downing the host Kingsmen 3-0.

Warsaw got great play from libero Peyton Adamiec and a balanced offensive attack in pounding past Penn 25-18, 25-17, 25-23.

The Tigers return to Penn on Oct. 24 to face either Elkhart Memorial or Concord in a sectional semifinal matchup. Warsaw drew the bye in the seven-team field at Penn when the sectional pairings were drawn by the IHSAA on Monday. Sectional play opens Oct. 20 at Penn with Elkhart Memorial facing Concord.

Warsaw, which has now won its last eight matches, improves to 21-7. Penn falls to 16-12.

Howard knows that a win in the Penn gym was a good thing for his team.

“Our big goal tonight was to come in here and play well,” said Howard. “We haven’t always done that here in this gym. I think that it was important for us psychologically to play well here tonight knowing that we will be coming back here for the sectional. It was nice to win here.

“We know the challenge that this sectional will present. There are 3-4 good teams in it, but I like where we are at and how we are playing right now. Our kids should be confident and they should be relaxed. I feel like we are peaking at the right time.”

Lexi Day celebrates for the Tigers.

Warsaw showed its mettle to spoil Senior Night for Penn. The Tigers, who have six seniors, trailed 20-16 in the final set before roaring back. Warsaw got clutch kills from Lexi Day, Haley Peterson, Jordan Lindeman and Caroline Mayer in the final stretch to close out the win.

“I like the face that the girls continued to fight and to do what we wanted them to,” said Howard of the comeback to close out the convincing win. “They chipped away. They trusted the system and trusted each other there at the end of the match because we were a step off in that third set.”

The opening set was close early as it was tied at 15-15. The Tigers took the lead for good at 16-15 on an ace by Peyton Adamiec. Warsaw used a 5-0 run, sparked by big play at the net from Lindeman, to take control at 22-16.

The Tigers controlled the second set all the way. Howard’s team got balanced offensive production from Lindeman, Mayer, Day, Peterson and Courtney Steffensmeier to handle Penn.

Adamiec, one of the six seniors for Warsaw, was outstanding in the first two sets.

“Peyton talked about it earlier how she remembered her sophomore year playing here when we had to pull her out,” remarked Howard. “She was determined to not let that happen again. She was just tremendous tonight for us in those first two sets. Every ball from her was right on.”

Haley Peterson prepares to rip a serve.

Seniors Lindeman and Mayer paced the offense with 13 kills each, while classmate Peterson had nine.

Lindeman played a tremendous match as the middle used the slide and tipped the ball effectively all match long.

“Jo played smart tonight and like a senior should,” Howard said. “She’s really been doing that for about the last dozen matches. She’s peaking at the right time.

“It help us when we get balance like we did tonight. Lexi (Day) is dynamic and I thought Courtney (Steffensmeier) gave us a huge lift in sets one and two with some big hits. We need that to keep people honest and it’s nice in that it takes the pressure off some of our other hitters.”

Adamiec led the defense with 30 digs, while Mayer had 11. Peterson and three aces and Adamiec two. Lindeman had three blocks and setter Cassie Hoag one to go with 40 assists.

Junior Madelyn Wiseman had eight kills and junior Jennifer Heritz seven to lead Penn. Sophomore Rachel Hickey had 18 digs and setter Josephine Engdahl, one of just two seniors for the Kingsmen, had 24 assists.

The Warsaw junior varsity and freshmen teams both also won at Penn Monday night. The JV posted an 18-25, 25-24, 15-8 win to improve to 19-1 on the season.

Caroline Mayer shows her focus on the court.

Nikki Parrett had nine kills and Katie Swanson five to pace coach Chandra Hepler’s team. Alicia Sikora had 23 assists and four aces, Raina Armey nine digs and three aces, Hannah Leach two blocks and Erin Peugh seven digs.

Warsaw host Carroll (Fort Wayne) Wednesday night. The Chargers are ranked No. 4 in Class 4-A. Action in the Tiger Den Wednesday starts with the JV match at 6 p.m. The Tigers then have their own Warsaw Spiker Invitational on Saturday, which begins at 9 a.m., to close out the regular season.

The Warsaw tournament Saturday will be a three-team event as South Bend Adams has dropped out of the invite. The field includes the hosts, along with Tippecanoe Valley and Northfield. Play begins at 9 a.m. with Valley versus Northfield. Warsaw will then play Northfield with the Tigers facing Valley in the final match of the tourney.

The Penn Sectional opens Oct 20 with Memorial facing off with Concord. Host Penn plays Elkhart Central and Goshen faces Northridge on Oct. 22. The semifinals, which includes Warsaw playing at 11 a.m., and title match will be played on Saturday, Oct. 24.

Jordyn Lindeman (at right) goes up for a block for Warsaw Monday night at Penn. The senior standout led the Tigers to a 3-0 victory.