Fairfield Volleyball Sectional: 20 Years In The Making
BENTON – It could be a Saturday to remember as far as streaks being broken. With much abuzz about a team in red, white and blue looking to break an infamous streak on a national scope, locally, another team in the same colors exorcised their own demons.
West Noble held complete control Saturday evening in its championship march, blitzing NorthWood 25-18, 25-12, 25-19 to win its first sectional volleyball trophy in 20 years in the title game of the Class 3-A Fairfield Volleyball Sectional.
An impressive run to the title had West Noble knock out Tippecanoe Valley Thursday night, then take down perennial contender Fairfield on their home court Saturday morning. In what could be described as a freight train rolling downhill, West Noble overwhelmed the defending sectional champion NorthWood just a few hours later.
“It feels real good,” said West Noble head coach Kaija Kauffman. “I feel good because they did all the hard work. I couldn’t be more proud of them. They just took control. I stand over there and I yell, but it’s all them. They put in all the hard work. I’m proud of them.”
West Noble used the same recipe it had the entire tournament, getting scrappy play from its back row and let its big hitters swing away. Kaylie Warble was absolutely a monster at the net for the Chargers, punching home 14 kills to lead the club with Madison Schermerhorn finishing with 12 kills. A Warble kill at 23-11 in the second game seemed to have a lot written on the point, as her hammer felt like the nail in the coffin, even though her team was a point and a game short of the clinch.
“This really is unexplainable, really,” Warble said. “This is an amazing feeling. Our back row played perfect in the championship, they got the ball to our setters, and we were able to get swings out of it. The feeling right now is amazing. But right now, we have to take this and remember it, because we still have another team to focus on for Tuesday.”
Lauren Burns led the West Noble back row with 15 digs, which was feisty enough to chase down several smart NorthWood dumps to corners. The Panthers, which did show a lot of grit in the third game when the chips were down, had pulled within three at 19-16 but West Noble kept punching back. Schermerhorn’s 12th kill ended any last-ditch miracle for the defending champs.
NorthWood finishes its season 17-17, with Kennedy Wiens leading the team with 17 kills and adding 12 digs. Taitlyn Trenshaw had 14 digs and Courtney Lengacher assisted on 30 points.
“For us, it was about five points,” noted NorthWood head coach Hilary Laidig. “It would be 5-5, then all of a sudden it was 10-5. We fight back tooth and nail, but digging five points against a good team is a lot to come back from.”
The championship was just the third in West Noble program history, and the first since 1996. The first title came in 1992. Kauffman, who was a player during an incredible Fairfield success streak in the mid 2000s, found her homecoming very sweet.
“My satisfaction comes from my girls,” Kauffman said. “They lost a coach who came here last year, and I think that hurt, but it felt good for them to come here and do what they needed to do here. For me, it doesn’t mean much for me. This is just an old spot for me. West Noble has really taken me in and made me family.”
West Noble (31-5) will Fort Wayne Dwenger (28-7) in the one-game regional Tuesday night. Dwenger, which defeated Angola to win its sectional, will host the match at 7 p.m.