Woodmen claim conference opener

Other than a second-set hiccup, Greenwood’s volleyball team put on a dominating performance and rolled past county rival Whiteland in four sets at home Tuesday.

The Woodmen claimed the match win by scores of 25-12, 19-25, 25-17 and 25-13.

Greenwood used its advantage on the front line to overwhelm the injury-depleted Warriors and pull away in all three of its wins. It was exactly the type of performance that coach Amanda Ratliff was hoping to see.

“It was a good team effort. We’ve been working on balancing on getting good passes, but also being scrappy and going with what we have,” Ratliff said. “I think they finally showed us that they are getting that. It was good to see.”

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Without the services of injured middle hitters Sarah Staples and Hannah Williams, Whiteland was unable to put up much of a fight at the net and Greenwood took advantage, ripping off huge chunks of points to pull away in all three of its wins.

It was only in game two that Whiteland was able to put everything together. The Warriors got off to a strong 6-1 start and although they allowed Greenwood to come back and take the lead, they regrouped to go on a big run and pull out the 25-19 win.

“That’s the team I see at practice, and that’s the team I’m trying to make them believe they truly are,” Whiteland coach Carolyn Ray said of the second set. “We’re not seeing that translate to every match, but we have the talent. It’s just a matter of getting them to believe.”

A big part of Whiteland’s success, particularly in Game 2, was the play of Toni Joyner, who moved from setter to middle hitter Saturday and responded with a big game at the net. Whenever the Warriors needed a point, the sophomore was there.

“Toni had a tremendous game, but I think right now we’re just trying to learn to adjust when the block is short,” Ray said. “She only had three days to prepare and did a great job.”

But Greenwood was simply too much to overcome. Ratliff said that Woodmen spent the past few days working on passing, and it showed at times with devastating kills, especially late in games.

“We started settling for those not-so-good passes and trying to make something out of them, and I think that makes a big difference between winning and losing,” Ratliff said.

Greenwood, now 3-4 overall and 1-0 in the Mid-State Conference, hosts another Johnson County foe when Indian Creek comes calling on Thursday. Whiteland, now 0-5 overall and 0-1 in the conference, travels to New Palestine on Thursday.