Indiana 4A Preview: Do These Tigers Have Enough Bite?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Want money off of your registration to our July 27 Stock Up Showcase? Use code KypDig2025 at checkout!</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Wading through the records and schedules of the top ten-or-so 4A programs was a fun task for me, because it got me to see some of the programs that aren't on my radar but should be. Staying in northern Indiana, the Warsaw Tigers finished with nearly 30 wins off of a statewide top fifteen schedule. Can they repeat their epic performance from a season ago? Here's my seasons recap, who's returning, and my prediction of their '25 season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Warsaw (28-7 in 2024)</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Tigers had what most would consider an epic 2024 campaign, earning wins over volleyball blue-bloods Carmel, Concordia Lutheran and Penn (twice). They even knocked off 3A state runners-up Angola in mid-season, which is no small task in this author's eye. A tough, hard-fought five-set loss in the regional to Crown Point proved their undoing. A lot of those big time wins were built on the shoulders of seniors no longer playing high school ball at Warsaw, as nearly 7 kills per set have graduated from their sectional-winning season a year ago. This year's team should be (again) a mixture of experience and youth, but that youth has varsity experience in their back pockets now. First off, none of the Tigers' successes this year will happen without <strong>Ellie </strong><b>He</b><strong>pler</strong> anchoring the defense in the libero position. The Indiana commit is THE person in serve receive and floor defense that typifies what the libero position is all about---tough, fearless, exceptional at her job and relentless. The setters remain the same, as hybrids <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='787560' first='Madison' last='Branam']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='489964' first='Avary' last='Hoeppner']</strong> were setters in their modified 6-2, and both added a few kills per set to boot when they weren't setting. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='487560' first='Cecelia' last='Goode']</strong> is the top returning attacker, and she might be asked to do a bit more this fall because of the losses due to graduation. I like that they at least have a <em>little</em> size, as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='787563' first='Reagan' last='Edwards']</strong> and her 6'1" frame will give problems to opposing middles at the net. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Prediction: The sectional isn't their problem. Everything after that is, especially without a solid offense to carry the Tigers.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Looking at the raw numbers from their season-ending loss to Crown Point, the Tigers outdug and out blocked CP in those five sets in the regional. However, converting those digs to kills is the difference between good teams and great teams. This might be Warsaw's last chance at getting another shot at a regional for some time, as there might be a wait before this much experience is on the roster again. Hepler, Hoeppner and Goode are all seniors, and any of that combination of pass-set-hit is hard to replace, let alone replacing ALL of them in '26.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->