Not only was it a rivalry game…it was a memorable game.

Thursday night at Reynolds Gymnasium, the two volleyball squads from Tecumseh and Tippecanoe squared off in a huge CBC match-up as the Arrows tried to maintain their lead in the division, while the Red Devils looked to make their way back into the race for the title. The Arrows jumped out to win the first two games, and finished with a 25-16, 25-23, 21-25, 25-17 victory over their rivals from Miami County.

It was also Volley for the Cure, with over 40 raffle baskets and items up for bid to help raise money for the fight against cancer. It was also an opportunity for those stricken with cancer to be honored and survivors to be recognized.

“It was a very important win for us after losing to Kenton Ridge on Tuesday,” said Tecumseh coach Angie Lizza said. “Our serving is what really helped us tonight, placing the ball well. Kirsten stepped up and Zoey (Dysinger) my sophomore had a great night.”

While Tipp coach Howard Garcia was glad to be part of this special night, it was a game that he knew the Red Devils needed.

“It was a very honorable thing what they did tonight,” he said, referring to the honoring of the survivors. “On the court, Tecumseh is a very disciplined, controlled team. They rely on their ball control to feed off of Lindsey (Nartker). In our case we have more attackers, but do control the ball very well. You can’t win games with unforced errors.”

Tecumseh jumped out to a quick 6-3 lead in game one before the Red Devils broke serve. Lindsey Nartker from Tecumseh and Tipp’s Taylor Prall exchanged kills and when Prall added another kill later in the game, the Red Devils only trailed 11-7.

The Arrows then went on a 7-3 run behind the serving of Lucy Eier and the net play of Nartker and Zoey Dysinger to take an 18-10 lead before Tipp’s Aubrey Cox and Adrienne Crusey each had consecutive kills to give Tipp some momentum and cut the deficit to six.

With the Arrows leading 20-16, Nartker took over. She recorded a kill to get the serve back to the Arrows, then recorded two aces to take the 23-16 lead. She scored the final four points, and Cara Willardson added a kill to give the Arrows the win.

Game two saw Tipp take the early lead behind kills from Cox and Natalie Seeman, and the serving of Kara Trimbach. The Arrows fought back to tie the game at six, and maintained the lead thanks to the net play of Baylee Pursifull with a pair of kills. Jordan McMahan served the Red Devils back into the lead at 17-15, and from there, it was a battle. Five ties, including the last one at 23-23 was the prelude to Lucy Eier serving and a big kill from Kirsten Nartker to wrap up game two for the Arrows.

Twelve ties in game three saw both teams exchange big plays before Prall’s kill at 15-14 gave Tipp a two point lead, and they never looked back. Taylor Waltemathe served six points in the game for the Red Devils in their win, while the Arrows Kenzie Nabil scored four points for the Arrows.

In the deciding game, Tipp did take the early lead with a lot of action at the net. Cox and Crusey, along with Emily Shuk had some big hits for the Red Devils, while Nartker and Dysinger kept the Arrows close.

There were three more ties, with the last one at 13-13 before the Arrows started to put the game away.

Six points from Kirsten Nartker and four from Caroline Smith led the way for the Arrows, and all of Smith’s points came to close out the game, as she broke open a 21-17 game, aided by kills from Lindsey Nartker and Pursifull.

Lindsey Nartker led the Arrows with 16 kills, four aces and 25 digs, while Dysinger added eight kills and four digs, Kirsten Nartker had five kills and four aces, while Eier had 23 digs and two aces.

For Tippecanoe, Prall led with 11 kills and six blocks, Crusey added nine kills, Cox contributed six with five blocks. Trimbach had 35 assists, while Waltemathe and McMahan each had seven digs.

Tecumseh is now 15-3 on the season, while Tipp drops to 10-6.

{becssg}2015/1002/Tipp_VS_Tecumseh_Volley_For_A_Cure{/becssg}