Garcia looks back at magical volleyball season

Winning a state championship is never easy, although at times, the Tippecanoe volleyball team made it look relatively simple.

But that is not the case. They worked hard every day to perfect their craft, and with that work.  Tipp finished the season unbeaten with a new piece of hardware in the trophy case. 

Red Devils head coach Howard Garcia knows that even with running the table, it was not just due to their great play this season, it was the work that the program has put in leading up to this moment that helped make it happen.

“It is the culmination of several years of hard work, of frustrations and disappointments and the product of being able to gather their abilities to show who they really are,” Garcia said. 

Tipp had an incredible streak of nearly 60 straight sets they won to start the season before losing one to Coldwater. They finished with only four lost sets all season, with the other three being Ross, Ursuline, and Bloom Carroll in the state finals. Garcia admitted after the Versailles game that he had a feeling come across him that this team could do something special.

“I think it started when we faced Versailles at home because the year before, they handled us very easily. For them to come into our gym with the same players and for us to be able to dominate them in front of our crowd really defined what their talents were,” Garcia said. “Then we brought in Coldwater, and to establish our way of playing against a very good team told me what our capabilities are and how far we can go.”

One of the slight weaknesses of this team was something that baffled everyone - how they struggled in the third set in some of the matches. But just that quickly, Tipp turned things around and dominated the fourth match in all of those matches that went four games. 

“It motivated them to step up their game,” Garcia said. “They also have a short memory, and they understand they were getting to that third set and a little bit mentally and physically relaxed. But at the end of the day, they recognized what was at stake and how they had to handle themselves.”
“They never lost their composure. It was shown in the regional and in the finals, they never lost it, they were able to put their foot on the pedal and finish it.”

Garcia recognized the group of seniors who have put in the hours and development of their skills to get Tipp to this point.

“They show the volleyball community what really can be done when everybody thinks the same,” Garcia said about his five seniors, Savannah Clawson, Courtney Post, Morgan Sessions, Kaylee Armstrong, and Bri Morris. “It is not about the individuals, it’s about the team. Disregarding that we had some good stats and standouts, it says a lot about what they really are and what example those who follow those seniors should do.”

This was the second state title for Garcia, as he brought home the gold when he was at Middletown Fenwick.