HAMMOND | Misinterpretations of the Gavit volleyball team’s pregame chant served as solid descriptors for the five games against Whiting in a nonconference match Wednesday night.
One spectator thought the girls were saying, “One, two, three, destiny,” and after a convincing win in Game 1 it seemed like the host Gladiators were destined for another big win in a season full of them.
Some of the junior varsity girls thought the chant was, “One, two, three, text me,” and in losses in the second and fourth games, Gavit certainly looked like it was not accepting voice calls.
The actual chant -- "One, two, three, intensity” -- surmised the entire match for both schools, but visiting Whiting had a little more in the end to take the decisive fifth game 15-13 and win the match 17-25, 25-14, 20-25, 25-21, 15-13.
“We really had to come together as a team and really had to want it,” Whiting senior outside hitter Samantha Bock said. “We just pulled it from within ourselves and realized how important it was for us to come out strong and be ready for the sectional.”
Bock had five kills and passed well in the back row, where she normally rotates out, as the Oilers finished the regular season 22-7.
“We weren’t all there at the beginning,” Bock said. “In the end we were really nervous.”
The final game was tied at 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, but Whiting was up 13-10 before Gavit forged the final tie, at 13-all. Bri Blackwell and Grace Huss fired off back-to-back kills to end the night.
“It was who made less mistakes there toward the end and when they were made,” Whiting coach Kelly Greer said. “This definitely gives us a good gauge as to what we need to work on. This pinpointed many situations.”
Whiting middle blocker Kaylyn Anderson was all over, tallying 17 attack kills and eight on the block.
The Oilers’ next match will be in the Class 2A sectional, while Gavit (20-11) still has a Monday match with North Newton. The GLAC champion Gladiators lost to Hobart on Tuesday in a five-gamer.
Wednesday’s bright spots included 11 kills from Vanessa Skierkiewicz, nine from Vanessa Bruney and eight each from Hattie Andrews and Brianna Mangerson.
“We need to work on finishing,” Gavit coach Amy Osorio said. “It’s a little in their focus and inexperience. We have a lot of seniors, but we haven’t played a lot of teams like this, and we need to figure things out really quick.”
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