The third set of Warrenton’s home match with the Holt Indians on April 3 caught the attention of coach Jake Brown.

The Warriors lost to Holt 11-25, 13-25, 21-25. Brown said he was impressed with the team’s tenacity in the final set, which was a glimpse of the Warriors’ true potential. Warrenton took its first lead of the match in the third set.

“I definitely thought that we played our best in the third game,” Brown said. “We were right there and we were closer with them.” 

Brown highlighted the upperclassmen’s leadership and a few tactical adjustments on the court as key ingredients to their sudden advancement. 

“It was our leadership. Having some of those guys that have been deep into playoffs for football really helps to keep the morale up,” he said. “Jeremiah (Montgomery) does a great job as our captain and Isaac (Wagner) as well, just by his intensity of play. I don’t think they ever let us get down so those two, along with our upperclassmen, really helped us out.” 

One significant change made during the match was switching Wagner and Matthew Faubion, with Wagner hitting and Faubion setting up the ball more. 

Wagner finished with seven kills and Faubion recorded eight assists in the match.  

The switch helped in the Warriors’ five-set win over Battle on April 4. Warrenton came from behind to beat the Columbia school 24-26, 23-25, 25-15, 25-21, 15-13. Faubion had 20 assists and Wagner had 15 kills. 

“That is something we as a coaching staff are going to look at more because it really made a big difference,” Brown said.

The Warrenton coach noted the team’s confidence is growing after the first four matches.  

“(Against Holt), we kind of got punched in the mouth so our confidence wasn’t showing quite as much but near the end, it started peeking out a little bit more again,” Brown said. “I think they’re just getting more comfortable, not only the kids, but as the coaching staff we’re starting to find our footing.” 

Brown said self-inflicted errors and communications were the main reasons for the Warriors’ loss to the Indians.

“We had a couple of bad hits and they had some big hitters on the other side of the net that were kind of hard to stop once they got a little bit of a lead,” Brown said. “It’s definitely another learning experience and we just have to continue working on things.” 

Brown said even though the match against Holt did not end in his team’s favor, he has seen significant strides from the players since their first match.

“With our rotations and the way we’re playing the game, our confidence is definitely building,” he said. “And we talked about not making any more excuses about being a new program and we’re going to get after it everyday…the kids have really bought into that.”  

Austin White served three aces and had five kills and Montgomery contributed three aces and three blocks against Holt. 

The Warriors now hold a 3-2 season record. They will play at 5:30 p.m. on April 10 at Fort Zumwalt East.