The 2010 volleyball season has officially begun for Manawa’s junior varsity volleyball team.
This year’s team consists of: Juniors – Olivia Levezow and Kim Retzke; sophomores – Ansley Block, Torrie Dean, Wendy Kons, Paige Schernecker and Jennifer Spick; freshmen – Nicki Cady and Lexie Sell. The JV squad is represented by team captains Levezow and Retzke.
Manawa took part in the Marion Mustang tournament Aug. 27. Marion was Manawa’s first opponent. The girls looked a little nervous out on the court, but were able to pull together to defeat the Mustangs. As the setter, Sell made several great assists to her front row hitters, allowing the Wolves to smack the ball into the Mustangs’ court. Adrenaline was pumping after the Wolves’ first victory.
Their next opponent was the Menominee Eagles. In set one, the Wolves beat the Eagles by only two points. This would be the margin of victory in the next two sets as well. While in the back row, Cady was a defensive threat as she hustled after the ball in order to prevent the Eagles from scoring. Sets two and three would go to Menominee as Manawa just could not seem to get a rally going in either set.
After their loss to Menominee, Manawa had to pick themselves up and face their next opponent, the Tigerton Tigers. The Wolves defeated the Tigers in two sets, giving them the match win. Kons’ all-around play was beneficial to help give Manawa the victory.
Despite losing to Menominee, Manawa won the tournament. A strong team attitude and togetherness helped the Wolves bring home the trophy. Throughout the tournament, Manawa’s libero, Dean, defended the Wolves’ back court to ensure success for her team.
The Wolves traveled to Marion again on Aug. 31 to face the Mustangs for the second time in a week. It took a while for the girls to get into their game as Marion defeated them in the first set. Manawa was not going to give up, though. In set two, Manawa got an early lead, but Marion soon caught up. Middle hitter Schernecker came alive and sparked a Wolves rally to give them the win. Set three was the stage for Retzke as she was perfect from the service line, helping to give Manawa the set and match win.
The Wolves played their first home game for the season against the Brillion Lions Sept. 2. Manawa started out slow and had a difficult time receiving serves from Brillion. The JV squad was defeated in the first set by the Lions, but came on strong in the second set. Block had a ferocious streak from the service line to give the Wolves a 10-point lead. Brillion began a comeback, but Manawa held onto the lead for the win. In the third set, it was Levezow who was on fire from the service line, giving the Wolves another 10-point lead. Right-side hitter Spick worked hard on defense to prevent the Lions from scoring. Manawa defeated Brillion for the match victory. The win brings the Wolves’ record to 4-1.