The Manawa Wolves hosted the Amherst Falcons in volleyball action, Tuesday, Sept. 24.
In their dual match against Amherst, the Wolves knew that they would be evenly matched. The first set proved that. The teams battled back and forth throughout the entire game until the Falcons finished on top, 26-24.
In the second set, the Wolves struggled to get past their first game loss and Amherst won easily 25-13.
The Wolves fought hard in the third set to take the match into more games. Their determination paid off and they won 25-22.
No matter how hard Manawa tried in the fourth set, things did not go their way. The Falcons finished the set and match, 25-19.
Senior leadership was important in the Wolves match against the Falcons. Seniors, Breana Haines, Kali Young, Lexie Sell and Baylee Gorges carried their team during most of the match. Much like their match-up against Iola-Scandinavia, Haines had an amazing night, with 20 points, 15 kills and five aces. Young played very well too. She had 11 points while digging the ball up 14 times. She also served 8-8. Sell had 14 assists for the night and Gorges, who was filling in at the libero position for an injured Nicki Cady, had 13 digs. Juniors, Ashlee Strebe and Katie Velie were also solid players in the match. Strebe had four points and tied Young for the most digs with 14. Velie had 11 assists, three points, served 17-17 and had nine digs. Other team members who contributed points included: Autumn Ferg with six and Aubrie Millard with two.
Suring Invitational
The Wolves traveled to Suring on Saturday, Sept, 21 to participate in the Suring Invitational with six other teams. The Wolves finished 3-3, with all team members seeing a lot of court time.
The Wolves started their morning playing against Elcho, who they had met up against the previous Saturday at the Gresham Invite. At Gresham, Elcho won a close match between these two teams. Manawa redeemed themselves, this time beating Elcho in 2 sets, 25-23 and 25-11.
Young and Haines shared point leader honors with seven. Strebe contributed three, Sell, Millard, and Ferg each had two and Velie, Molly Loughrin and Chloe Koehn each had one. Sell had a great defensive game, digging the ball up 11 times while Velie (8-8), Young (6-6) and Brogan Bartel (1-1) all served 100 percent from the service line.
The Wolves second match was against the hosting school, Suring. After playing well against Elcho, Manawa struggled in this match. Suring won 25-15 and 25-20. Young had eight points while Haines had five, Millard, and Strebe had two, and Sell, Velie, and Ferg each had one. Sell led in the assist column with seven and also served 6-6 for the match. Loughrin (5-5) and Young (2-2) were also perfect servers.
The lack of momentum continued in the third match. Stockbridge took advantage of the Wolves drudgery and won the match in two close sets, 25-23 and 25-21.
Middle hitters, Haines and Ferg, both put six points on the board for the Wolves while Young had five. Millard and Strebe each had three and Gorges contributed one. Once again, Sell helped her team out with 10 assists and served 5-5 for the match. Other servers who were 100 percent included: Velie (8-8), Nicki Cady (4-4) and Loughrin (1-1).
When Manawa played against the Suring JV team the Wolves played a solid match, with 11 of their 13 players receiving a lot of playing time. They won the match 25-18 and 25-11. Koehn had a great game with eight points for the match while Haines contributed five. Velie contributed four, while Young, Loughrin and Strebe each had two and Gorges, Millard and Bartel had one. Millard was the assist leader in this match, setting the ball up for kills nine times. Serving 8-8, Haines was perfect from the line, as were Strebe (3-3) and Sell (1-1).
Having played Shiocton only two days prior, the Lady Wolves knew this match-up at the Suring Tourney would be a tough one. Though they lost, 25-16 and 25-21, Manawa was much happier about the way they competed against Shiocton this time around.
Young had a great match. She was the point leader with six, while also digging the ball up 16 times and serving 3-3. Haines had 4.5 points for the match and Millard had 3.5. Other point contributors included Koehn with two and Strebe with one. Sell had seven assists and served 11-11. Gorges and Haines each served 5-5 while Loughrin was 2-2 and Koehn was 1-1.
In their final match of the day, the Wolves played against White Lake. They finished the tournament with a win with set scores of 25-22 and 25-20. With nine points, Haines led her team. Velie contributed three, while Loughrin and Bartel each had two and Young, Gorges and Strebe each had one. One hundred percent servers included: Loughrin who was 6-6 and Millard, Koehn and Bartel who were all 1-1.