Lady Squires Spike Wawasee
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
In their three-game victory (25-18, 25-19, 26-24), the Manchester Lady Squires (8-1) had 10-0 runs in the second and third games, while the Wawasee Lady Warriors had a 12-1 run of their own in the third game.
However, trailing 24-21 in the third game, Manchester's ensuing 5-0 run was the final blow.
"I told them, 'When we were up 24-22 in third game, I would have loved to have been the server on the other team," Wawasee coach Jeff Phillips said. "All you saw looking over the net was the look of, 'Oh crap, don't serve it to me.' They happened to have a veteran server back there, and did she think she was going to run three points off? Maybe, maybe not, but I promise she was confident looking at us."
That server was senior Tiffany Clark, and she began by serving two-straight aces, which tied the game before the Lady Squires posted the next two points to win the match.
But before closing the match out, things weren't looking so good for Manchester to begin the third game, falling behind 14-4, before senior Natalee Cain recorded a kill and senior Meika Kennedy served up two-consecutive aces, igniting a 10-0 run that tied the game at 14-14.
"Things were good until the third game, but we just lost a little focus," Manchester coach Sarah Lochner said. "We had to work our way back, which is good, that we had to play clean and get that taken care of. I'd just like to not be in that hole."
Lochner was spreading the credit around for the win too, beginning with Kennedy, who had five aces.
"Meika did a great job," Lochner said. "She just took over Game 3 for us and brought us back."
And Kennedy wasn't the only Lady Squire getting praise from her coach.
"Malyssa Bedke also did a great job in the second game, and we also go to Tiffany (Clark) when we need to put the ball away," she said. "She did a good job, and even Natalee Cain did a good job tonight."
Clark finished the match with nine kills and five aces, while sophomore Sydney Snep and Cain each had five kills.
Entering the season, Lochner knew she had a lot of experience returning, and it's shown with an 8-1 record.
"We do have experience coming back, so it's just going to come down to ball control and focus," Lochner said. "If we can do that, and play together as a I team, I'd like to do some good things in the (Three Rivers Conference). It's a tough conference, it really is. Wabash is looking good, Northfield is looking good and, obviously, Southwood is always good. We've got to maintain that focus when we get into conference, because we tend to freak out when we get into conference play."
Wawasee also has experience back, but those girls have experienced quite a few losses in past years.
With that, Phillips is working to change the mindset of the girls, which can be easier said than done.
"You want them to get to every spot on every point, but in reality, (that may not happen)," Phillips said. "Coaches do talk about perfection, especially in a sport like volleyball, but they're crazy. It's not going to happen. So, in sports like volleyball, you have to learn to forgot. If I shank a pass, hit a ball out-of-bounds, the next time I pass, I have to be completely confident that I'm at the next point now."
In the loss, Wawasee was led by sophomore Lydia Katsaropoulos, who had nine kills, nine digs and two aces, even though she missed the second half of the second game to get her upper left thigh taped.
Also for the Lady Warriors, junior Anne Beer led the way with 18 digs and senior Megan Conley finished with 21 assists.
MANCHESTER DEF. WAWASEE 25-18, 25-19, 26-24
Kills — Tiffany Clark (M) 9, Lydia Katsaropoulos (W) 9, Sydney Snep (M) 5, Natalee Cain (M) 5, Anne Beer (W) 5; Digs — Beer (W) 18, Gabi Routson (W) 11, Alli Ousley (W) 9, Katsaropoulos (W) 9; Aces — Clark (M) 5, Meika Kennedy (M) 5, Katsaropoulos (W) 2, Taylor Spangle (W) 2; Assists — Megan Conley (W) 21; Records — Manchester 8-1, Wawasee 6-4
JV — Wawasee def. Manchester 25-18, 25-23
Wawasee JV Stats: Digs — LeeAnn McGuire 10, Katy Ashpole 7, Hunter Gaerte 5; Assists — Madi Anderson 11; Kills — Kaitlin Goines 3; Aces — Aly Anderson 4, Gaerte 3; Record — 4-2[[In-content Ad]]
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In their three-game victory (25-18, 25-19, 26-24), the Manchester Lady Squires (8-1) had 10-0 runs in the second and third games, while the Wawasee Lady Warriors had a 12-1 run of their own in the third game.
However, trailing 24-21 in the third game, Manchester's ensuing 5-0 run was the final blow.
"I told them, 'When we were up 24-22 in third game, I would have loved to have been the server on the other team," Wawasee coach Jeff Phillips said. "All you saw looking over the net was the look of, 'Oh crap, don't serve it to me.' They happened to have a veteran server back there, and did she think she was going to run three points off? Maybe, maybe not, but I promise she was confident looking at us."
That server was senior Tiffany Clark, and she began by serving two-straight aces, which tied the game before the Lady Squires posted the next two points to win the match.
But before closing the match out, things weren't looking so good for Manchester to begin the third game, falling behind 14-4, before senior Natalee Cain recorded a kill and senior Meika Kennedy served up two-consecutive aces, igniting a 10-0 run that tied the game at 14-14.
"Things were good until the third game, but we just lost a little focus," Manchester coach Sarah Lochner said. "We had to work our way back, which is good, that we had to play clean and get that taken care of. I'd just like to not be in that hole."
Lochner was spreading the credit around for the win too, beginning with Kennedy, who had five aces.
"Meika did a great job," Lochner said. "She just took over Game 3 for us and brought us back."
And Kennedy wasn't the only Lady Squire getting praise from her coach.
"Malyssa Bedke also did a great job in the second game, and we also go to Tiffany (Clark) when we need to put the ball away," she said. "She did a good job, and even Natalee Cain did a good job tonight."
Clark finished the match with nine kills and five aces, while sophomore Sydney Snep and Cain each had five kills.
Entering the season, Lochner knew she had a lot of experience returning, and it's shown with an 8-1 record.
"We do have experience coming back, so it's just going to come down to ball control and focus," Lochner said. "If we can do that, and play together as a I team, I'd like to do some good things in the (Three Rivers Conference). It's a tough conference, it really is. Wabash is looking good, Northfield is looking good and, obviously, Southwood is always good. We've got to maintain that focus when we get into conference, because we tend to freak out when we get into conference play."
Wawasee also has experience back, but those girls have experienced quite a few losses in past years.
With that, Phillips is working to change the mindset of the girls, which can be easier said than done.
"You want them to get to every spot on every point, but in reality, (that may not happen)," Phillips said. "Coaches do talk about perfection, especially in a sport like volleyball, but they're crazy. It's not going to happen. So, in sports like volleyball, you have to learn to forgot. If I shank a pass, hit a ball out-of-bounds, the next time I pass, I have to be completely confident that I'm at the next point now."
In the loss, Wawasee was led by sophomore Lydia Katsaropoulos, who had nine kills, nine digs and two aces, even though she missed the second half of the second game to get her upper left thigh taped.
Also for the Lady Warriors, junior Anne Beer led the way with 18 digs and senior Megan Conley finished with 21 assists.
MANCHESTER DEF. WAWASEE 25-18, 25-19, 26-24
Kills — Tiffany Clark (M) 9, Lydia Katsaropoulos (W) 9, Sydney Snep (M) 5, Natalee Cain (M) 5, Anne Beer (W) 5; Digs — Beer (W) 18, Gabi Routson (W) 11, Alli Ousley (W) 9, Katsaropoulos (W) 9; Aces — Clark (M) 5, Meika Kennedy (M) 5, Katsaropoulos (W) 2, Taylor Spangle (W) 2; Assists — Megan Conley (W) 21; Records — Manchester 8-1, Wawasee 6-4
JV — Wawasee def. Manchester 25-18, 25-23
Wawasee JV Stats: Digs — LeeAnn McGuire 10, Katy Ashpole 7, Hunter Gaerte 5; Assists — Madi Anderson 11; Kills — Kaitlin Goines 3; Aces — Aly Anderson 4, Gaerte 3; Record — 4-2[[In-content Ad]]
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