The Wawasee and Manchester volleyball teams have begun the 2023 campaign in similar ways. Going into Tuesday night’s nonconference matchup, both teams were 4-3. After a very competitive game that was much closer than the final score indicated, it was the Lady Warriors improving to 5-3 with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-20) win.
Momentum was hard to retain in the early going, as each side began the match with spurts of their own. With senior libero Paxton Baker serving to start the match, the Lady Squires began the contest by scoring the first two points. Not to be outdone, the Lady Warriors fired back with four straight of their own.
This trend would continue throughout the opening stages of game one until a prolonged Wawasee run would prompt a Manchester timeout. The final straw was an ace served by Wawasee libero Jolie Likens, which extended the home team’s lead to 8-4.
The break in the action did not disrupt the fine play the home side was beginning to pull together. Following the timeout, the Lady Warriors were able to extend their lead to six. It would stay in that range momentarily, but the Lady Squires were quick to get back in it, trimming the lead down to two at 16-14.
That would be as close as Manchester would get in game one. Already having a great game up front, seniors Jaci Worrell and Abbigail Burelison began dominating at the net. Sending assists from their teammates into the hardwood for kills while blocking almost everything they saw at the net on defense. After some highlight-reel level digs to save points from the Wawasee back line, the Lady Warriors were able to go up 1-0 with a 25-19 win.
With momentum now firmly on their side, the home team continued its fine play into the early stages of game two, scoring three of the first four points. Though Wawasee was able to use this fast start to remain on top for a long stretch, the Lady Squires were never far away, consistently getting a big point to keep the deficit to one or two.

    Senior Paxton Baker of Mancheseter makes a valiant effort to keep the ball in play as her head coach, Adam Mariatt, looks on. Photo by Gary Nieter

Both teams continued to add on points with this being the status quo. Manchester’s McKelvey Espeset would tie the game at eight with a monster kill, but the Lady Warriors would take the lead right back. The long, lead-extending run that Wawasee enjoyed in the first game did not come. As both teams got over halfway to the magic number 25, they did so separated by just one point.
The Lady Squires finally got in front for the first time at the 15-14 mark, but were only able to remain on top briefly. The length of Wawasee’s front line would show up once again, sparking a run that would lead to a Manchester timeout with the visitors trailing 19-17.
It was all Lady Warriors following the break. The home team would get its lead up to four immediately afterwards and looked like it was going to cruise to a game two win. But the Lady Squires had one final push in them, scoring three straight to shrink the lead to just one. They would not get any closer, and the home team would go up 2-0 with a 25-23 victory.
Now firmly in the driver’s seat, Wawasee wasted no time getting back to work to start off game three, scoring three of the first four once again. Not looking to get swept, Manchester would answer by scoring four of the next five, taking the lead in the process. Unlike the team’s brief lead in game two, the Lady Squires were able to maintain control once obtaining it, staying in front for quite a few points.
But, as they had all night to this point, the Lady Warriors had an answer. The home side would take the lead back in commanding fashion, scoring seven straight points to develop a comfortable lead of their own. After just spending a good portion of the set in front, Manchester suddenly needed to provide some answers, and soon.
While the Lady Squires would string some things together and trim the lead down at points, the Lady Warriors were just too much. Successes continued to pile up for Wawasee as the team saw its lead climb to nine with not many points remaining. Manchester would not go down without a fight, shrinking the deficit to four before a block by Emerson Krull put the final touches on a 25-20 win.
Wawasee begins Northern Lakes Conference play Thursday against Plymouth, while Manchester continues nonconference play the same night against Bluffton.