NORTH MANCHESTER - While it was called the Manchester Invitational, it was Triton that made itself right at home Saturday.

"Triton is a really strong team," Manchester coach Mike West said. "They pass the ball very well, they're just a really strong program."

Said first-year Valley coach Jon Hutton: "Gayle Perry is a very respected coach. They're a neat team to play because you know they're gonna bring the ball at you."

Valley finished second, losing only to Triton, while Caston finished 1-2 and Manchester 0-3.

The first round of the tournament saw Caston top the host Squires 15-12, 15-7 and Triton defeat Valley 15-5, 15-10.

"I thought we could have beaten Triton," Hutton said. "We didn't serve very aggressively. We just didn't capitalize on some things."

In the second round of games, Triton cruised to a 15-4 win over Caston in the first set and then came back to win the second 16-14. In the other game, Valley got past Manchester 15-8, 15-10.

The Vikings jumped out to an 11-1 lead in the first set of the second round. The Squires fought back and made it 13-8 before Valley closed things out. In the second set of the second round, the Squires held a 10-9 advantage. A sideout gave the serve to Valley, where Alyssa Anglin served up the final six points to give the Vikings the win.

"We just didn't take them seriously," Hutton said of Manchester, now 0-5. "We need to take every opponent seriously. We didn't come out and play as hard as we needed to. We thought we were the better team and it showed. We can't be overlooking people."

In the final round of action, Tippecanoe Valley squeeked by Caston 16-14, 15-12 and Triton easily outdistanced itself from Manchester 15-1, 15-2.

Amber Feldman was selected the tournament's Most Valuable Player for Triton, which is now 7-2 on the season.

Feldman finished the day with 16 digs, 14 kills and seven aces.

Valley improved to 5-2 on the season and got key performances from Sherise Denny (48 assists), Chelsea Stavedahl (16 kills, 3 aces) and Billie Jo Rosenstiel (14 kills).

Joni West paced Manchester with 25 assists, while Ashley Penrod added nine kills and five blocks.

MANCHESTER INVITATIONAL

Team records - Triton 3-0, Tippecanoe Valley 2-1, Caston 1-2, Manchester 0-3

First Round

Caston def. Manchester 15-12, 15-7

Triton def. Tippecanoe Valley 15-5, 15-10

Second Round

Tippecanoe Valley def. Manchester 15-8, 15-10

Triton def. Caston 15-4, 16-14

Third Round

Triton def. Manchester 15-1, 15-2

Tippecanoe Valley def. Caston 16-14, 15-12

Tournament MVP - Amber Feldman (Triton)

Triton Leaders

Kills - Amber Feldman 14, Ashli Senff 12

Assists - Lena Miller 22, Beth Workman 21

Digs - Feldman 16

Aces - Feldman 7, Tracey Bell 5, Workman 5

Valley Leaders

Assists - Sherise Denny 48

Service points - Chelsey Stavedahl 19, Alyssa Anglin 18, Abby Shafer 14

Kills - Stavedahl 16, Billie Jo Rosensteil 14, Denny 8

Blocks - Stavedahl 6, Denny 3

Digs - Stavedahl 15, Shafer 13, Anglin 11, Chris Swanson 10

Manchester Leaders

Assists - Joni West 25

Service points - West 11

Kills - Ashley Penrod 9

Blocks - Penrod 5