Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE - Dramatic momentum shifts were the story Tuesday night as Wawasee got past Manchester in volleyball action 25-19, 24-26, 27-25, 25-17.
The Warriors jumped out to a 12-4 lead in game one before a long delay killed their momentum.
Manchester head coach Sarah Dillon and the referees had to confer about the Squires' rotation, which was out of order.
After the delay, Manchester grabbed the momentum and played Wawasee even before falling 25-19.
The Squires then outplayed the young Warrior squad to eek out a 26-24 win. Wawasee nearly came back after tying the match at 24-24 but was unable to overtake Manchester.
With the quick scoring format used in volleyball, scoring runs can make or break a team.
Manchester controlled play for most of the third game and went up 20-13. The Squires seemed to have a hammerlock on the game.
The Warriors went on a 5-1 run to close the gap at 21-18 before Manchester called a timeout.
Wawasee completed its comeback when Jessie Wolf smashed a thunderous spike past the Squires to tie the match at 25-25, then scored two straight times to win 27-25.
Wawasee improved its serving in the fourth game to go up 22-13, but had some trouble closing out the match before winning 25-17.
Warrior head coach Amy Miller believes that her team is going to struggle with finishing matches because of the youth and inexperience of her team.
"That's going to be our season," said Miller. "I have three returning letter winners and essentially a brand new team. They're own success will help them finish teams off."
The Warriors have just two seniors on their roster.
Junior Kim Miller led Wawasee in assists with 20 and aces with five. Fellow junior Kayla Vaughn was impressive with her serving, especially in game four to pace the Warriors.
The contributions from juniors continued as Shawn Knafel led the team in kills with 19, while Wolf racked up 11.
Erin Doty represented the Wawasee seniors as she led the team in digs with 15 from the libero position.
For Manchester, Hayley Wilcox racked up seven blocks, while Christa Peden had six. Polly Poe had eight kills, Jade Kennedy had nine, Wilcox had seven and Mercedes Lockhart led the Squires with 13.
Much like Wawasee, the Squires are a young squad. When Manchester was able to dominate play, Dillon believes it was because they were talking. As soon as they lost their stride in the third game, the talking stopped.
"The girls know there was a drop in consistency and communication. Wawasee played tough and didn't quit. It was a good test for us because it was the first team with size we've played all year."
Manchester moved to 4-1 on the season and is in action Thursday at Wabash at 6 p.m.
Wawasee, 5-5 overall, opens up Northern Lakes Conference play against Plymouth Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Plymouth.
WAWASEE DEF. MANCHESTER 25-19, 24-26, 27-25, 25-17
Assists - Wawasee, Kim Miller 20, Amber Timmons 17
Blocks - Wawasee, Janae Stewart 5, Shawn Knafel 4
Aces - Wawasee, K. Miller 5, Megan Hadley 4
Kills - Wawasee, Knafel 19, Jessie Wolf 11, Hadley 7, J. Stewart 5
Digs - Wawasee, Erin Doty 15, Katie Shoemaker 9, J. Wolf 8
JV -ÊWawasee def. Manchester 24-25, 25-19, 15-5
(Wawasee leaders)
Assists -ÊKindra Wrigth 7
Blocks -ÊAndrea Whealy 1, Sarah McBride 1
Aces -ÊJess Signorelli 5, Margaret Hershberger 2
Kills - Whealy 2, McBride 2, Angie Beer 2
Digs - Signorelli 11, McBride 10
9th - Wawasee def. Tippecanoe Valley 25-22, 23-25, 15-9
Warsaw def. Wawasee 25-17, 25-20
