Manual’s JV and varsity volleyball teams both defeated the North Oldham Mustangs during  last night’s matchups. The Crimson Crazies designated the game USA-themed. 

JV:

The Mustangs received the ball first. Within seconds, the Lady Crimsons took advantage and scored their first point, and Reese Hurley (#20, 9) served first for the Crimsons. The Mustangs then hit the ball out of bounds, and Manual received another point. Following that was a rapid accumulation of points for the Lady Crimsons. The ball was volleyed between teams for a minute, until Carolyn Sanford (#17, 9) spiked the ball for Lady Crimsons and the Mustangs couldn’t return it. 

North Oldham got several points due to violations against Manual, but the Lady Crimsons maintained the lead. The Crimsons regained the service, but the Mustangs returned it. Kamryn Bauman (#25, 9) dove to save the ball, but the Mustangs hit it back, and scored another point. The Lady Crimsons attempted to score the final point, but were called for double contact. However, they were able to return the Mustangs’ serve a point later and win the set. 

“[We did well with] our communication and our confidence, which are two  things that we’ve been working on all week at practice,” Assistant Coach Laura McCulloch said. 

To start off the second set, the Lady Crimsons received the service, but it resulted in an error, so the Mustangs got the first point. North Oldham scored again soon after, but Manual was able to block them from scoring a third point. Marlowe Jefferys (#3, 9) served, and then the Lady Crimsons got two more points before having an illegal fourth hit. 

North Oldham served a few points later, and Jeffereys bumped the ball to Alyssa Faber (#4, 10), who set it to Ally Hamilton (#18, 9). Hamilton then killed the ball. During the next few points, the service bounced between teams for a while, but the Lady Crimsons maintained their lead. The Mustangs began to catch up, and the score was close for a few minutes, until Manual ultimately pulled ahead. 

In the final point of the match, the Mustangs fought to keep Manual from scoring. After a few attempts, however, the Lady Crimsons were able to put the ball away and claim victory. 

“I think they did phenomenal. That was a hard fought win,” McCulloch said. 

Varsity:

The Mustangs received the service to start, but Brooke Ciresi (#14, 12) spiked the ball to score the first point. The teams fought to score, and the Lady Crimsons came out on top, taking an early lead. After a few points, Manual hit the ball out of bounds and the Mustangs took the service. A serve by Piper Fulton (#17, 10) resulted in an ace. The Mustangs brought the scores close, but the Crimsons strengthened their lead. They scored point after point, and Fulton took the service. She had two more aces, and brought Manual’s score to 24 points. By the final point of the set, Manual was leading the Mustangs by nine. A service error by the Mustangs gave the Lady Crimsons the winning point. 

The Lady Crimsons then entered the second set with strong momentum and immediately began scoring. Kills from Aubrey Montgomery (#29, 12) and Ciresi solidified an early lead for Manual.

A mid-court violation on the Lady Crimsons resulted in the Mustangs’ first point, but Manual was quick to regain the service. 

The ball was passed between teams, but the Crimsons held the lead. Fulton later killed the ball, and Abby Gentner (#22, 12) served an ace a few points later. The Mustangs failed to serve the ball , but scored an ace shortly after. Riley Osborne (#4, 12) then bumped the ball to Gentner, who hit it to Avery Schrenger (#8, 11). Schrenger then put the ball away, allowing the Lady Crimsons to lead by 10, and score the final point to win the set. 

“I think once we just figure out how to defend a good right side attack, you know that sideline [and] once we can get better getting our feet underneath us [with a] quicker split step, we’ll be a lot better at getting some of those digs back,” Head Coach Richard Weaver said. 

The final set was fairly close until the last point of the match . The Lady Crimsons and Mustangs battled to return the ball, and possession changed rapidly between teams. The Crimsons started out with the service, and quickly developed a lead. The Mustangs scored a few points, but  Manual pulled ahead. 

Schrenger served another ace, and then killed the ball after the Mustangs’ return. North Oldham brought the score to within one of the Lady Crimsons, but Manual managed to stay ahead. The teams matched one another point for point until the very end, when the Lady Crimsons were able to score their twenty-fourth point. Gentner killed the ball to win the match against North Oldham.  

“We knew they were going to bring it and honestly, what they’re really good at is something we’ve been struggling against, so to see ourselves step up and rise to that occasion and play great team ball and not let momentum slip away from us…we’re really proud of the girls,” Weaver said.

Gallery • 6 Photos

Abigail Coty

Piper Fulton (#17, 10) yells in reaction to a play unfurling.