BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Manchester University volleyball team pieced together some of its best stretches of play this season, however, host Bluffton was able to edge the Black & Gold on Wednesday night. The Spartans and Beavers went the distance in a highly competitive opening match, with Bluffton eking out a very narrow victory in five sets.

The Beavers' offense stayed hot as the Spartans started to run out of gas in the second match, completing the sweep of Wednesday's doubleheader with a straight set victory.

Match 1 – Bluffton def. Manchester 3-2 (18-25, 25-17, 20-25, 27-25, 15-4) – Box Score

Match 2 - Bluffton def. Manchester 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-13) – Box Score

Doubleheader Notes:

* The Manchester University Spartans pieced together some of their best stretches of play this season in the opening match of Wednesday night's doubleheader, however, host Bluffton was able to edge the Black & Gold in five sets.
* Through the first three sets of play in the first match on Wednesday night, Manchester led the Beavers two-sets-to-one. MU took the first and third sets by respective scores of 25-18 and 25-20. Bluffton captured the second set 25-17.
* Better passing and attacking led to MU's early success in the opening match as the Spartans hit .294 and .297 in the first and third sets. Freshman Jordan Holland (Osceola, Ind./Mishawaka) had her best performance of her young career in the opening match, dishing out 51 assists – the most assists by a Spartan since 2016.
* Holland was able to setup Helaina Walters (Marion, Ind./Eastbrook) and Joy Maze (Greenwood, Ind./Greenwood Community), who finished with 21 and 20 kills, respectively in the opening match – both single-match highs for Walters and Maze this season.
* Samantha Campbell (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) chipped in nine kills and five block assists to help pace the MU offense.
* Manchester was just a point away from taking the fourth set of the opening match, leading 24-22, however, Bluffton grinded out a 5-1 run to end the set to stay alive in the match.
* After hitting .353 in the fourth set, Bluffton's offense continued to gain steam in the fifth and final set. The Beavers hit an impressive .375 en route to their 15-4 triumph in the final frame.
* The Black & Gold ran out of gas while the Bluffton offense stayed hot in the second match of the night. The Beavers completed the doubleheader sweep with a straight set victory.
* Joy Maze picked up 13 more kills in the second match.
* Lauren Gandhi (Westfield, Ind./Guerin Catholic) tallied 15 assists in the second match on Wednesday night.
* Rachel Ressler (Tipton, Ind./Tipton) finished the evening with a total of 31 digs.
* Bluffton hit .257 or better in each set of the second match.

Up Next:

* Manchester is scheduled to travel to Mount St. Joseph on Saturday, February 13, for a 4 p.m. doubleheader.