NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. - The Manchester University women's volleyball team hosted the Manchester Invitational inside Stauffer-Wolfe Arena on September 22-23. 

The Black and Gold went 1-3 on the weekend, picking up a 3-0 win against Concordia Chicago on Friday. 

Trine 3, Manchester 1
Manchester hosted Trine University to open the tournament on Friday. The Spartans fells by scores of 26-24, 22-25, 20-25, and 17-25. Sophomore outside hitter Avery Ball (Decatur, Ind., Belmont) led the Black and Gold offensive attack with 15 kills and one service ace. Ball also added 10 digs. Joy Maze (Greenwood, Ind., Greenwood Community) had 13 kills, while Jessica Tarr (Fort Wayne, Ind., Snider) had 10 kills on the evening. Tiffany Watterson (Elkhart, Ind., Elkhart) had a weekend-high 27 digs. Emma Tone (Fort Wayne, Ind., Bishop Dwenger) collected 19 assists. 

Manchester 3, Concordia Chicago 0
The Spartans took on Concordia Chicago on Friday night, sweeping the Cougars 3-0. The Spartans took the match with set scores of 25-19, 25-23, and 25-20. As a team, the Spartans hit .237 in the second set with 14 kills. Avery Ball again led the Black and Gold with 12 kills and only five errors for a .389 hitting percentage. Joy Maze chipped in nine kills and three aces, while Jessica Tarr added seven kills. Tiffany Watterson had 21 digs. Alexa Kouskousakis (Rochester, Ind., Rochester Community) had a team-high 15 assists.

Alma 3, Manchester 2
After returning to the court on Saturday, The Spartans dropped a competitive match to the Alma College Scots 3-2. Manchester took set one 29-27, but Alma would rally to take sets two and three by final scores of 25-23 and 25-12. The Spartans came back to take set four 26-24 but would fall short in set five 15-10. As a team, MU hit .201 with 68 total kills. Joy Maze led the team with 19 kills while Avery Ball added 17 kills and 16 digs. Alexa Kouskousakis had 27 assists. Lily Lichtenbarger (South Bend, Ind., New Prairie) had three total blocks defensively.

Franklin 3, Manchester 2
To conclude this year's Manchester Invitational, the Spartans faced Franklin College for a non-conference matchup. After another back-and-forth battle, the Grizzlies managed to hang on for a 3-2 victory. The Spartans took set one 25-16 but dropped the next two sets by final scores of 25-20 and 25-23. MU would rally back to take set four 25-21, but Franklin would hang on to win set five 15-13. CC led with 17 digs and five total blocks. Joy Maze and Avery Ball added 14 and 11 kills, respectfully. Emma Tone (Fort Wayne, Ind., Bishop Dwenger) had 21 assists. Defensively, Tiffany Watterson had a team-high 18 digs.

Avery Ball and Tiffany Watterson were named to the 2023 Manchester Invitational All-Tournament team for their performances over the weekend. Watterson totaled 78 digs in four matches for the Black and Gold. She also added three service aces. Ball totaled 58 kills in four matches with 5 service aces, two block assists, and 49 digs.

Up next, Manchester volleyball will travel to Earlham College to begin HCAC play on Friday, September 29.