Richmond, Ind. - Manchester Volleyball traveled to Richmond for a tri-match with Earlham and Albion.
Match One:
Manchester University volleyball put up a gritty five-set effort on the road Saturday but came up short in a 3–2 (22-25, 25-21, 16-25, 25-21, 9-15) loss to Earlham in Richmond, Indiana.
Avery Ball led the Spartans with 19 kills and five blocks, anchoring a balanced Manchester attack that totaled 60 kills at a .173 clip. Adelyn Figley added 17 kills, 13 digs, and two aces, while setter Morgan Howard fueled the offense with 52 assists, 12 digs, and three service aces. Lily Lichtenbarger provided another two-way spark, finishing with nine kills and seven blocks.
After dropping the opening frame 22-25, Manchester bounced back in the second, riding efficient swings from Ball and Figley plus two late kills by Lichtenbarger to even the match 1-1. Earlham's sharp serving and early runs reclaimed momentum in the third, but the Spartans answered again in the fourth—Howard and Watterson combined to stabilize serve-receive, and Ball's heavy hitting down the stretch forced a deciding set.
The fifth set stayed tight early before Earlham's offense pulled away. Manchester couldn't quite recover despite kills from Figley and Hixson, settling for a hard-fought defeat in its conference matchup.
Match Two:
Manchester volleyball wrapped up its weekend tournament with a straight-sets loss to a strong Albion side, falling 25-12, 25-20, 25-22.
Despite the sweep, the Spartans showed steady improvement as the match went on—especially in sets two and three, where they pushed Albion to tighter margins through improved serving and ball control.
Maddi Smith led Manchester with nine kills and a .364 hitting percentage, also contributing five digs and a solo block. Avery Ball followed with eight kills, seven digs, and three service aces, while setter Morgan Howard directed the offense with 14 assists, two aces, and seven digs. Kyana Martinez and Lily Lichtenbarger each added four kills, combining for three blocks at the net, and Haddi Hile provided a late spark from the service line with two aces in the third set.
After a slow start in the first frame, Manchester found rhythm midway through the second, stringing together a 6–0 run fueled by Ball's serving and back-to-back kills from Smith and Martinez. The Spartans carried that momentum into the third set, trading points deep into the frame before Albion closed on a late surge to secure the match.
Manchester (10–13) will look to regroup as it returns to conference play, encouraged by strong attacking from Smith and Ball and continued development from its young rotation.
