NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. — Manchester (13-8, 7-2 HCAC) swept Mt. St. Joseph (14-11, 5-4 HCAC) 3-0 on Wednesday at Stauffer-Wolfe Arena in the Quarterfinals of the HCAC Volleyball Tournament. Manchester finished with 43 kills and a .269 hitting percentage while holding Mt. St. Joseph to 26 kills and a .076 percentage.
Manchester answered a late deficit in the opening set, moving from down 20-21 to a 25-22 set finish. That stretch included Manchester reaching set point at 24-22. Manchester produced another run in the third set, winning seven of eight rallies during a sequence that included turning a 3-4 deficit into an 8-5 lead.
Manchester also had a 55-35 advantage in digs, helping support the extended rallies that shaped the match.
Alicia Simmons finished with 16 kills and 17 points, while
Kyana Martinez added 13 kills on a .571 hitting percentage.
Morgan Howard directed the attack with 28 assists and added 10 digs.
Manchester answered a 21-20 late deficit and, after Mt. St. Joseph tied the set at 22-22, won the final three points on kills by Howard,
Delaeni Hixson and Simmons to take the first set 25-22. Earlier, Manchester fell behind 5-1, but the home side worked back to 8-8 behind kills from Simmons and Martinez along with Mt. St. Joseph errors. Manchester continued to respond through the middle of the set, with Martinez putting it ahead 14-13 and
Tiffany Watterson's service turn helping move Manchester in front 18-17 on consecutive Mt. St. Joseph attack errors. Simmons added kills at 21-21 and 22-21 before Manchester closed the set with the final three-point push.
Manchester won the second set 25-19, taking the first point on a Martinez kill from Simmons and staying in front the rest of the set. Earlier,
Lily Lichtenbarger delivered back-to-back kills from Howard before Howard added a kill of her own, helping Manchester move ahead 7-2. Mt. St. Joseph closed the gap to 10-9, but Manchester responded with an opponent error and Simmons service ace, then got consecutive Martinez kills to reach 15-11. Lichtenbarger, Simmons and Hixson added kills through the middle and late stages, and after Mt. St. Joseph pulled within 23-19, Manchester finished the set on a service error by the visitors and an
Izzy Renz ace.
Manchester overcame an early 4-1 deficit in the third set, winning seven of the next eight rallies to move ahead 8-5 behind kills from Martinez, Howard and Simmons, plus a
Haddi Hile service ace. The Spartans kept building from there, with Simmons adding several kills off Howard assists and Howard serving an ace as Manchester reached 15-9. After Mt. St. Joseph pulled within 15-12, Manchester answered with four straight points, including a Lichtenbarger kill, to stretch the score to 19-12. Mt. St. Joseph made one late push from 23-15 to 23-19, but Martinez stopped the run with a kill before Renz finished the 25-19 set win off a Howard assist.
Simmons led Manchester with 16 kills and 17 points while adding seven digs. Martinez recorded 13 kills on a .571 hitting percentage and added one solo block. Howard finished with 28 assists, 10 digs, five kills and two service aces.
Tiffany Watterson collected a team-high 14 digs and added seven assists.
Manchester moves to 13-8 overall and 7-2 in HCAC play.
Up next, Manchester travels to Richmond, Indiana, to face Earlham College on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m in the HCAC Semifinals.
NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. — Manchester (13-8, 7-2 HCAC) swept Mt. St. Joseph (14-11, 5-4 HCAC) 3-0 on Wednesday at Stauffer-Wolfe Arena in the Quarterfinals of the HCAC Volleyball Tournament. Manchester finished with 43 kills and a .269 hitting percentage while holding Mt. St. Joseph to 26 kills and a .076 percentage.
Manchester answered a late deficit in the opening set, moving from down 20-21 to a 25-22 set finish. That stretch included Manchester reaching set point at 24-22. Manchester produced another run in the third set, winning seven of eight rallies during a sequence that included turning a 3-4 deficit into an 8-5 lead.
Manchester also had a 55-35 advantage in digs, helping support the extended rallies that shaped the match.
Alicia Simmons finished with 16 kills and 17 points, while
Kyana Martinez added 13 kills on a .571 hitting percentage.
Morgan Howard directed the attack with 28 assists and added 10 digs.
Manchester answered a 21-20 late deficit and, after Mt. St. Joseph tied the set at 22-22, won the final three points on kills by Howard,
Delaeni Hixson and Simmons to take the first set 25-22. Earlier, Manchester fell behind 5-1, but the home side worked back to 8-8 behind kills from Simmons and Martinez along with Mt. St. Joseph errors. Manchester continued to respond through the middle of the set, with Martinez putting it ahead 14-13 and
Tiffany Watterson's service turn helping move Manchester in front 18-17 on consecutive Mt. St. Joseph attack errors. Simmons added kills at 21-21 and 22-21 before Manchester closed the set with the final three-point push.
Manchester won the second set 25-19, taking the first point on a Martinez kill from Simmons and staying in front the rest of the set. Earlier,
Lily Lichtenbarger delivered back-to-back kills from Howard before Howard added a kill of her own, helping Manchester move ahead 7-2. Mt. St. Joseph closed the gap to 10-9, but Manchester responded with an opponent error and Simmons service ace, then got consecutive Martinez kills to reach 15-11. Lichtenbarger, Simmons and Hixson added kills through the middle and late stages, and after Mt. St. Joseph pulled within 23-19, Manchester finished the set on a service error by the visitors and an
Izzy Renz ace.
Manchester overcame an early 4-1 deficit in the third set, winning seven of the next eight rallies to move ahead 8-5 behind kills from Martinez, Howard and Simmons, plus a
Haddi Hile service ace. The Spartans kept building from there, with Simmons adding several kills off Howard assists and Howard serving an ace as Manchester reached 15-9. After Mt. St. Joseph pulled within 15-12, Manchester answered with four straight points, including a Lichtenbarger kill, to stretch the score to 19-12. Mt. St. Joseph made one late push from 23-15 to 23-19, but Martinez stopped the run with a kill before Renz finished the 25-19 set win off a Howard assist.
Simmons led Manchester with 16 kills and 17 points while adding seven digs. Martinez recorded 13 kills on a .571 hitting percentage and added one solo block. Howard finished with 28 assists, 10 digs, five kills and two service aces.
Tiffany Watterson collected a team-high 14 digs and added seven assists.
Manchester is 13-8 overall and 7-2 in HCAC play. Mt. St. Joseph is 14-11 overall and 5-4 in HCAC play.
