NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. — Manchester (11-8, 6-2 HCAC) swept Anderson (IN) (13-13, 3-5 HCAC) 3-0 on Wednesday. Manchester finished with 45 kills and a .257 hitting percentage while holding Anderson (IN) to 20 kills and a -.010 mark.
Manchester put together repeated scoring stretches, beginning with the opening set after falling behind 8-7. Manchester moved in front 13-8 as part of an 8-0 run that reached 15-8, then added another 8-0 run later in the set, including seven straight service points, to go from 15-9 to 23-9. The same type of run appeared again in the next two sets, with Manchester scoring seven straight points from 11-5 to 18-5 in the second set and adding a 7-0 stretch from 5-4 to 12-4 in the third set.
Manchester finished with 45 kills on .257 hitting, while Anderson (IN) had 20 kills, 21 attack errors and a -.010 hitting percentage. Manchester also had eight service aces to Anderson (IN)'s two and recorded 51 digs compared with 42 for Anderson (IN).
Morgan Howard directed the attack with 32 assists, and
Lily Lichtenbarger finished with 13 kills on .500 hitting.
Tiffany Watterson added 15 digs as Manchester's back row helped sustain the longer rally stretches.
Manchester broke open the first set with an 8-0 run after falling behind 8-7, moving in front 15-8 behind
Tiffany Watterson's serve, back-to-back kills from
Izzy Renz, a Watterson ace and kills by
Kyana Martinez and Lichtenbarger. Earlier, the set was even through 8-8 as Manchester traded points with Anderson (IN), getting early kills from Lichtenbarger, Renz,
Alicia Simmons and Martinez while
Delaeni Hixson contributed a block on an Anderson (IN) attack error. After Anderson (IN) got one point back, Manchester answered with another 8-0 push from 15-9 to 23-9, including a Renz kill to earn a sideout and seven straight service points by
Alena Naddaf, who had two aces before Howard finished the stretch with a kill. Anderson (IN) won four straight points late to get to 23-13, but Howard's kill from Renz made it 24-13 and another Anderson (IN) attack error closed Manchester's 25-13 set win.
A 7-0 run created the decisive separation in the second set, moving the score from 11-5 to 18-5. Earlier, Martinez delivered kills on Manchester's first two points, Howard set up early finishes by Martinez and Lichtenbarger, and Watterson added a service ace during a 5-0 start. Simmons then served six straight Manchester points in the middle of the set, a stretch that included her ace, a Martinez block, Anderson (IN) errors and a Hixson kill from Howard. Manchester continued to answer brief Anderson (IN) points with kills from Martinez, Lichtenbarger and Renz, plus late aces by Watterson and Naddaf, before an Anderson (IN) attack error closed a 25-11 set win.
In the third set, Manchester created the separation it needed with a seven-point run that turned a 5-4 edge into a 12-4 lead, using kills from Lichtenbarger, Howard and Simmons along with a
Keira Meierant service ace. Earlier, Manchester opened the set with four straight points, including two Lichtenbarger kills and a Renz finish from Lichtenbarger. Anderson (IN) worked back into several exchanges later in the set, but Manchester continued to answer with kills from Hixson, Simmons, Renz and Lichtenbarger as Howard repeatedly set up the attack. After Anderson (IN) cut the score to 24-20, Martinez finished a Howard assist to give Manchester the set, 25-20.
Lichtenbarger led Manchester with 13 kills while hitting .500. Howard finished with 32 assists, six digs and five kills on six attacks. Watterson collected 15 digs and served three aces. Simmons added eight kills, 14 digs and one service ace.
Manchester moves to 11-8 overall and 6-2 in HCAC play.
Up next, Manchester hosts Earlham on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 6:30 p.m. at Stauffer-Wolfe Arena for Senior Day.
