N. MANCHESTER, Indiana - The #14 ranked Mount St. Joseph Lions volleyball team headed north to N. Manchester, Indiana, taking on the Spartans or Manchester University. The match could have easily been one where the Lions lose focus as it was placed between their two biggest HCAC matches of the season. Coach Spinney and the Lions did not fall into the trap of looking forward, they took down the Spartans in straight sets (25-20, 25-9, 25-22).
Emma Sicking led the way for the Mount's offensive efforts, registering a match-high 12 kills and a .333 hitting percentage.
McKenzee Wagener was second on the team with 6 kills and led the way with a .500 hitting percentage.
Grace Young,
Emily Pfeifer and
Hannah Graves all added 5 kills as well. Setter
Jasmine Butler dished out 35 assists and had a pair of kills. Defensively the Lions had a pair of players with double-digit digs,
Erin Androne led the way with 12 and
Carly Caldwell added 11.
Set one was tight most of the way and was even tied at 10, but a five point run in the middle of the set pulled them ahead and they would not trail again in the set. In set two the Lions were absolutely dominant, after the set was tied at 3 the Lions used a 12-point run to put the set on ice. That run came with Graves at the service line, and she had a pair of aces in the run. The third set was much more competitive, the Mount held an early 6-point lead in the set but Manchester would not go away. The Spartans came all the way back to tie the set at 22 all, but after a timeout by coach Spinney the Lions secured the next 3-points to secure the straight sets win.
UP NEXT: The win sets up the biggest match in the HCAC this season, as the #14 Lions will welcome #16 Transylvania into the Harrington Center on Wednesday night. The winner of the match on Wednesday will secure the HCAC's regular season title and the right to host the HCAC Tournament. The match is scheduled for a 7:00 PM start, it will also be senior day for the Lions. That night we will celebrate the careers of
Erin Androne,
McKenzee Wagener,
Carly Caldwell,
Addie Conley,
Kristen Schoenfeld,
Grace Young and
Emily Pfeifer. Come out to the match on Wednesday and help cheer on our Lions to victory, if you are unable to make it out tune into the MSJ Athletics Youtube channel to watch the action.
