For the final conference match of the regular season the Wolves traveled back to Iola-Scandinavia to face off against the Thunderbirds for the second time this year.
The first time these two teams met up the match was very tight and was won by I-S in the fifth set. This time around the Wolves dominated, winning the match in only three sets.
In set one, the Wolves started out with an early 7 to 2 lead with help from a six-point service rally by Ali Dean, which included two aces. The Wolves kept this cushion, spreading it to seven points when the score was 14 to 7. On Manawa’s 15th point side out, Krista Braun served six points in a row – four of which were aces! By the end of Braun’s rally, the Wolves led 21 to 10. The Lady T-Birds tried to come back into the game, putting five points on the board on their side out, but Manawa easily finished the set with the next two servers. The final score was 25-18.
The second set found the T-Birds up 11 to 4 early in the game. By earning a couple offensive points at a time Manawa was able to cut into that lead, even bringing it within one point at 12 to 13. Iola-Scandinavia continued to lead, but the Wolves showed true determination to keep the match from going into extra sets. With the score 24 to 22 in the T-Birds’ favor, Manawa fought for a side out and, with great pressure serving by Makayla Johnson, the Wolves scored three points in a row, finishing the set 26-24. M. Johnson even had an ace on the set point.
The final set of the night was all Manawa. Aggressive serving allowed them to put the match away with a final score of 25 to 15. Braun, Dean and M. Johnson all had aces in this set. Dean had three while M. Johnson had two and Braun had one.
Dean’s tough serving helped her to become the team’s point leader for the night. She had 11 points, six of which were aces. She also led her team with 11 digs. Braun followed in the point column with 10, five of which were aces. Aimee Drath had eight kills for the evening. Other point contributors included: MaryKay Heinz 7, Kali Draeger 6, M. Johnson 4, Kayla Johnson 4, Megan O’Brien 1 and Ashley Remington 1. Braun led her team with 13 assists and she also had the second most digs with seven. Both A. Remington and Drath were 100 percent from the service line. A. Remington served 7-of-7 while Drath was 5-of-5.