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Lady Wolves win Suring Tourney

The Lady Wolves had a full week of volleyball Sept. 11-17.

They not only played two conference matches, which each went the full five sets, but they also participated in a six team tournament in Suring.

Though they were unable to pull out the close match against the Thunderbirds of Iola-Scandinavia, they did win the nail biter against Shiocton and finished in 1st place at the Suring Invite.

On Tuesday, Sept. 13, the Lady Wolves played host to the Thunderbirds of Iola-Scandinavia. Missed serves and receiving errors plagued the Wolves throughout the entire match but they were still able to keep in the match with some good defensive play.

In the first set neither team was able to put an offensive run together. The teams played back and forth early in the game but the Thunderbirds came out on top 25-20.

The second set was even closer. I-S was the first team to 24, while Manawa was stuck at 21. Manawa showed true persistence by earning a side out and putting 4 offensive points, with clutch serving from Megan O’Brien, on the board to win, 26-24.

The third set was all Iola-Scandinavia. They won, 25-11, putting themselves up in the match 2 sets to 1.

Not wanting the match to be finished, Manawa fought back in set number 4. With their best serving set of the night, missing only 1 serve and a 6 point run led by Kim Retzke, the Wolves were able to tie the match up, 25-20.

Game number 5 was a true fight to the finish. Missing 5 serves, the Wolves had to depend on their defense to keep them in the game. Going to extra points, the Thunderbirds were able to finish the set, 17 to 15.

Kali Draeger led her team offensively with 15 points. Aimee Drath had 8 kills and Krista Braun, who had 20 assists, was also a point leader with 7. Other point contributors included: O’Brien (6), Ansley Block (4), Paige Schernecker (2) and Jessica Smiles, Torrie Dean, Retzke, and Wendy Kons all with 1. Kons was the defensive leader with 26 digs and was followed closely behind by O’Brien, who had 21 and Drath with 16. Dean was the team’s best server for the evening. She served 12 for 12. Smiles (3-3) and Olivia Levezow (1-1) were also 100 percent from the service line.

Two nights later, the Wolves traveled to Shiocton to play against the Chiefs. This match was also very intense. Unlike in the match against I-S, Manawa was able to serve consistently – the team was 96.2 percent from the line, serving 101-105 – and passed the ball much more accurately. This allowed them to pull out a victory in the fifth and final set.

In the first set, the teams played back and forth, even tying the game at 14. Within the next three rotations, Shiocton took a 22 to 16 lead. Fortunately the Wolves were able to fight back. With concentrated serving from Torrie Dean, the Wolves went on a nine-point run and finished the set, 25-22.

In set number two the Chiefs fought back. After one full rotation of servers, the score was tied 8-8 but then Shiocton picked up their offensive game and won, 25-18.

This momentum, along with three of Manawa’s four missed serves for the night, carried them through set 3. The Chiefs led the match, 2-1, with a score of 25-18.

The Lady Wolves knew that they could beat the Chiefs so they laid it all on the line in the fourth set. Neither team led by more than three points at any time in this game. In fact, the score was tied seven times! Manawa’s players showed true grit by pulling out the victory, and taking the match to a fifth game, 25-23.

The Wolves took an early two point lead early in set number five. This allowed them a little bit of a cushion as the game progressed. Unfortunately this cushion was taken away late in the set when Shiocton tied the score at 13. The teams tied the score once again at 14 and then Manawa took the lead, 16 to 15. Though Shiocton fought for three more points, Manawa kept the one point lead and finally finished the game at 20-18.

Kali Draeger had a match of a lifetime! She scored 24 points against Shiocton! This is the highest amount of points any Lady Wolf has scored in over four years. She had 22 kills and 2 solo blocks. Aimee Drath contributed 10 kills, also very impressive. Other point contributors included: Ansley Block with 8, 4 of which were solo block kills, Megan O’Brien (4), Kim Retzke (3), Krista Braun (2), Dean (2), and Wendy Kons (1). Besides scoring 4 points, Braun also led in assists and serving. She set the ball up for a point 31 times, served 21 of 21 and had 14 digs. The Wolves’ libero, Kons, led her team with 25 digs – O’Brien and Drath were both close behind with 20. Kons also served 16 for 16 and Retzke was 100% from the service line too. She served 11 for 11.

For their final competition of the week, the Lady Wolves traveled to Suring to participate in a tournament. The Wolves won all 5 of their matches and had a 10 win, 2 loss set record, taking 1st among the 6 teams.

In the first match of the day the Wolves faced off against the hosting team. Manawa beat Suring 25-23 and 25-14. Taylor Remington had a 6 point serving run in the second set and 6 out of 9 of the Wolves players were 100% from the service line in this match. These servers included: Aimee Drath (9-9), Torrie Dean (9-9), Krista Braun (7-7), Danielle Ferg (4-4), Paige Schernecker (1-1), and Ansley Block (1-1).

The Wolves played White Lake next. They easily won this match, 25-22 and 25-12. In this match a lot of players contributed to the win. Four team members scored 5 points apiece. These players were: Drath, Kali Draeger, Olivia Levezow, and Block.

In their 3rd match the Wolves faced off against the Shiocton Chiefs. After the intense match these two teams participated in on Thursday, the Wolves knew the Chiefs would be their biggest competition of the day. This certainly turned out to be true. In the first set Shiocton took an early lead and kept it, right up until the end, winning 25-18. In the 2nd set the Wolves were dedicated to proving that they truly were the better team. They won the set, 25-21 and continued to dominate throughout the 3rd set, finishing the match, 15-6. Draeger had 9.5 points in this match and Drath followed close behind with 9. She was also 5-5 from the service line, as were Megan O’Brien (13-13), Kim Retzke (9-9), Wendy Kons (7-7) and Schernecker (2-2).

After the lunch break Manawa continued their winning streak, beating Stockbridge 25-22 and 25-13. Olivia Levezow played a very good match. She was very impressive from the service line, with 5 service aces and she also led her team with 7 digs.

In their final match of the day the Wolves faced off against Elcho. Weariness was obvious as this was the only match, besides Shiocton, that the Wolves played into the 3rd set. They won the first set 25-23, lost the 2nd 24-26 and finished the match 15-10. O’Brien really helped her team out by serving 7 points in a row, including 2 aces, very early in the 3rd set. This put the Wolves up 10 to 4 and allowed them a comfortable cushion to finish out the set.

Draeger had 36 points for the tournament. She as followed by Drath with 23 and Block with 20.5. All team members scored at some point during the day. Their points were as followed: Levezow (15), O’Brien (14.5), Braun (11), Dean (8), Ferg (7.5), Schernecker (7), Retzke (6.5), Remington (5), and Kons (2). Braun had 54 assists and Ferg contributed 13. Ferg was also 100 percent from the service line for the day. She served 15 for 15, as did Kons and Block was 14-14.

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