The season for the sixth seeded Manawa Wolves volleyball team came to an end when it lost to third seeded St. Mary Central in the first round of the playoffs, Tuesday, Oct. 22. Though the Lady Wolves played with the Zephyrs, St. Mary Central won the first three sets.

In the first set of the night, nerves seemed to get the best of both teams. The game started out close, with neither team able to put many offensive points on the board at one time. Manawa brought it to within one, with the score 8-9, with two service points from Kali Young. When St. Mary Central was leading 13-10, they put together a seven point run which Manawa could not overcome. The set finished 25-14 in the Zephyrs favor.

The second set started out much the same as the first. The teams tied the score at four with two service points from Ashlee Strebe and then again at nine with serving help from Katie Velie. Again, one strong run for the Zephyrs helped them pull ahead 19-12. Manawa held them off for four more servers, but Saint Mary Central finished the set 25-19.

The final set of the night was the closest, with Manawa putting up a fight late in the game. They started off strong with three offensive points, served by Lexie Sell. The Wolves continued to lead until the score was 7-5, and then the next two servers helped the Zephyrs go up 10-7 and then 17-10. Feeling the match slipping away from them, the Lady Wolves put together a six point run late in the game to bring the game to 18-19. Breana Haines served those pressure points, with two of her serves being aces. The Zephyrs battled back and finished the set, and match, 25-20.

Senior, middle hitter, Haines led her team with 13 points and had 18 digs for the evening. Young and Strebe, the Wolves’ outside hitters, both had four points for the match, while Aubrie Millard and Autumn Ferg each had three, Sell had two, and Velie had one. Haines was the dig leader, but Sell, Millard and Young all played great defense too. Sell had 13 digs, while Millard had 11 and Young had 10. Sell also had the most assists with 11, while Strebe was the service leader, serving 12-12. Velie (6-6) and Millard (3-3) were both 100 percent from the service line also.

The Manawa Wolves volleyball team finished the season with a 13-19 record and a first place trophy from the Marion Invitational.