Manvel (11-5) outlasted the hosting Gators in a five-set thriller by 25-18, 20-25, 28-26, 18-25 and 18-16 scores Friday in Dickinson.
Junior setter Cecilia Harness dished out 51 assists and added 10 digs for a double double, while senior right-side hitter Macy Witt-Nobles and sophomore outside hitter Aryn Johnson also delivered double figure outings. Nobles provided 16 kills and 14 digs, while Johnson added 15 kills and 14 digs.
Junior middle blocker Morgan Smith chipped in 16 kills, as well, and senior defensive specialist Michaela Kaspar produced 11 digs.
Against Alvin, the hitting trio of Johnson, Witt-Nobles and Morgan Smith combined for 40 kills and Harness dished out 45 assists to help the Lady Mavs fend off the Lady Yellowjackets in four sets by 25-12, 25-18, 23- 25 and 25-21 scores Aug. 7 in Alvin.
Despite being dominated early on, the Lady Jackets refused to fold with Suzy Buechele’s squad winning the third set and then taking a 18-13 lead in the fourth game. Johnson sparked Manvel with three kills in the fourth during a 10-0 stretch, though, while Witt-Nobles both delivered a solo block at the net to make it 24-20 and a match-ending spike a few moments later.
“We have definitely been playing on a roller coaster this season,” Manvel head coach Susan Kennedy said following the match. “We’ve got to figure out how to stay consistent when we have an opponent down.
“We let them back in set three by a lot of own unforced errors. We had about four net calls in a row. Alvin definitely turned it on and were digging, digging and were real scrappy in game three and part of game four. They were putting it back over and we were making the mistake.”
Manvel totally dominated the opening set, jumping to a 12-5 lead with Smith, Johnson, Kaspar and Witt-Nobles trading blows at the net. Hadlee Morris kept Alvin close early in game two with a pair of kills and Lindsay Parthum added an ace, but the Lady Mavs ultimately pulled away on the strength of back-to-back aces by Smith and Witt Nobles’ spike.
However, Alvin took the upper hand for the first time in the third set and never trailed. Morris joined Angelina Farias and Tobi Phillips with kills and Alvin also cashed in on six Manvel hitting miscues for a 15-9 advantage. Parthum and Gabby Hall also provided aces and Hannah Webster chipped in a net rejection to increase the margin to 22-15.
Manvel closed within 24-23 a little later on Smith’s kill, but Witt-Nobles’ serve then dipped into the net at set point to help the Lady Jackets get back into the thick of things.
Alvin maintained its momentum for most of game four, as Jenna Edmonds’ kill and another Hall ace paved the way for an 18- 13 lead. Witt-Nobles and Johnson followed with consecutive floor shots for the Lady Mavs, though, and Manvel seized control with the 10 unanswered tallies to capture the match.
Johnson led all hitters with 16 kills, while Witt-Nobles added 13 kills and Smith had 11 spikes. Harness chipped in 14 digs for a double-double, while other dig totals for Manvel included Taylor Doan with 18, Kaspar with 14 and Johnson (wh... Click here to read full article
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