Waterville/Mansfield volleyball team drops five-set heartbreaker in Manson

By David Heiling
Empire Press Correspondent

MANSON — The Waterville/Mansfield volleyball team fell just short of notching its second win of the season on Sept. 28 in Manson, falling to the host Trojans in a close, five-set contest.

The final set scores were 25-22, 12-25, 25-13, 24-26, 13-15.

The conclusion of the third set found the Shockers in the lead, but the hometown Trojans rallied behind their experienced starters to pull out two wins by the slimmest of margins against the younger Waterville/Mansfield team in the fourth and fifth sets.

The varsity game was played on Thursday after Tuesday’s match was canceled due to lack of officials. The junior varsity team played their match with Manson at home on Tuesday with the varsity coaches judging.

Shockers varsity coach Melissa Flaget lauded the efforts of many players for their effort and skill on the court, including junior hitter Ali Mires for her service and defense, junior hitter Ariana Salcido for her play at the net, and freshmen middles Alex Poppie and Claire Ashley for their strong hitting.

“They both took a lot of passes in serve receive and dug a lot of balls defensively for us,” Flaget said about Mires and Poppie.