The MU volleyball team has qualified for the HCAC Tournament for the first time since 2016. The team will travel to Lexington, Kentucky on Nov. 3 to play Transylvania.
Photo by MU Athletics
Volleyball Team Qualifies for HCAC Tournament, Reviving Season
Anna Wilson
Manchester’s volleyball team’s season isn’t done yet. After a loss against Mount St. Joseph, they thought the season was coming to a close until they found out that Bluffton lost to Earlham, causing Manchester to make it into the HCAC volleyball tournament.
The volleyball team hasn’t been to the HCAC tournament since 2016.
The girls showed their excitement about moving on by reposting MUSpartans Instagram post about their advancement. “It’s our first time in a long time being in [the conference], so it’s a big deal,” said Jessica Tarr, a first-year outside hitter.
Carly Ripberger, a first-year setter, agreed. “My body is tired, but I’m very proud of the team and we are going to go out strong!” she said. The girls will be traveling to Lexington, Kentucky, on Nov. 3 to play against Transylvania at 7 p.m.
Another highlight came when Volleyball had their Senior night Saturday October 30. The girls came to the PERC bright and early to decorate their locker room and the court. Some of the girls were hanging up white, black and gold streamer paper in the main entrance of the gym. Then others were hanging up the posters they made for the solo senior Samantha Campbell.
Since Samantha’s last name is Campbell a lot of the girls had the idea of making a Campbell’s soup poster. Other posters had old pictures of Samantha and others said how all the girls enjoyed having her as a teammate. Campbell played an excellent game against Mount St. Joseph. She had 9 kills and 8 digs during the 4-set game.
Manchester vs. Mount St. Joseph was an intense game, with Manchester winning the first set 25 to 22. They did lose the other 3 sets, but they put up a battle during the 4th set only losing the set by 5.
Even though the Spartans lost, the parents, students and players made the game fun to watch. Parents had signs showing their support. Some of the parents even went around and asked students if they’d get in on it. The students did just that and after the Spartans would score a point, one of the parents would start the wave and the students would finish it. There were even times the students would send the wave back to parents.
The volleyball girls also showed a lot of spirit in the game, yelling out chants, holding up signs and even doing some fun dances.