Saturday was the Manhattan High Junior Varsity volleyball team’s turn at home when they faced off in the Manhattan High Volleyball Round Robin tournament, placing second. 

The first match that the Indians had played was against Lawrence Free State. During the first set, the Indians found themselves trailing 10-4. The Indians were trying to gain momentum and eventually found themselves rallying to tie the set 10-10.

“We started slow, but we were constantly saying ‘we got to get out of this, we got to get out of this,’ and we pushed ourselves to gain the momentum and we were really talkative once we had that momentum and I think that is what shut them down,” Kylie Corneliusen, J.V. coach, said. 

The first set was a back-and-forth battle that the Indians eventually won. At the beginning of the second set, the Indians were hoping to come out of the gate strong, yet just like the first set, they found themselves trailing. A little while into the set the Indians started to feel more comfortable. Their communication was better and stronger, which was a key factor to them winning the second set and eventually winning the match. 

The second match that the Indians played was against Saint Thomas Aquinas. In this match, it was close every second and there was never a dull moment. 

“I think we need to be a little more aggressive,” Claire Shamburg, sophomore, said.

And that is exactly what the Indians did. They came out firing and were ready to play. Neither team ever had a big lead so no side was able to gain momentum.  After a tough set, Saint Thomas Aquinas won and delivered the Indians their first lost set of the day. The second set of the match was just like the rest. The Indians trailed. 

“We started out slow but we came back,” Hayley Hastings, sophomore, said.

The second set of the second match didn’t go to the Indians. Even with the loss of the second match, the Indians were able to take second place with a record of 3-2. 

The J.V. team’s next games will be played against Seaman and Washburn Rural at Washburn Rural tomorrow. Varsity hosts a quad with Concordia, Topeka West and Topeka High at 5 p.m. tonight at MHS.