On Saturday, volleyball teams arrived at MHS for an early Junior Varsity tournament. Starting at 8:30 a.m., the Manhattan JV team went up against Lawrence Free State. The team lost the first set 25-23, but went on to win their second set 25-22.

“The first one was a little rough. We got our heads down but the second one was a lot better, We stuck it out til the end,” sophomore outside hitter Meg Auten said.

Next, the girls went up against Washburn Rural. They won both sets 25-14 and 25-13.

“We started out kind of slow. I think it’s kind of a morning thing. Getting up early and having to come play some ball but we’re developing now, I guess and we just got to run from here,” JV coach Jordyn Holle said. “We got some really tough teams coming up so we got to be ready to play and play tough.”

Their third game of the tournament’s first half was played against Shawnee Heights. The girls took both sets 25-19 and 25-21. Once that game was completed, Manhattan had a total of five

set wins and one loss. The teams were then separated into brackets for the second half of the tournament.

The team was once again pitted against Washburn Rural in the Gold Bracket to see who would advance to the match for first place. Washburn Rural defeated MHS 25-21 and 25-14.

“Our intensity wasn’t as high so we were off the game. We were kind of just giving up. Then not being as aggressive as we needed to be. I don’t think we played as smart as we should have,” Megan Klug, sophomore middle hitter, said.

In the match for third place the girls once again faced Lawrence Free State. After two difficult sets, the team won 25-21 and 25-19.

“I feel like it took us a little way to get started but once we did we kicked it in and worked as a team to get the job done,” sophomore libero Raegan Wilcoxson said.

At the end of the competition, Manhattan ended up placing third overall.

“We came out pretty strong.The competition was pretty good today. All the teams were pretty strong but we showed up and did our best,” Wilcoxson said.