Manchester Volleyball Sweeps Defiance for First Conference Win
NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Manchester University volleyball team earned its first Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference win of the season on Wednesday night following a straight set sweep of Defiance College inside a blacked out Stauffer-Wolfe Arena.
Manchester swung .248 as a unit while topping the visiting Yellow Jackets by set scores of 25-15, 25-17, and 25-16.
The balanced offensive trio of Halle Planck (Gas City, Ind./Mississinewa), Erika Kramer (Greensburg, Ind./North Decatur), and Sara Shultz (Churubusco, Ind./East Noble) led the way for Manchester. Planck finished with a team high nine kills and a .421 hitting percentage. Kramer hit an impressive .533, ending the match with eight kills. Kramer was also strong at the net, finishing with four solo blocks and a block assist. Shultz ended Wednesday’s match with eight kills.
First-year Carly Ripberger (Tipton, Ind./Tipton) led the Black & Gold with 32 assists. Rachel Ressler (Tipton, Ind./Tipton) and Helaina Walters (Marion, Ind./Eastbrook) added 17 and 16 digs, respectively. Walters added three aces against the Yellow Jackets.
Defiance hit just .105 on Wednesday night.
The win snapped a three-game skid for Manchester. The Spartans (9-10, 1-3 HCAC) will host another tri-match on Saturday October 16 inside Stauffer-Wolfe Arena. Manchester will take on Rose-Hulman at 1 p.m. and then St. Mary’s (Ind.) at 5 p.m.
