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	The Manchester Enterprise A Heritage Newspaper Weekly Publication

Panthers outlast Manchester in five

Dutch put scare into Addison in marathon match

By Ed Patino, Staff Writer

PUBLISHED: February 8, 2007

Just as the Manchester varsity volleyball team was building momentum, Ciera Stevick and the Addison Panthers took it away.

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With Stevick making big plays all over the floor, Addison pulled out a 21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 20-25, 15-8 victory over the Flying Dutch in a Cascades Conference match last Thursday.

Manchester (11-14-2, 2-2 Cascades) made a late surge to win the fourth game and extend the match. Addison (17-10-3, 2-2 Cascades) recovered in the fifth, pulling away with an 11-2 run for the victory.

Stevick and Julie Fielder exchanged kills as the teams played to a 3-3 tie early in the deciding game. However, the Panthers scored four straight points with Stevick serving and blasting a kill, and Amanda Witte adding a block.

Later, an ace by Melissa Beteau and consecutive kills by Stephanie Shaw staked Addison to a 14-5 lead.

"When the game is to 15, it doesn't take much to gain momentum," Manchester coach Mike Mininger said. "Four of five points against you is tough to overcome."

The Dutch answered with an ace by Laura Coltre and kill from Amanda Pratt, pulling to within 14-8, but an out of bounds hit ended the match.

Facing defeat, Manchester broke a 19-19 tie with five straight points. Amanda Mutchler slammed a kill and made two blocks, then Ally Way dug over a point, giving the Dutch a 24-19 lead. Witte's kill kept Addison alive, but Stacey Volk answered with a block, sending the match to a fifth game.

"Mike is a good coach and as the year has gone on, he has them playing better," Addison coach Dick Bradstreet said. "We knew they would play a good match."

The teams played even in the first game until Manchester scored three straight points, with Shanel Mullins serving and blasting a kill, giving the Dutch a 19-16 lead. Addison pulled to within one with a kill by Stevick, but two kills by Fielder and an ace from Way gave Manchester first blood.

"We were pumped up because we knew this was an important match," Mininger said. "Addison is a quality program that's well-coached, and we had to play as hard as we could."

It was the Panthers who rallied to win the second game. Down by two, Shaw served four straight points and Witte added a pair of kills, giving Addison a 23-21 lead. Stevick ended the game when she tapped over another kill.

Addison controlled the third game after Beteau served six consecutive points and kills from Shaw, and Ashley Nieto gave the Panthers a 15-9 lead. Fielder served an ace, bringing the Dutch to within 19-15, but they came no closer. Kills by Shaw and Beteau ended the game and staked Addison to a one-game lead.

"We needed help on the right side, so I moved Melissa there," Bradstreet said. "She seems to fit well and is doing a nice job for us."

Fielder led Manchester's attack with 12 kills and 17 digs. Pratt and Mutchler each added seven kills, while Way set up 30 assists. Crystal Poertner made six digs and Coltre had five digs. Volk recorded three solo blocks for the Dutch.

"Julie is our go-to player and is an excellent outside hitter," Mininger said. "Stacey does what's needed at the net and does a nice job."

Stevick had 25 kills, 15 digs and three blocks to lead the Panthers. Shaw added 16 kills, while Beteau finished with eight kills and three blocks. Nieto set up 55 assists and Kara Cripe made 19 digs for Addison.

"Ciera is becoming a good middle hitter and starting to get an understanding of the position," Bradstreet said. "She has a good court sense and compliments Shaw on the outside. It's nice to be able to spread the ball around."

The Dutch will travel to Vandercook Lake tonight, then compete in the Whitmore Lake tournament Saturday.

"We're still in good shape, and there's a lot of volleyball to be played," Mininger said. "We've been more consistent than the beginning of the year, and I like how we're playing right now."

Staff Writer Ed Patino can be reached at 428-8173 or epatino@heritage.com.