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The Austin volleyball team started things with a bang as they beat Mankato East by scores of 23-25, 25-19, 25-16, 27-25 in Mankato Friday night.

Peyton Manahan had 11 kills and 28 digs for the Packers (1-0 overall, 1-0 Big Nine).

“We are working through a culture change. This group of girls make up one of the strongest teams to come out of Austin in recent years,” Austin head coach Jeremy Struck said. ” I have a history of coaching against them, and I have never seen an Austin team with a such a talent filled roster. Tonight, we worked extremely hard at executing on both ends of the net. We had good energy, and our lows were minimal. This was a good first match and is proof that hard work pays off.”

Austin stats: Peyton Manahan, 11 kills, 28 digs, 2 assists; Teagan Sutter, 7 kills, 14 digs, 2 aces; Nora Tweeten, 6 kills, 2 digs, 1 assist; Isabella Bolster, 6 kills, 3 blocks; Emily Hjelmen, 2 kills, 1 dig, 1 assist; Chloe Jenkins, 2 kills, 8 digs, 1 ace, 15 assists; Alia Retterath, 14 assists, 5 digs, 2 aces; Coach Struck, 1 kill, Kristen Neilsen, 22 digs, 1 assist