Packers fall short against one of the Big Nine’s best

Published 9:43 pm Tuesday, September 13, 2022

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The Austin volleyball team ran into a juggernaut in Packer Gym Tuesday night, but it did its best to stay active as it lost by scores of 25-9, 25-10, 25-11 to Rochester Century.

The Panthers (10-0 overall) led 15-7 in the first game,  10-2 in the second game and led just 13-10 in the final game, before scoring 12 of the final 13 points.

“Tonight I asked the girls to win battles, one serve at a time and one free ball at a time,” Austin head coach Jeremy Struck said. “They executed exactly how I wanted against a team like Century. We played really hard and we made them do some things they didn’t want to.”

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Austin (2-6 overall) started the night off with a long volley against the unbeaten Panthers and it tied the first game 4-4 when Peyton Manahan delivered an early ace.

They’re really good,” Manahan said of Century. “It teaches us that when we actually try and go hard, we can compete against teams like that.”

Manahan and the Packers have had to rebuild with some new leadership this season and the team is trying to do its best to compete.

“Everybody’s figuring it out,” Manahan said. “It’s been a weird transition, but it’s been good for us. We just have to stay positive. I can’t get everything, but I’m willing to put my body on the floor for anything. We’re working.”

Austin stats: Peyton Manahan, 4 kills, 2 aces, 6 digs; Nora Tweeten, 3 kills, 1 block, 1 assist; Ava Denzer, 2 kills, 1 block, 1 dig;  Alia Retterath, 1 ace, 4 assists, 3 digs; Kristen Nielsen, 1 assist, 6 digs