As sure as the rising and setting of the sun, and the ebb and flow of the tides; Mansfield volleyball will be in the mix for a championship. This was the case once again as the Lady Tigers broke the Golden Arrows of Lavaca in the finals of the 3A-1 District Championship on Thursday night.
The dislike the conference and state rivals have towards one another revved this one up before the first serve. According to reports, the chippiness between teams heated up with some pregame ribbing via social media.
“So, basically there was a little drama before the game,” confessed Mansfield sophomore Abby Smith. “There was a little back and forth between the teams on social media. That really got us motivated. We just really wanted to beat them after that.”
Mansfield, the undefeated conference round robin champions and number one seed going into the tournament, did just that. According to Bailey Quick, the Tigers’ defensive specialist, “We started off strong and finished strong. That middle set, that one was a little rough. My blood was pumping! I was nervous, but we still came out with a win.”
As rivalry games go, the second set to which Quick alluded to, was the price of admission. The two teams went toe to toe, hit for hit, and serve for serve. The outcome took extended time to get the job done. Mansfield dialed up the intensity against all Lavaca could offer to take the pivotal set.
Locked at 23-23, Lavaca went up a point when a Mansfield mash went long. Tiger head coach Kaylie Pyles promptly called timeout. Hoping to put the jinx on an Arrow followup attempt, the ploy worked to some degree. Lavaca mishandled the next point, putting Mansfield in control of the serve at 24-24.
Another Lavaca mistake put Mansfield up 25-24. Arrow head coach Shannon Todaro pulled a momentum stopping string with her own timeout. That tactic also worked to a degree as a Mansfield hit sailed long. Once again, the back and forth swung back to even again at 25-25.
Lavaca found a hole in the Tiger defense with a tip on the very next play. The Arrows went up one.
Mansfield’s senior kingpin Kaylee Ward brought the whammy with a kill on the following rally to knot the score yet again. Lavaca bounced a serve by MHS sophomore Adeline Godwin too long. Mansfield moved back in front 27-26.
The Tigers tried to put the overtime set away on their next offensive set. A middle kill attempt, however, went a wee bit wide. Once again, the tension that teetered with each potential set-point winner continued to grow.
The score was tied 27-27 once more with Lavaca back to serve. Ward went feral finding two consecutive assists offered up by Godwin to put this one away for good. The 6’ 4” middle hitter from Mansfield plastered a pair of kills directly into the chest and face of two would-be defenders for winners. With the back to back kills, Mansfield took the second set 29-27 and with it, most of the momentum heading into the deciding frame.
“At the very end, I was a little nervous,” explained Smith as she described the seesaw battle being waged between the league's top two entries. “We were just so motivated to kick their booty. We wanted to snap the Arrows - really wanted to beat them.”
Smith and Quick were wonderful flipping defense into offense. They, along with libero Daisy Nelson and all around mainstay Miley Clopton, made sure Arrow attacks were deflected upwards and on point towards the Tiger setters.
Godwin, one of those super setters, circled under a number of balls to dish up a season high 22 assists.
“Yes, it’s really exciting getting to be the facilitator of the offense, and always getting to be in every play, ” said the tenth grade setter when asked about her contribution to the team’s winning a district title. “I know that I can just put the ball where it needs to be, and especially for Kaylee, it will be put down on the other side.
“Everyone on the team is producing offensively,” Godwin added. “It’s great having such an athletic group.”
Kerrington Quick, who plays opposite Godwin in the Tiger starting offense, offered up 10 assists of her own. The cager distributor found four different Mansfield strikers for kill shots including Ward for four, Godwin for three, Danielle Lowery for two, and Clopton for another.
Ward led all lady contract killers with 18 spikes. She also dinked or tipped 5 winners when the Lavaca blockers adjusted to the beatdowns. Clopton hammered home 8 total winners to augment her older teammate’s production.
Defensively, Lowery and Ward were credited with a trio of blocks each. Ward’s final rejection was actually the final point of the entire tournament. Godwin, Clopton, and junior right side hitter Whitley Boyd added to the MHS block party fortifying the MHS defensive front.
Mansfield won the district finals 3-0, turning back conference runner-up Lavaca 25-17, 29-27 and 25-14. The win gave Mansfield its sixth consecutive district tournament championship and its fifth out of the last six conference championships.
A check of the MHS volleyball resumé also reveals the Lady Tigers have won four of the last five state championships. Should the Tigers advance out of Regional play this week, they will look to add to that measuring stick.
Mansfield advanced to the district finals with an easy dismissal of Thaden (15-15, 25-12 and 25-14) in Wednesday’s semi-finals.
The district tournament was held in Charleston. The tournament championship advanced Mansfield to the 3A North Regional Tournament in Lincoln where they opened play against Dover on Monday, October 20.
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