Manchester Squires

Jessica made the varisty team again, as a 10th Grader. This team is very young, with only two seniors. They will have to play together and learn. September 2, 1998. Bad news, the team learned that one of the two seniors, Gretha Miller injured herself and is out for the season. This makes a young team, much younger. She will be missed. The season finished on October 17, 1998. The team ended the season 12-20, and second in the sectional. 1998 Manchester Squires Volleyball andJessica

AWARDS

2nd Team TRC all-conference

Manchester Squire's Coaches' Award

1st Team All-County

NEWS STORIES

Wabash Plain Dealer 11/13/98

Proffitt, Finicle repeat with county honors
By Chris Garner
WABASH, Ind. — For the second time in as many seasons, Southwood's Gina Proffitt and her coach Tom Finicle have been named Wabash County Volleyball Player and Coach of the Year. In polling done by the county's coaches, Proffitt was a unanimous pick and was the only player named to the first team on all ballots. This also marks the third first-team recognition for the junior setter in addition to three times first-team all-Three Rivers Conference. Joining Proffitt on the 1998 first team are teammates Hayley Bozarth, Megan Garner, Laura Kinder and Stephanie Tyson, Angie Eads and Sarah Smith of Northfield, Jessica Hicks of Manchester and Jan Eichenauer of Wabash. "It feels pretty good," Proffitt said of the honors. "I still have a lot of work to do. "I could never have done it without them," she said of her teammates. On the second team is Manchester's Megan Eckert, Northfield's Rachel Fleck and Tricia Swan, Southwood's Jennifer Cochran and Lindsay Degitz and Wabash's Kacy Brubaker and Tara Morris. Rachel Adams and Shelly Ahlfeld of Northfield and Wabash's Andrea McCoart and Crissy Stengel were honorable mention picks. Proffitt set a school record this year for assists in one season with 699, leading the conference and eclipsing Lisa Duncan's record of 627. She now has 1,682 assists so far in her career. She also broke Duncan's record of successful setting percentage in one season with 98.9 percent of her sets being good. And she tied Cathy Duncan's record for service points in one season with 242. More importantly, Proffitt has been instrumental in the VolleyKnights' three consecutive sectional championships and regional titles in 1997 and `98. During that three-year period, Southwood has posted a 74-34 record (.685), including this year's 30-7 mark. Of course, the coach and architect of those seasons has been Finicle, winning his third straight Coach of the Year award since returning to the Metro school in 1996. Prior to that return, Finicle either shared or won outright the award every year he coached from 1986-93. This year, he led the VolleyKnights to the Wabash County Tournament and Three Rivers Conference championships. "She's got another year to accomplish something that's probably never been done before," Finicle said in reference to Proffitt's back-to-back awards. "This is a nice group," he said of the nine girls on the firt team. "There's some nice height and some great athleticism." Three more Southwood juniors followed Proffitt in voting and they were a big part of her success. Bozarth, a second team pick last year and a TRC first-teamer this year, led the VolleyKnights with 238 kills on 525 attacks for a .316 kill efficiency, second-best in the TRC. She also had 94 blocks and 34 stuff blocks from her middle hitter position. Tyson, a second-team conference player, was next in line with 195 kills (.267 eff.). She had 15 blocks and nine stuffs and is a repeat on the first team. Garner, an honorable mention pick in the TRC, had 185 kills (.208 eff.) while playing three fewer matches because of an elbow injury. With those three receiving the lion's share of sets, Kinder, a repeat first-teamer as well as a conference second-team pick, saw less sets after leading the VolleyKnights in kills last year. The 5-foot-7 senior known for her side-spinning serves made up for that by being an all-around performer, recording 149 kills, 80 blocks, 19 stuffs, 130 points, 43 aces and 101 service receptions. Eads, a 5-foot-10 senior, is another two-time winner of the honor. She had 199 kills and 98 blocks with 55 stuffs while earning TRC first-team honors after coming back from knee surgery in 1997. Hicks is the youngest player on the all-county squad, playing as a sophomore on a Lady Squire team dominated by youth this season. A TRC second-team pick, Hicks led Manchester with 141 kills in addition to her 103 points with 16 aces and 88 digs. Eichenauer, a junior, returns to the all-county first team this season after being named to the second team as a freshman. She also was an All-Central Indiana Conference selection this year when the Lady Apaches finished third in the conference. Eichenauer, the state's long jump champion as a freshman, has battled injuries her entire career and this season was no different. She had problems with her wrist in 1998 while recovering from a knee injury last year. Eichenauer had 117 kills, 75 blocks, 98 digs and 119 points on 19 aces despite missing several matches. Smith, a senior middle hitter, had 139 kills while recording 70 blocks and 48 stuffs. She was second-team all-conference this year. Eckert (TRC honorable mention), Cochran (TRC HM), Degitz (TRC HM) and Swan were also all second-team selections last year. Ahlfeld is a repeat honorable mention pick while the others were all recognized for the first time.

WABASH, Ind. — Southwood, champions of the Three Rivers Conference with a 7-0 record, led the list of players earning all-conference honors Tuesday, placing seven players on the three teams. Southwood setter Gina Proffitt and middle hitter Hayley Bozarth, a junior, were chosen for the first team while senior Laura Kinder and junior Stephanie Tyson were selected to the second team. For Proffitt, a junior, it is her third selection to the first team. Northfield senior Angie Eads, a middle hitter, was also named to the first team and classmate Sarah Smith garnered second-team honors. Manchester sophomore Jessica Hicks also was named to the second team. Earning honorable mention was Southwood junior Jennifer Cochran, senior Lindsay Degitz and junior Megan Garner. Also, Manchster senior Megan Eckert and Northfield sophomore Rachel Fleck. Others named to the first team were Erin Rhodes of Oak Hill, Andrea Milliser and Marie Rosswurm of Rochester, Brooke Fisher of Tippecanoe Valley and Kelly Osborn of Whitko.

Volleyball tourney to begin

Wabash Plain Dealer
By Chris Garner
WABASH, Ind. — The 1998 version of Indiana High School Athletic Association's volleyball state tournament kicks off Thursday locally with sectional action at two sites for county teams. At Southwood High School, Class 2A Sectional 37 action gets under way with Northfield tangling with North Miami at 6 p.m. and the host VolleyKnights facing Wabash at 7:30. On Saturday, Manchester will play Maconaquah at 11 a.m. at Southwood in the bye match while White's travels to Tri-Central to face Daleville at 11 in a Class A Sectional 52 semifinal match. When Southwood coach Tom Finicle returned to coach the VolleyKnights two seasons ago, he came back to a program perhaps not what it had been when he left. But with Southwood's upset sectional win in 1996 over rival Northfield, Finicle signaled he would play second fiddle to no one. The VolleyKnights defended their title last season, the first for class tournaments in Indiana, and added a regional crown before falling at the semistate. This season, Southwood is 26-6 and has won championships in the Wabash County and Concordia Invitational tournaments. In fact, the VolleyKnights, champions of the Three Rivers Conference, have not lost in nine matches with teams involved in the sectional. "Right now, we are the target," says Finicle. "Justifiably so, I think. Either we step up and play or we go home early. "From this juncture on, you're just like everybody else. Emotionally, everybody is going to be playing at a sky-high level against us." Southwood is led by a trio of junior hitters — Hayley Bozarth, Stephanie Tyson and Megan Garner — each with more than 150 kills on the season. Bozarth leads with 213 kills and 31 stuff blocks. Junior Gina Proffitt sets the offense and led the TRC with 613 assists. The Lady Apaches are 12-14 overall under coach Anne Lyng after a successful Central Indiana Conference season in which they finished 5-2, losing two of their last three matches in three games to Blackford and Eastbrook. "We've had some really good first games recently in the CIC," Lyng said. "We have to keep that momentum up. Southwood is a tough draw." Wabash is led by junior hitter Jan Eichenauer and sophomore Crissy Stengel. The Lady Norse (17-13) hold the only other winning record beside Southwood in the sectional and are the only team to win even a single game against the VolleyKnights. They are coming off of a championship in their own Northfield Classic Saturday. Northfield is headed by first-year coach Cory McGill and face a North Miami squad (12-18) that the Lady Norse beat 18-16, 11-15, 15-8 Thursday. "We can't afford to look past North Miami," McGill said. "They did beat us in the Tomahawk (Classic) and we have to take care of them before we look ahead." Northfield is a young team, but is led by senior Angie Eads. The 5-foot-10 middle hitter has 191 kills, 93 blocks and 54 stuffs on the season. After Eads, sophomore Rachel Fleck has 85 kills since joining the varsity during the county tournament. Freshman Rachel Adams has 479 assists as a setter. The Lady Squires (11-19) have struggled with injuries and inexperience all year long. After losing senior Greta Miller early on with a knee injury, coach Jessica Reed has been shuffling her lineup ever since. "Hopefully, some of the things they have learned will be coming out," Reed said. "Its the best draw we could have hoped for." Manchester's opponent, Maconaquah, is 5-25 and competes in the Mid-Indiana Conference. The Lady Squires beat the Lady Braves 15-12, 15-5 to open the season. Sophomore Jessica Hicks has 141 kills while senior Megan Eckert has 284 assists. Megan Goshert led the conference with 246 receptions and added 114 digs. White's is 1-14 with its only win coming against Howe Academy and plays Daleville, which is a member of the Mid-Eastern Conference.

September 30, 1998 Wabash Plain Dealer

Norse spikers win
By Chris Garner

NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. — Senior Sarah Smith recorded 11 kills and classmate Angie Eads had 10 more as the Northfield volleyball team defeated county-rival Manchester 15-3, 11-15, 15-13 in a Three Rivers Conference match here Tuesday. Smith added three blocks, two stuff blocks and an assist while Eads also had five blocks, four stuffs and five digs for the Lady Norse (12-9, 1-3). Sophomore Rachel Fleck had a team-high 12 digs along with six kills, three points and a block. Junior Tricia Swan had 11 service points, eight digs and an ace while Abbey Hettmansperger had eight points and nine digs. Freshman Rachel Adams had 23 assists, eight points and a kill. Marcy Dale had five kills, three stuffs and a block. For the Lady Squires (9-15, 0-4), sophomore Jessica Hicks had nine kills, five digs and four blocks while Carrie White had six kills and three blocks. Megan Eckert had 12 assists while Megan Goshert had nine digs.

September 9, 1998 Wabash Plain Dealer

Lady Squires fight illness, injuries
By Chris Garner
The Manchester volleyball team battled injuries, illness and Columbia City Tuesday, losing 11-15, 16-14, 15-13 here. Playing with only six players, the Lady Squires (8-4) had match point in the second game but couldn't close it out. Sophomore Jessica Hicks recorded five kills and four digs, Jenny Brubaker had four digs and 14 blocks, Megan Eckert had 11 assists, four kills 13 blocks and two aces and Megan Goshert collected three kills.

September 4, 1998 Wabash Plain Dealer

Lady Squires outlast Wabash
By Chris Garner
NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. — The Manchester volleyball team fought off a Wabash team that wouldn't quit, and defeated the Lady Apaches 11-15, 15-10, 15-10 here Thursday. In a marathon match that saw 97 sideouts — including 11 straight to begin Game Two — the Lady Squires (6-1) finally put Wabash away in the third game behind the serving of junior Jeanne Rodriguez and the hitting of sophomore Carrie White. Rodriguez came to the serving line with Manchester trailing 3-2. She reeled off 11 consecutive points while White was responsible for four kills and one stuff block, putting Wabash (4-4) down 13-3. Rodriguez finished with 14 points and one ace. The Lady Apaches, though, clawed back, as they had in each of the first two games. Andrea McCoart scored twice on a Manchester error and an ace, making the score 13-5. Gina Curtis scored two more after a sideout on another Lady Squire error and Tara Morris' stuff and Wabash was within six at 13-7. Jenny Brubaker ended that short run of points with a kill and Megan Goshert served Manchester to 14-7, but gave the ball back to Wabash with an error. Junior Jan Eichenauer stuffed down one point for the Lady Apaches, and one point later, recorded her ninth and last kill to bring Wabash within four, 14-10. She finished with three stuffs and four points. After a Wabash net serve, Manchester finally finished things by inducing Wabash into the net to end the match. "We wanted to come back real strong after losing to them in the county tourney last year," Manchester coach Jessica Reed said. "We were not up to par tonight, but we have some girls stepping in and doing some things they're not used to. We're even younger than we thought we'd be at this time." Manchester is without senior Greta Miller, who tore knee ligaments Tuesday. Wabash, playing without one regular also, showed incredible fortitude after falling behind in every game. Despite being out-sized and seemingly out-gunned by the Lady Squires, Wabash dug in with passing, serving and timely hitting that kept it within striking range. Morris, Eichenauer and sophomore Sarah Dyer made the most of their attacks while Dyer and Jayme Denney shared the serving load. Morris had eight kills and two stuffs, Dyer had five kills, eight points and one ace and Denney recorded 12 points and two aces. Manchester, though, simply wore down the Lady Apaches, as Jessica Hicks had eight kills and three points, White had eight blocks and seven kills and Brubaker had six blocks and two kills. Senior Megan Eckert had 27 assists.

September 2, 1998 Warsaw Newspaper

Squires Spoil Valley's Party
August 31, 1998
By Jason Knavel, Times-Union Staff Writer

NORTH MANCHESTER - Heading into the Manchester Tournament Saturday, Valley’s volleyball team had already set a school record by winning four straight matches to start the season. By the time the Vikings met the Squires in the last round, Valley had improved that streak to six with wins over Triton and Caston. The Vikings looked like a solid bet to win the event as the only undefeated team left. Manchester had already lost to Triton in straight sets and seemed to be the underdog, even with the home court advantage. However, the Squires had other plans and beat Valley 15-10, 15-2. With a Triton win over Caston, there was a three-way tie for first with Manchester, Valley and Triton all at 2-1. The Squires then won the tournament by virtue of the tie-breaker, fewest points allowed throughout the day. All of the goals we set as a team are still intact, Valley head coach Jon Parker said. We wanted to win a couple of tournaments and it would have been nice to win here today. I’m still very proud of the girls and where they’re at. In the Manchester/Valley matchup, the Squires took over after a 4-4 tie in game one and scored nine consecutive points. The Vikings fought back to close the deficit but Manchester put the match away as Jessica Hicks got a kill and Valley’s Tiffany Cunningham hit a shot into the net. Game two was even early on as the Vikings and Squires were tied 2-2. However, Manchester’s service game befuddled Valley and the Squires scored 13 points without recording an assist or a kill. Manchester did record nine aces, including five in a row from Hicks at one point. The Squires needed to win by as much as they did because they allowed 61 points in the tournament. Triton actually slid into the second place spot by allowing just 62 points with dominating wins over both Manchester and Caston. Valley allowed 76 points to finish third. Caston ended winless and in fourth place. Valley’s Brooke Fisher was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament with 17 kills, 13 points serving and 21-of-24 receiving. The Vikings also got 38 assists from Rhonda Doud and an impressive 42-of-42 serving and 13 aces from Inga Vandermark. Triton was led by Kendra Blackford, who had 42 assists and seven aces. Jamey Bell had 14 kills and 17 blocks. Manchester will host Wawasee Tuesday at 6 p.m. Valley (6-1) will be at Pioneer Wednesday at 6 p.m. and Triton (6-3) will be at Plymouth today at 6 p.m.
MANCHESTER TOURNAMENT
Match Results - Valley over Caston 15-6, 15-7; Valley over Triton 15-6, 8-15, 15-12; Manchester over Valley 15-10, 15-2; Triton over Manchester 15-3, 15-4; Triton over Caston 15-4, 15-13; Manchester over Caston 15-6, 15-13
Final placing - 1. Manchester 2-1, 2. Triton 2-1, 3. Valley 2-1, 4. Caston 0-3
MVP - Brooke Fisher (Valley)
Valley (6-1) stats - Inga Vandermark 42-of-42 serving, 13 aces; Amy Nellans 7 aces, 15 points; Carissa Parker 6-of-6 serving; Rhonda Doud 38 assists, 13 digs; Brooke Fisher 17 kills, 13 points, 21-of-24 receiving; Jennifer Studebaker 16 kills, 15 blocks
Triton (6-3) stats - Jamey Bell 14 kills, 17 blocks; Kendra Blackford 42 assists, 7 aces, 32-of-34 serving

August 25, 1998 Wabash Plain Dealer

NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. The Manchester volleyball team successfully opened its season with a 15-12, 15-5 win over Maconaquah (1-6) here Monday. Megan Eckert recorded six assists, two kills and two blocks while Jessica Hicks had four kills, three blocks, two digs and two assists. Carrie White chipped in with two kills and one block, and Megan Goshert had four digs. Manchester's junior varsity also was victorious, defeating the Maconaquah reserves 15-2, 15-7. Manchester will host Whitko at 6 p.m. Thursday, as the Lady Squires begin defense of their 1997 Three Rivers Conference title.

August 28, 1998 Warsaw Newspaper

Manchester Over Whitko 10-15, 15-10, 15-10
At North Manchester, the Squires fought back from down a set to win Thursday. Megan Eckert had 25 assists, two kills and two aces while Jessica Hicks had nine kills and two assists in the win. Greta Miller had four blocks and two aces and Carrie White had four blocks and two kills. Megan Goshert added five digs and a kill. In junior varsity action, Whitko won 15-12, 15-2 as the Squires fell to 1-1 on the year. Mandy Phillips was 8-of-11 serving with four aces for Manchester. In freshman action, Manchester won its season opener 15-12, 9-15, 15-3. Manchester (2-0) will host the Manchester Invite Saturday at 9 a.m.

Check back as we add stories on the 1998 team!

© 1997 brhicks@ctlnet.com

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