Almost halfway through the volleyball season and eight games under their belt, the Mansfield Jr High Lady Tigers are shaping up to be quite the upstanding competition for any opponent lucky enough to face them at the court. The Lady Tigers force the opposing teams to either shape up or ship out by establishing the mentality of “if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.”
Mansfield engaged in two away matches this past week with the first being against the West Fork Lady Tigers on September 17 and the second one played on September 19 against the Charleston Lady Tigers. It’s safe to say that Mansfield spent the entire week staying busy with plenty of catfights.
Mansfield went 2-0 against West Fork with their matches ending in scores of 25-6 and 25-10. In almost total domination, the Lady Tigers ended the night with Madelen Jones and Skylynn Harris leading the team with 4 aces each with Jones also leading with six digs and eight assists. Brooklyn Adams secured six of the 14 team kills while Harris followed with five. And Kynslee Ward added three digs of the team total of 16.
“These last couple of games, we have played really solid all around,” states Head Coach, Erica McKay. “Our weakness right now is our second set. We put ourselves in tough situations, but the girls find a way to overcome that battle and finish strong. We have been focusing hard on minimizing our errors by setting goals and I’m happy to see our numbers are decreasing in that area.”
Mansfield locked down their second 2-0 win of the week against Charleston with sets ending in 25-9 and 25-19. These two teams are usually evenly matched in almost every sport they come face to face in ensuring an always entertaining experience. And this time it was no different. Both Lady Tiger teams put their minds and bodies through the wringer which turned out to be a well-earned payday for Mansfield.
Alyson Edwards led her team with five aces. Natalie Allison led with six of the total 25 team digs with Edwards contributing five and Kynslee Ward and Brooklyn Adams combining for eight. Skylynn Harris led with 10 kills followed by Adams having six. And Allison along with Madelen Jones combined for 15 assists.
The Jr High Lady Tigers are sitting with a 7-1 total season record and a record of 5-1 in conference play. The girls will participate in the Mena Volleyball Tournament this upcoming weekend on September 21 starting at 9 a.m. Mansfield will kick off the day with three pool play games against Mena, Arkansas High, and Jessieville followed by bracket play in gold and silver categories.
