Already in this young season, the Jefferson High volleyball team had been down this road before: A tough opponent. Back-and-forth points. An intense five-set match.
But unlike last weekend’s thriller over Townsend, the Panthers couldn’t finish Manhattan off, dropping a taut, well-played contest Sept. 17 to their conference rival, 28-30, 25-19, 25-21, 19-25, 8-15. It was the first of three matches in a packed week that also saw a win over Whitehall and a loss to Class A Livingston.
The first game at Manhattan was a monster. The Tigers put down the first 3 points, but an ace by Kylie Marks and a kill by Mykala Edmisten brought the Panthers to 4-5. Then came a run that gave Manhattan its biggest lead of the game, at 11-6, but Jefferson answered with an ace by Grace Alexander and a block point by Hope Dobyns to start a run that led to a 15-15 tie. The Panthers looked to be in control at 23-18, but the Tigers came back with the next 5 points to tie the score at 23. And then: Ties at 24, 25, 26 and 28 before the Tigers finally won out, 30-28.
