By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
SILVER LAKE -- Seaman stormed through the Silver Lake volleyball quadrangular Thursday night, defeating Shawnee Heights, Silver Lake and Manhattan in straight sets to improve to 7-0 on the season.
Seaman volleyball is 7-0 on the 2023 season after sweeping Thursday's quadrangular at Silver Lake. [File photo/TSN]
The Vikings sailed through their first two matches, then defeated Manhattan handily in the first set of the final match, 25-16. Manhattan stiffened in the final set, even holding a 20-17 lead late, but Seaman rallied to complete their perfect night, winning 25-22.
“I think this night was a good test and it’s a really good deal if we can come in here and win them all in two,” Seaman coach Tatiana Dowling said. “These are really good teams, so our girls really worked hard and did that in tough situations.”
Prior to the win over Manhattan, Seaman defeated Shawnee Heights 25-16, 25-19 and Silver Lake 25-17, 25-17.
“Obviously, this is our goal. It’s what we’ve been working on all season,” Seaman senior Taylin Stallbaumer said. “It’s good playing rivalries. We know a lot of these girls on each team, so it brings a little bit of energy to want to beat them. It’s fun playing teams from our area.”
Dowling said she liked her team’s defense, particularly pointing to the blocking effort on the evening. Still, she found some takeaways that the Vikings can work on.
“I think sometimes we play like we’re on a rollercoaster and we don’t always play at our highest potential,” Dowling said. “We have to not go through the motions and really step up to the plate every time.”
After dropping its opener against Seaman, Shawnee Heights rallied. The T-Birds lost a three-setter to Manhattan but gutted out a 25-20, 27-25 victory over Silver Lake in the night’s final match.
“I have got just one returner. I’ve got a young team, and we’re learning how to be a little bit more mature with our volleyball game,” said Shawnee Heights coach Sami Kearney. “So, to see them lose two in a row and come back and fight to beat Silver Lake, I was really proud of that.
“I’m seeing a lot of good things, but there are a lot of things we’ve still got to work on because I’ve got a whole new squad out there.”
Kearney said despite going 1-2, the challenge of the three matches was a positive.
“I don’t want to go play where we can win every game,” Kearney said. “We need to play tough matches to grow to get better. So I like the competition here so we can see what we can be and what we need to work on.”
The host Eagles defeated Manhattan in their first match 25-20, 26-24 to also go 1-2 on the night.
MATCH RESULTS
Seaman def. Shawnee Heights 25-16, 25-19; Silver Lake def. Manhattan 25-20, 26-24; Manhattan def. Shawnee Heights 25-20, 20-25, 25-19; Seaman def. Silver Lake 25-17, 25-17; Seaman def. Manhattan 25-16, 25-22; Shawnee Heights def. Silver Lake 25-20, 27-25.
