Carson High's volleyball team will make the playoffs, but the team has taken a couple of steps back this week.
The Senators fell to .500 after losing 25-14, 25-11 and 25-22 to Bishop Manogue Wednesday night at Morse Burley Gymnasium.
Carson is 7-7, while Manogue is 12-2. Carson visits Wooster tonight at 6.
The only bright time for the Senators was the third game where they led much of the way before Bishop Manogue staged a furious comeback. Carson had leads of 5-0, 10-5 and 15-9 in the final game.
"We attacked their serve differently in the last game," Carson coach Robert Maw said following the contest. "We wanted to attack the ball instead of waiting for it to come to us. We have to move our feet which we did the last game."
Three kills by Sarah Lushina, a well-placed push by setter McKenzie Price and a kill by Alyson Christl enabled Carson to build a 10-5 lead. After a hitting error by Lushina and a kill by Morgan Carlson, the Miners closed to 10-7, but Carson scored five of the next seven for a 15-9 lead. Lushina, Tiana McAllister-Daggs and Christl had points in the run.
Manogue got on a roll with 10 of the next 14 points to tie the game at 19. Shannon Sullivan had a kill and stuff block and Kelly Lujan had a nifty over-the-shoulder tip that fell in.
Carson went ahead 21-19 on a Manogue hitting error and a Macaela Vowinkel kill. The Miners scored the next five, as Lujan (two), Sullivan and Sam Kelly all had kills. Vowinkel made it 24-22 with a kill, but Lushina served one into the net to end the match.
The first game was one of big runs by both teams.
Manogue started by scoring the first seven points of the game, as Carson was called for four hits once, had a net violation, made a bad pass and was called for a lift. Lujan had an ace and Kelly Fincher had a kill for the Miners.
Carson bounced back with five straight as Christa McGahuey and Christl combined for a stuff block, and then McGahuey added two kills. Manogue scored five straight for a 12-5 lead, two points coming on kills by Sullivan. Kills by price and McGahuey made it 12-8, but the Miners stretched it to 16-9 as Carlson and Sullivan had kills.
Carson closed to 19-14, but Manogue scored six straight, two coming on kills by Mollie Pierce.
"One of our points of emphasis was to come out quick and get an early lead," Maw said. "We weren't able to answer back after that first run of theirs."
Carson had a 7-6 lead in Game 2, as neither team served well. Manogue scored the next eight for a 14-7 lead as MacKenzie Huntoon and Fincher had kills. Carson had two passing mistakes which helped Manogue keep its streak going.
After Carson broke the run of eight straight with a point on a service error, Manogue scored seven more to take a 21-8 lead as Pierce had a kill, Fincher added two and Carlson blocked a tip by Price.
"Yeah I think so," said Manogue coach Jason Sterrett when asked if he thought his team was headed in the right direction with the playoffs closing in. "We had a little slump a few weeks back, but we've played well lately."
He won't get any argument from the Senators.
