Wolves fall short in three set battle with Lady Reds

IKM-Manning’s new volleyball coach, McKaylie Croghan, happy to be back at her alma mater

 MANNING (Sept. 10) -- First-year IKM-Manning volleyball coach McKaylie Croghan will exercise patience this fall as she guides a young Wolves’ squad looking to gain both confidence and skill level.
 Croghan’s team was poised for victory in two out of three sets here Thursday night, but ended up losing to Missouri Valley 10-25, 23-25, 24-26 in its Western Iowa Conference opener. IKM-M dropped to 0-3 overall.
 After struggling in the first set, the Wolves held a 22-20 lead in set two and a 24-22 advantage in set three, but were unable to finish. Missouri Valley scored the final two points of the match on a miscommunication receiving error by IKM-M and Maya Contreraz’s seventh kill. The Lady Reds improved to 7-3.
 Croghan, a 2009 graduate of IKM-Manning, said she is seeing progress in the team, which used a lineup of three seniors, three juniors and three sophomores.
 “They want to win,” she said. “If we get a win under our belt, that will help a lot... I think the more they can believe in themselves the better off we’ll be. Part of that is just we’re a younger team, so it’s coming.”
 Senior Bre Muhlbauer led a balanced Wolves’ kill ledger with six vs. Mo. Valley and had an efficiency of .500. Sierra Ferry, Nevaeh Boland and Kylie Powers had three kills apiece and Bianca Cadwell added three.
 Sophomore Amber Halbur set 11 assists, followed by Taylor Ferneding with seven. Lauren Danner (18) and Boland (17) were the dig leaders and Halbur served 14-of-14 with four aces.
 Croghan has a lot of fond memories from her high school days, particularly on the volleyball court. She played on three state tournament teams during her prep career - two for Manning and then the original IKM-Manning team in 2008.
 Croghan played collegiate volleyball at Simpson and was Glidden-Ralston’s head volleyball coach for six years before returning to IKM-M as a junior high coach last fall. She was hired for the varsity position after longtime coach Kathy Lage resigned this past winter.
 “It’s really nice (to be home),” she said. “It’s a different feeling than what I had at Glidden - just a lot of pride and I really want them to do well.”
 

 
 

 

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