Manning volleyball on verge of playoff berth

   By Dennis Brunson

           hssr.com Associate Editor

           Manning – When Sonia Daniels became the volleyball head coach for Manning High School in 2020, it was just the program’s second year back after not being in existence for over a decade.

           It hasn’t been easy, and the Monarchs aren’t anywhere close to where Daniels would like them to be, but they are in position to take a big step forward.

           MHS owned a 7-5 overall record, but more importantly a 3-5 mark in Region 7-AA. As of now, that would be good enough to place Manning in the top five in the region. A berth in the state playoffs comes with that, which would be the Monarchs’ first since restarting volleyball.

           “We did not make the playoffs last year, and I’m unsure about this season,” Daniels said. “However ,we have improved so much that I will not count us out.”

           Manning owns two victories over Kingstree and one over Mullins in region play. Both of those teams trail the Monarchs in the chase for the fifth spot. A win over Mullins on Tuesday, October 8, would have likely sewed up the playoff berth.

`          The Monarchs return a number of players from last year’s team which won just one match. Manning’s most recent starting lineup had two seniors in Sakiya Makell and Kimora Felder, two juniors in Brooklyn Wilder and Breanna Barnes and two sophomores in Briana Gamble and Danielle Palmer.

           Newcomers to the team are junior Mallorie Street, who came from Ridge View, senior Jahirah Wellington and junior Tamiya Watson.

           Other members of the team are senior Kimora Henry, juniors Tania White and Aniya Green, sophomore Jada Lee, freshman Makayla Fordham and eighth-grader Ameerah Conyers.

           “I’m excited about my younger ladies,” Daniels said. “Makayla Fordham and Ameerah Conyers are awesome servers and outside hitters. They will be a front line that will eventually dominate.”

           As for now though, Daniels is pleased with the work her team is putting in to improve.

           “We have had our share of losses however, I commend and stand behind the young ladies that have stuck with me and this team no matter what,” she said. “The ladies all have improved in their specific positions.”

           CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS IMPROVING

           Sometimes you measure success in unusual ways, and for cross country head coach Kimberly Ferrari this season the measure is in sheer numbers.

           “This is the first time in several years that we've had enough boys to score as a team, and the first time in possibly a decade that our girls team has had enough to score as well,” Ferrari said.

           The only returning runner for either team is freshman Jamari Harris. This is his third year with the boys program. Harris’ best time this season is 21 minutes, 43 seconds, with a personal best of 21:18. Sophomore Jorden Hilton-Kelly has the next best time for the Monarchs at 23: 41.

           Other male runners are senior Isaiah Wilson, sophomore Jesse Robinson and Desmond Mellette, freshmen Joshua White, Bryce Kinard, Khang Tran, Kobe Weeks and Kegan Smith.

           On the girls team, the top runner is the youngest member of the team in eighth-grader Emma Munoz-Leon. Her season best is 37:17.

           The other members of the team are sophomores Crisslyn Dingle and Dakota Lambert and freshmen Savannah Halstead, Nyla Cain and Semaj Burgess.

“We have a very young team, so we're not very competitive right now,” Ferrari said of the girls squad. “But I'm looking forward to seeing how we grow over the next few years.”

           Ferrari said both squads have exceeded what she thought was possible.

           “Both teams have performed above my expectations,” she said. “With the exception of Jamari, every other member of the team is running for the first time, so they are constantly improving, and as a coach that's all I can hope for.

“Our times aren't fantastic, but most of the team had never run more than a mile prior to this season, so we definitely have some work to do, but we're going to get there.”

           FOOTBALL STARTS 2-0 IN REGION

           Manning got to play two football games in a 4-day period, its first ones as a member of Region 7. And the Monarchs are now in the driver’s seat in the 7-team region after a pair of exhilarating victories.

           On Monday, September 30, Manning beat East Clarendon 15-12 as Jeffery Ceasar returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown with 5:55 left in the game to give it the lead. Then on Friday, October 4, the Monarchs rallied from 22-0 deficit to beat Kingstree 28-22.

           “I don't think it had an affect on us just because of how we practiced,” Reggie Kennedy said of the 2-game week. “We’ve been working hard so we were ready for the adversity.”

           The Monarchs scored just before halftime to cut the lead to 22-8 and added 12 points in the third quarter to pull within 22-20. They won it with a fourth-quarter score.

           Quarterback JaRae Mitchell tossed two touchdown passes in the second half. He was 6 of 13 for 98 yards. Jontavious Canty caught a 5-yard touchdown pass and Ceasar had a 20-yard TD catch. Lovell Stevenson had a 45-yard reception and CJ Robinson had a 21-yard catch.

           Mitchell led in rushing with 42 yards on 11 carries. Jalynn Coard had 39 yards and a TD, and Canty also ran for a score.

           “I told them at the beginning of the week that we needed to go 2-0,” Kennedy said. “We need to get out front (in the region) and make everyone catch us. That gives us a little wiggle room in case of a slip-up. Hopefully there will be no slip-up.”