Just two days after picking up a win over Wilmington in a three-set thriller, the Manteno volleyball team came back for a home win on Thursday in another close Illinois Central Eight Conference battle, this time against Coal City.

After the Coalers took the first set 26-24, the Panthers held on to take the second set 25-23 and then the third 25-22 to improve to 10-3 overall and 4-0 to start conference play.

The Coalers, coming off an ICE win over Reed-Custer on Tuesday, fell to 6-8-1 (2-2).

Manteno’s Maddie Gesky had 10 kills in the win against Wilmington and added eight more on Thursday, including one to end the match. She also had three blocks and two digs.

“I think our team as a whole, we just have really good chemistry,” she said. “At Wilmington, we just played to the very end. Even here, it wasn’t our best game and we still found a way to win as a team.”

The win didn’t come easy for the Panthers on Thursday. Coal City put together an 11-0 run in the first set with Jaela Vasquez serving, a run that featured three aces for the senior and put the Coalers up 14-6. Manteno came back to tie it 17-17, but the Coalers managed to hold on from there.

The second set was close throughout as well, with the Coalers cutting a 24-20 Manteno lead to 24-23 before the Panthers ended it. Manteno then led for nearly all of the third set, although not by much, before Gesky’s kill sealed the win.

Freshman Olivia McElroy had five kills for Manteno and ranks third on the team in the category so far in her first season at the high school level. She had 11 kills in the Panthers’ win over Wilmington.

While there has certainly had to be adjustments made at the varsity level, McElroy said her teammates have helped her settle in so far.

“Definitely the speed of the game is different,” she said. “The game is just at a quicker pace, but everyone on the team is just very welcoming.”

McElroy’s emergence alongside Gesky gives the Panthers a formidable pair of middle hitters. Head coach Alexis Hosselton said their talent, along with Gesky’s experience in what is her third varsity season, can help the team find further success.

“It’s super exciting to have two very strong middles that can compete for us,” Hosselton said. “Not a lot of teams in conference have that, so I think that’s kind of what’s setting us apart a little bit. It’s great that Maddie has had that experience since she was a freshman as well, so she can kind of bring Olivia up.”

The Panthers visit Bradley-Bournbonnais on Monday before hitting a stretch of nine ICE matches in a row.

Already with big wins over Wilmington and Coal City, the top two teams in the ICE standings last season, as well as 2-0 wins over Herscher and Reed-Custer, Hosselton said she wants to make sure the team is ready for what will be a tough ICE schedule.

“As for all the conference matches from here on out, I told the girls that our conference is very strong,” she said. “You can never sleep on one conference team. Just be ready to go every single match and control what we can control.”

Coal City came into this season needing to make up for a large and productive departing senior class. This year’s seniors, including setter Sydney Larson and right side Riley Walker, are providing some stability while the team’s underclassmen adjust to varsity.

Some of those younger players like freshman libero Olivia Ferrari and sophomore middle Maggie Carlson showing promise early on.

After a nonconference matchup with Serena on Monday, the Coalers will also be diving headlong into conference play. Head coach Pam McMurtrey said she is looking forward to those battles.

“This conference is going to be tough for first place,” she said. “I think it’s going to be anybody’s game if everyone keeps playing the way they are. It’s exciting to have a conference like that, when it goes all the way down to the last matches.”