How 5-foot-8 Auburn junior Lucas Manaligod became a boys volleyball star
Lucas Manaligod is not your normal volleyball standout.
His stats don’t wow you.
Neither does his team.
Or his size.
The 5-foot-8 junior has only three kills on the season. His 111 digs are less than half that of Auburn leader Kush Patel (219). Auburn is only 8-17 as a team (6-5 in the NIC-10).
And yet Guilford coach Trace Noack says Manaligod “is an incredible Libero, the best in the area since Kenny Kirnbirger from Boylan (four years ago).”
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Here is why Manaligod is such a great volleyball player.
He’s versatile
“He’s a great all-around player,” Patel said. “He’s great at serve receiver. He’s great at digging. He’s an excellent server. And even at times he can hit good back row attacks.”
“He’s able to adapt and play all the way around,” said Auburn coach Lisa Mellentine, who has used him at every position except middle blocker. “He plays whatever position I ask him to play.”
He sees the court well
“He knows where the ball is,” Mellentine said. “He digs up balls that you wouldn’t think would get digged up.”
That also helps when Manaligod is occasionally counted on to put the ball away from the back row, not just keep the ball alive.
“That is about placement and court vision,” Manaligod said. “Once you see the pockets and know where to put the ball, it makes for easier kills.”
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He is a fierce and fearless defender
“My favorite part is diving,” Manaligod said. “I get consistent bruising on my arms and knees, but at the end of the day it’s worth it. It shows your effort. At the Hononegah game, I flopped over a table going for a ball. My parents were a little scared about that one.”
But not Manaligod. That was one of his favorite moments.
“Being able to move and dive when needed, showcases my effort on the court,” he said.
Manaligod plays Libero on his club team and will probably also play that in college. At Auburn, Manaligod and Patel switch off between playing Libero and defensive specialist. The two positions are somewhat similar, but Patel plays Libero more often with Manaligod at defensive specialist.
“The Libero goes in for my middles in the back row all the time; my DS goes in for people who have a harder time playing the back row,” Mellentine said. “At Libero, you are in a little bit more.”
Either way, Manaligod and Patel lead Auburn not with spikes, but with defense.
“I always tell my kids defense comes first,” Mellentine said. “ If we don’t have defense, there’s no way you are going to be able to have an attack. We have a lot of players who can kill the ball, but if we can’t get the ball from defense to the setter we’re not going to have a chance.
“Lucas is versatile getting the ball to the target areas so we can have an offense. But if we don’t have a defense, we can’t do anything.”
Manaligod picked up the sport late. He grew up playing soccer for 12 years. He developed a taste for volleyball playing with his friends during recess in sixth grade at Marshall Middle School. “I started to fall in love with the sport and decided to take it further into club volleyball my eighth grade year.”
He stuck with soccer for one more year, playing defense his freshman year at Auburn, before converting solely to volleyball. Although he might play soccer again next fall his senior year at Auburn.
Defense in soccer. That mirrors his role in volleyball. Whether he is playing libero or defensive specialist, he is first in line to play defense.
“I really like being able to take control of the defense when needed and bring others up,” Manaligod said.
NIC-10 volleyball standings
School, NIC-10, Overall
Guilford, 9-1, 11-1
Hononegah, 9-2, 15-7
Harlem, 9-2, 13-8
Boylan, 7-4, 7-4
Auburn, 6-5, 8-18
Jefferson, 3-5, 7-8
Belvidere North, 1-9, 2-10
Belvidere, 1-9, 2-18
East, 1-9, 1-13
Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: 5-foot-8 Auburn junior Lucas Manaligod shines in boys volleyball
