The Highland volleyball team concluded a busy week of action by tying its win total from last year with a Monday victory over Lone Tree in the Iowa Valley quad. With the three-set victory, the Huskies maintained their perfect record in tiebreaker sets this year. The Huskies went 2-4 across two tournaments and a home match against Keota.
Highland goes 1-2 at Iowa Valley quad
The Huskies went 1-2 at the Iowa Valley quad in Marengo Monday night, defeating Lone Tree 2-1 while getting swept by both Pekin and Iowa Valley.
The Huskies started slow in their first match of the night against the Panthers, losing set one quickly before taking Pekin to the wire in the second, ultimately falling to the Panthers.
The Huskies’ rocky start didn’t stop there, as they dropped the first set to Lone Tree in the Lions’ second match under Kyle Holderness. It was the first set Lone Tree had won in over a year.
“Lone Tree’s a rival, so they’re always going to want it and fight hard,” Husky head coach April Stumpf said.
In the second set, Highland finally settled in.
Kamryn Fink opened the set on a 4-0 service run, forcing the Lions to burn a timeout quickly. The Huskies extended the early lead to 7-1, but Lone Tree refused to go away, ripping a 7-0 run to take a momentary lead. That run forced a timeout out of Stumpf, a call that lit a fire under the Huskies.
Highland dominated the rest of the second set, ending the 21-13 victory on a long service run by freshman Henlee Petersen that gave Highland all the momentum headed into the tiebreaker.
The Lions and Huskies were locked in a near dead heat early on in the third, with Highland leading 8-7 halfway through the game, but the Huskies showed the grit that’s carried them through all of their wins this season. For the fourth time this year, Highland pulled away in the third set to close out a 15-11 victory. Following the win, the Huskies are 4-0 in decisive third sets.
“It means a lot, especially being a new coach and not coaching them very long,” Stumpf said of her players’ tenacity in close matches. “The girls keep fighting, and that’s all I can ask from them.”
In their nightcap against the hosting Tigers, the Huskies once again fell behind early, falling behind 5-1 immediately to begin the match and forcing another timeout. Once again, the Huskies rallied out of the timeout, climbing to a 12-11 lead.
That’s when the mental toughness of the Huskies was challenged.
Back-to-back double hit calls were whistled on sets that stayed on the Husky side of the net, frustrating the Husky players along with Stumpf. Following the calls, Iowa Valley went on a 6-0 run that gave the Tigers set point.
“There was definitely some frustration from both sides, especially in this last game, but that’s part of life and that’s part of volleyball,” Stumpf said. “You just have to pick up and move forward.”
Once again, Highland dug in, as Alexa Hahn stepped to the service line and delivered a 4-0 run to bring Highland within one point. This time, that grit wasn’t quite enough, though, as Tiger senior Brooke Smith found a perfectly-placed tip to take the set 21-19.
In the second set, it was the Huskies who found themselves with the lead, extending it to as large as 19-15 with a chance to force another third set, but Iowa Valley refused to go away on its home court.
The Tigers went on a 5-0 run to force match point. The Huskies fought it off.
Kamryn Fink found a kill to give the Huskies set point. The Tigers responded.
The lead traded hands twice more, as the Huskies fought off a second match point and the Tigers fought off a second set point.
Finally, someone flinched.
Trailing 24-23 and facing their third match point, the Huskies committed an error to end the set 25-23 and the match 2-0.
“It’s the little things,” Stumpf said of what Highland needed to improve following the loss. “Our big thing is ‘control the controllables.’ We have some things to work on with out of system [attacks] and things like that, and those are things we’ll continue to work on.”
With the loss, the Huskies fell to 4-5 on the year. After playing nine matches in the first eight days of the season, Highland now has a week off. The Huskies will return to action next Tuesday, when they open conference play against Columbus.
Huskies fall to Keota
After taking the first set in dramatic fashion, the Huskies dropped three straight sets to the Keota Eagles in a 3-1 loss (25-27, 25-10, 28-26, 25-13).
The Huskies started the night hot, opening the match on a 5-0 run and forcing the Eagles to burn an early timeout. The Eagles fought back to keep the set close, including fending off three set points, but a pair of kills by Kamryn Fink and Katelyn Thomann pushed the Huskies across the finish line to win the first.
That’s when the Eagles began to soar.
Keota jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the second, forcing a Husky timeout. Keota continued to build its lead after the stoppage, though, cruising to a 25-10 win.
The third looked like it was going to be more of the same, as the Eagles established an 8-1 lead. This time, Highland head coach April Stumpf didn’t call the timeout, and her team rewarded that trust.
The Huskies went on a 6-1 run, forcing a Keota timeout and bringing the set within two. They eventually tied the set at 17, forcing the Eagles to burn their second timeout following a service run for Henlee Petersen that included two aces. The sides traded runs, ultimately coming to a 23-23 tie on a kill by Ava Sexton.
Keota error. Set point Huskies. Momentarily, it looked like Highland was about to retake the lead, but Keota once again kept fighting back.
A service error for Sexton sent the set into extra points and Keota’s Elyse Lyle gave the Eagles set point.
The Huskies survived, as Maiya Singbeil came up with a solo block.
“Maiya doesn’t mess around,” Stumpf said. “She’s got big energy and she shows it when she’s at the net and takes control, and the rest of the team responds to that.”
The next point, Eagle middle blocker Jessalyn Aller beat Singbeil at the net to give Keota another set point. Aller went into the net following a long rally where Aller and Singbeil met several times at the net, allowing the Huskies to survive a second set point.
Finally, at 27-26, Keota won the net battle once and for all, as Cameron Haifley found a kill to win the third set 28-26.
The fourth set was all Keota.
The Eagles started the fourth and final set on an 11-4 run, extending the lead to as wide as 13 on their way to a 25-13 victory.
Huskies split Belle Plaine triangular
Highland took a 2-1 victory over Baxter before getting swept by the hosting Belle Plaine Plaineswomen during a Tuesday triangular.
Kamryn Fink led the way in both matches for the Huskies. She collected four kills, four aces and two blocks in the win over the Bolts before picking up five kills, four digs, three aces and two blocks against Belle Plaine. Ava Sexton led the team with seven digs against Baxter.
By the Numbers:
Highland 2, Baxter 1
HIGH 25 21 15
BAX 21 25 12
Statistical leaders:
Highland kills: Kamryn Fink 4; Ava Sexton 2; Ella Schlabaugh, Katelyn Thomann, Chloe Sexton, Henlee Petersen, Alexa Hahn 1;
Highland assists: Hahn 6; Petersen 3; Maiya Singbeil 1;
Highland digs: Sexton 7; Fink 6; Hahn 5; Thomann 4; Petersen, Singbeil 2;
Highland blocks: Fink, Petersen 2; Singbeil 1
Highland aces: Fink 4; Thomann, Singbeil 3; Petersen, Schlabaugh, Sexton 1;
Baxter kills: Ada Warkentin 4; Denver Sulzle, Libby Whitacre 3; Emileigh Beals 2; Kamdyn Krampe, Kaylyn Krampe 1;
Baxter assists: Olivia Parrie 13; Warkentin 1
Baxter digs: Katt Wing 7; Kam. Krampe 3; Gia Dart, Warkentin 2; Beals, Parrie, Caroline Ludwig 1
Baxter aces: Warkentin 2; Dart, Beals, Kam. Krampe, Parrie, Ludwig, Kay. Krampe 1;
Belle Plaine 2, Highland 0
BP 25 25
HIGH 21 20
Statistical leaders:
Highland kills: Fink 5; Singbeil 2; Sexton, Thomann, Petersen 1;
Highland assists: Hahn 5; Petersen 4; Anika Hennigsen 1;
Highland digs: Fink 4; Petersen 3; Hahn, Singbeil 2; Henningsen, Sexton, Thomann 1;
Highland blocks: Fink 2; Thomann 1;
Highland aces: Fink 3; Thomann, Singbeil 2; Sexton, Petersen 1;
Belle Plaine kills: Jules Stamp 7; Allison Hoover, Carly McLeod 4; Jadie Dahlquist 2; Aubrey Jack, Taylor Johnson 1;
Belle Plaine assists: Hoover 12; Dahlquist, Annika Hultquist 2; Jules Stamp 1;
Belle Plaine digs: Hoover 7; Stamp 5; Kennedy Coover 3; Jack, Dahlquist 2; Lily Robertson, Johnson, Hultquist 1;
Belle Plaine aces: Hoover 5; Jack 3; Robertson, Hultquist 2; Stamp 1;
Keota 3, Highland 1
KEO 25 25 28 25
HIGH 27 10 26 13
Statistical leaders:
Highland kills: Sexton 9; Singbeil 5; Fink, Hahn 3; Thomann, Petersen 2; Hennigsen 1;
Highland assists: Hahn 12; Petersen 6; Sexton, Singbeil 1;
Highland digs: Petersen 16; Fink 15; Hahn 10; Thomann 9; Sexton 7; Hennigsen, Singbeil 5; Schlabaugh, Larissa Murphy 1;
Highland blocks: Singbeil 4; Petersen, Hahn 2; Fink 1;
Highland aces: Fink, Petersen, Hahn 2;
Keota kills: Elyse Lyle 12; Jessalyn Aller 8; Emily Conger 7; Karley Greiner, Cameron Haifley 6; Jaylah Redlinger 2;
Keota assists: Redlinger 18; Haifley 11; Lyle 2;
Keota digs: Emma Greiner 22; Haifley, Aller 11; Lyle, Conger 8; Redlinger 3; Greiner 1;
Keota blocks: Lyle 4; Aller 2; Redlinger 1;
Keota aces: Redlinger, Haifley, Aller, Conger 4; Lyle 1
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