Last year, the Highland volleyball team won four games the entire season. On Thursday, the Huskies claimed their fifth win of the year in a 3-1 (25-22, 25-22, 19-25, 25-22) victory over the WACO Warriors.
“It means a lot,” senior Alexa Hahn said. “I just want to make as many memories as possible with this being my last year.”
Highland started strong, winning each of the first two sets to take an early lead on the Warriors, but WACO pulled away at the end of the third to force a fourth set.
The Huskies jumped out to a lead late midway through the fourth and maintained it through the set, as the team’s 84 digs kept rallies alive and forced response after response out of the Warriors, winning wars of attrition on play after play. WACO narrowed the margin to as close as two in the late stages of the set, but the Huskies held on for their third 25-22 win of the night and their fifth victory of the year.
“We’ve been really focusing in practice on not getting in our heads, how we can individually be better leaders, as a team be better communicators,” Husky co-head coach April Stumpf said. “It’s amazing to see all of that come together.”
The celebration was electric when match point hit the floor. The Huskies screamed on the court before rushing the bench. Libero Anika Hennigsen embraced Stumpf. Pure elation.
“We’ve been in situations where we have fought until the very end and not been able to pull it out,” Stumpf said. “To see them that excited, it’s only going to build everything up for them and inspire them to do even better.”
Last year, a core of athletes used to racking up wins between softball, basketball, golf and track endured the worst record the volleyball program had seen this decade. With the win, they were officially over that hump.
Junior Maiya Singbeil terminated a dozen kills for the Huskies to lead the offense. Senior Alexa Hahn’s 3 blocks and senior Katelyn Thomann’s match-high 21 digs propelled the defense to victory, as the team held WACO to a .045 hitting percentage throughout the match. Hahn credited the team’s success to the new coaching staff.
“The coaches have been very helpful giving us tips on how to get better, and they aren’t scared to tell us if we’re making a mistake.”
The Huskies were excellent in serve receive, an area that they struggled in a preseason scrimmage against the Warriors. On 81 successful serve attempts, WACO netted just 4 aces throughout the match. Highland had 6 aces on 81 successful attempts, headlined by a match-high 2 aces from Thomann.
While WACO senior Carlee Lunsford totaled a match-high 16 kills, the Highland defense continually forced her to make mistakes, neutralizing her impact. The senior totaled 10 errors, thanks in part to the Highland defense’s dominant performance taking away viable attacking lanes.
The victory also marked a milestone for Stumpf as her first home win for the Huskies.
“All that matters to me is that our girls are having fun and learning every day,” Stumpf said. “I’m so proud of them.”
Highland will join Lone Tree and Hillcrest in a trip to Cardinal for a tournament on Saturday.
Wilton Tournament
The Huskies went 1-4 at the Wilton Tournament on Saturday, losing to 2A and 3A opponents Burlington, Mt. Pleasant, Mediapolis and Wilton while defeating conference foe Winfield-Mt. Union.
Highland started the day with a 2-0 (21-12, 21-18) loss to Mt. Pleasant in which the Husky offense struggled to find the court, finding just 8 kills and hitting -.049.
The Huskies were able to take a set in their second match of the day, dropping a 2-1 (21-14, 19-21, 15-1) loss to Burlington. Junior Kamryn Fink’s team-high 5 kills helped fuel the team to a second-set win, but the Greyhounds roared to life in the third, allowing just one Husky point in the tiebreak set.
The Huskies lost 2-0 (21-7, 21-15) in their third match against Mediapolis, as Maiya Singbeil delivered 4 of the team’s 7 kills.
Finally taking on a 1A opponent, the Huskies capitalized against WMU, taking a 2-0 (21-18, 23-21) victory. Katelyn Thomann’s 19 digs built on her dominant defensive performance against WACO on Thursday, while the offense finally went positive with a .083 hitting percentage, headlined by 7 kills for junior Ava Sexton.
The Huskies closed the day on another 2-0 (4-21, 14-21) loss to 3A No. 9. The offense struggled again, hitting .197 while allowing a dominant .405 hitting percentage by the Beavers.
By the numbers:
Highland 3, WACO 1
Statistical leaders:
Highland kills: Maiya Singbeil 12, Kamryn Fink 11, Ava Sexton 9, Alexa Hahn 7, Katelyn Thomann 6, Henlee Petersen 5
Highland assists: Petersen 20, Hahn 16, Fink 1, Thomann 1, Kayce Schnoebelen 1
Highland digs: Thomann 21, Petersen 15, Sexton 13, Hahn 12, Fink 10, Singbeil 8, Anika Hennigsen 5
Highland blocks: Hahn 3, Singbeil 2, Fink 1, Petersen 1
Highland aces: Thomann 2, Fink 1, Sexton 1, Petersen 1, Singbeil 1
WACO kills: Carlee Lunsford 16, Courtney Waterhouse 5, Bren Graber 5, Layla Wolf 4, Taelyn Egli 1, Ava Wagler 1
WACO assists: Wagler 28, Graber 1
WACO digs: Lunsford 20, Egli 14, Mei Leichty 8, Waterhouse 6, Wagler 6, Trinity Dean 2, Ada Davison 1
WACO blocks: Lunsford 4, Wolf 1, Egli 1, Kaylan Willits 1, Leichty 1
WACO aces: Egli 1, Graber 1, Davison 1, Leichty 1
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