Lone Tree pushed its rival to extra points in the second set on Tuesday, but the Huskies were able to finish it off and earn the sweep on the road. 

Senior MyLei Smith had 15 assists, 11 digs and six aces in the 25-18, 28-26, 25-12 win, Highland’s ninth of the season.  

“They're getting better every day, working together and not getting down on themselves, and it really showed in that second set for sure,” Highland coach Shannon Hills-Copeman said. 

Lone Tree responded to the close loss by taking a 7-4 lead in the third set, but the Huskies took control and won easily to finish the match. 

“That was impressive to see,” Hills-Copeman said. “We've been waiting a long time to see these girls play like this tonight.”

Junior Sarah Burton had 12 kills and 18 digs, and sophomore Adeline Krotz stepped up with nine kills and 22 digs. 

The intensity picked on both sides of the net as the second set went to extra points. The level of effort and focus went up as each player worked to avoid making a mistake that would cost the match. 

“I felt like throwing up, to be honest,” said senior Adelynn Kleopfer, who had four kills and five digs on Tuesday. “It was just so tense. It was like we’re so close but we’re so far away. 

“I just wanted to finish it — on a good note, but just kind of be done with it.”

Kleopfer finished 13-of-13 serving with two aces. 

Smith, who had nearly half of the Huskies’ 13 aces, had her biggest one of the night to give Highland the 28-26 victory in set two. 

“Honestly, I was just thinking about getting it in, I didn’t expect to serve an ace,” she said. “It was just very nerve racking. We had set goals for ourselves before the game, and we wanted to serve 10 aces. And it was nice to get more than our goal.”

Senior Jessica Kraus said the Huskies kept talking to each other even when they fell behind by three points in the final set. 

“I think we did a good job communicating,” said Kraus, who had three kills. “We worked well as a team and we had pretty good chemistry in the third set.”

Grace Prybil had 15 assists and was 14-of-15 serving with two aces.

Riley Krueger led the Lady Lions with eight kills and 14 digs in the loss. Ella Buser had 21 assists and Hogan Eden had 11 digs. 

Avery Morarie had six kills and Bailey McGrew had five. Rylee Shield finished with three blocks and went 13-of-13 serving with a pair of aces. 

Highland improved to 4-2 in conference play with the win. 

“I feel like we believed in ourselves the whole game,” said senior Lillee Boshart. “And it’s really nice that we’re winning right now.”

Highland (10-11, 5-2) kept that winning feeling on Thursday with a 25-11, 25-17, 25-14 sweep of Louisa Muscatine. The Huskies will be back in action on Saturday at a tournament in Washington.