Lone Tree falls short in loss to Ravens

“It was heartbreaking.”

Those were Lone Tree head coach Kyle Holderness’s only words following Lone Tree’s 3-1 (25-19, 24-26, 25-15, 28-26) loss to Hillcrest Academy on Tuesday.

In a boisterous Lone Tree gym, the Lions came out swinging, while the Ravens, who were coming off one of their best matches of the season in a senior night win over Highland, seemed rattled as Lone Tree cranked up the pressure.

“I think our leaders, unfortunately, kind of had an off game together,” Hillcrest head coach Tanna Boshart said. “Fortunately, I think it was all mental. In some ways, that’s an easy fix, but in some ways, I think I’ve said, I’d rather train my body than my mind.”

Lone Tree built early leads in each of the first two sets, forcing the Ravens to climb out of holes. While Hillcrest managed to escape that hole in the first set, they weren’t able to make it out in the second, as Lone Tree closed out the game in extra points.

Hillcrest saw a series of unlikely heroes step up in the third to fuel the Ravens to victory in the final two sets in freshman defensive specialists Addison Gordinier and Becca Elam. Elam led the team with a match-high 5 aces, while Gordinier led the Ravens on a long service run that proved to be the killing blow late in the third.

“I was really proud of them,” coach Boshart said. “I know we’re a young team, but we’re seven eighths of the way through the season, we’re not young anymore. We need to step up and play the way we can.”

Lone Tree got off to another hot start in the fourth, but Hillcrest’s Brynna Boshart found her footing and stepped on the gas to get the Ravens back in the game, forcing extra points yet again. This time, it was the Ravens who closed it out, taking a 28-26 victory and leaving the Lions winless.

Brynna led the Ravens with 12 kills, lone Raven senior Ruth Witthoft led the team with 3 blocks, and sophomore libero Claire Miller led Hillcrest with 29 digs. Eighth-grade middle blocker Jalise Bailey was the team’s most efficient hitter, hitting .278 with 6 kills over the course of the match.

Stats were unavailable for Lone Tree as of publication.

The Lions will travel to Burlington-Notre Dame to open the postseason on Monday.

Ravens fall at W-MU

In an eerily quiet Winfield-Mt. Union gym on Monday, the Wolves knocked off the Ravens 3-1 (26-24, 25-9, 18-25, 25-20).

As the teams warmed up for the match, Winfield freshman Mayla Kerr went down with an injury. Both sides retreated to their locker rooms, but there was a clear shift in energy when both sides returned out of concern for Kerr.

That shift boded poorly for the Ravens, a team that feeds off of high-energy environments, as Winfield quickly jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the early going.

“Something that we talk about is controlling what we can control, like our effort and our attitude,” Hillcrest coach Tanna Boshart said. “That seems super easy in theory, but it’s always challenging. It’s challenging for adults, but especially for teenagers to be able to do that.”

Hillcrest battled their way back into the set, momentarily tying it at 24-24, but the Wolves managed to close it out 26-24.

Hillcrest had few answers for Winfield’s top servers in the second set, particularly junior captain Kynlee Buffington and freshman Brinley Kinneberg. Buffington and Kinneberg, who served back-to-back, had two highly contrasted serves, forcing the Ravens to adjust on a dime from Buffington’s powerful line drive to Kinneberg’s precise float.

Those serves built a 17-1 Winfield run that finished the second set as soon as it started, burying the Ravens. Still, sophomore outside Brynna Boshart found momentum in the final points of the second set, which she carried into the third.

“We talked about just staying aggressive and swinging, and she did that,” coach Boshart said of Brynna’s performance to close the match. “She was hitting a lot harder. I know she had some errors in there, but I’ll take that with her strength as opposed to continuously looking to spot the ball.”

Brynna led the charge in the third while the Ravens began holding their own in serve receive. Those changes led Hillcrest to a wide margin late in the third, one wide enough to withstand a late 4-0 Winfield run and force a fourth set.

Hillcrest jumped out to an 8-3 lead, looking to force a fifth set, but the Wolves refused to go away, clawing their way back to a 17-17 tie. From there, Winfield scored 8 of the final 11 points to close the match in a 3-1 win.

Hillcrest will open the playoffs on Monday as they travel to English Valleys for a rematch with the Bears, who beat Hillcrest in a razor-thin 2-1 decision to open the season.