The Hillcrest Ravens finished the regular season on a high note, defeating Louisa-Muscatine in five sets to earn their first conference victory of the season. 

It was the second five-set road match in two days for the Ravens, who lost the final two sets at Cedar Valley Christian the night before in a heartbreaker. 

“As disappointing as last night was, I do think that bitter feeling was on everyone’s mind,” Hillcrest coach Brandon Statler said. “Every time we got down, we managed to claw back into it.” 

The Ravens alternated set wins with the Falcons and came out on top 25-13, 20-25, 25-13, 14-25, 15-9. 

:So many times this year we build a lead, then get complacent, even a bit over confident, and begin attacking without decision making,” Statler said. “Tonight, not only did we attack as often as we have managed to all year long, but we cut our errors in half from last night — in hitting and serving, which ultimately decided the match.”

The Falcons were led in kills, assists, and digs by three seniors on senight night, while the Ravens played four sophomores and four freshmen in the match. 

Sophomores Malia Yoder and Kylee Statler combined for 31 of the team’s 45 kills. Freshman Clair Withrow had five kills and 29 assists in the win. 

“Malia, Claire, and Kylee each led at times through the haze of LM’s senior night,” Brandon Statler said. “Malia with the kills. Claire with the assists. Kylee with a combination of kills, aces, and momentum-stealing blocks, had her best game as a Raven.”

Statler led the Ravens with six aces. Hillcrest had 22 aces as a team with season-highs from Lydia Beachy (5), Yoder (4), and Erin Bontrager (3). Bontrager also had a season-best 10 digs. 

Niva Helmuth had seven kills, 11 digs and two blocks. Yoder led the Ravens with 14 digs.

The Ravens took just one out of 22 sets in conference play before Tuesday’s victory. The Ravens went 3-5 in the conference last year, but returned just two of the eight players who played in the majority of those matches. 

It’s been quite the roller coaster ride,” Statler said. “First not knowing If we would have enough for a team, and second not knowing if we could compete in varsity matches with such a young, inexperienced group.”

The Ravens (4-22) finished the regular season by taking 7 of the last 18 sets with wins over Keota and Louisa-Muscatine. 

The Ravens travel to No. 14 New London on Monday for the first round of the postseason.