Colby holds off Greyhound rallies, bests O-W

By Nathaniel Underwood

The Colby Hornets volleyball team picked up a pair of Cloverbelt-East conference victories in their last two matches, defeating Owen-Withee in straight sets before dealing Loyal their first conference loss of the season.

Loyal, 3-1

Colby hosted the Greyhounds last Thursday and were able to come out victorious in a battle between two of the conference’s top squads. While the Hornets were able to come out with a 3-1 victory, Loyal did not go silently into the night, mounting numerous comebacks that put pressure on the home team all evening.

After a back and forth opening to the first set, the Hornets were the first to take a significant lead. After breaking a 13-13 tie, the Hornets went on a small 4-1 run that ended on a kill by Harrison Schmitt that gave them a 17-14 lead. An ace from Savana Thomsen a few rallies later increased Colby’s advantage to four, the largest lead by either team in the first set at 20-16. However, the Greyhounds came roaring back, outscoring the home team 9-1 over the final 10 rallies to take a 25-21 victory.

Despite the breakdown at the end of the first set, the Hornets remained undeterred and opened a 6-1 lead to start set number two. A kill from Dakota Hoeper increased that advantage to six at 9-3 and the Hornets maintained their lead over the midgame. Loyal could not handle three straight excellent serves from Hannah Trush and Colby claimed a 17-7 lead. Once again, the Greyhounds would not be put away quietly, going on a 13-6 run to cut the once expansive Hornet lead down to just three. However, a kill from Brynn Polivka brought the Hornets to set point and Thomsen finished off the Greyhounds two rallies later to hold off the Loyal comeback and earn the 25-22 win.

Colby once again opened up a large lead in the third set, with Thomsen serving up consecutive aces to give her team an 11-3 lead. A kill from Polivka gave the Hornets their second double digit lead of the match at 14-4, but the Greyhounds would rally once more. A 10-1 run for the visitors was finally ended with a clutch kill from Daelyn Rieck, allowing the Hornets to maintain a two-point advantage. While the Greyhounds managed to knot things up at 18-18, a kill from Thomsen would make sure that Loyal would never lead in the third set.The Hornets outscored their opponents 7-2 in the endgame and Trush secured the 25-20 win with a kill. They would ride the momentum to their largest margin of victory in the fourth set, securing the match with a 25-18 victory.

The Hornets racked up 17 aces in the win, getting nine from Trush and five from Thomsen. Rieck led the team in kills with 12, Hoeper had nine and Schmitt contributed eight. Lilly Brzezinski had three solo blocks while Rieck and Trush led the team in digs, recording 16 and 15 respectively.

Owen-Withee, 3-0

The Hornets ousted Owen-Withee on the road last Tuesday, defeating their Cloverbelt-East foes in straight sets.

Colby dominated early, blasting the Blackhawks 25-11 in the first set. The home team put up a fight in the second set but the Hornets were still able to walk away with a comfortable 25-17 victory. The third set was by far the closest, but Owen-Withee was unable to force a fourth game as Colby scraped out the 25-23 win to complete the sweep.

The Hornets’attack was solid on Tuesday evening, putting together a .194 team hitting percentage over the course of the match. Rieck led the offense with an impressive 14 kills on just 27 attemptings, producing a .407 hitting percentage. Hoeper added nine kills on 26 opportunities and Brzezinski had five kills and two blocks. Thomsen, Schmitt and Addisyn Weiland all had two aces each and Trush led the team in digs with 13.

ON THE ATTACK - Harrison Schmitt notches one of her eight kills against Loyal last Thursday evening.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD

DENIED - Lilly Brzezinski throws up the block against the Greyhounds. The senior middle had three solo blocks in the important conference win.

STAFF PHOTO/NATHANIEL UNDERWOOD