Hornets volleyball wins Cloverbelt opener
The Colby Hornets are off to a quick start in league play, picking off the Spencer Rockets at home on Sept. 14 to open the Cloverbelt Conference with a victory.
Colby shellacked the Rockets through using well-placed serves, tips and digs to score points. The Hornets captured the first set 25-12, and then steamrolled through Spencer in the second set for a 25-6 decision.
With their backs against the wall, Spencer made Colby work for the third set, but with all the momentum on their side, the Hornets took care of a business, securing the third set 25-18.
The victory made up for Colby’s 3-0 loss to Athens on Sept. 9, but the Hornets could not maintain their heavy hitting two days later, falling to Abbotsford at home in four sets on Thursday, Sept. 16.
Colby began the match well in their non-conference meeting with their Hwy. 13 rivals. Booming serves and wellplaced kills gave the Hornets a 25-18 lead after one set.
“I think we served really well, and that’s something we’ve been working on a lot in practice,” Colby head coach Hannah Engevold said. “Every serve counts as a point, you miss a serve, you lose a point. Getting that serve over, and putting pressure on the other team with that serve, is the most important thing.”
Hayden Willner, Brett Schmitt, Lydia Decker and Sophia Fontoira all delivered well placed serves, but freshman Savana Thomsen really delivered the bombs, dropping a team-high five aces on Abby.
“Another big thing was Savana Thomsen coming in,” Engevold said. “She’s got a really powerful serve, a powerful swing, and that’s really been a benefit to us.”
The Falcons looked shell-shocked for much of the first set, but they adjusted to Colby’s serves in the second set. Abby also began to find holes in Colby’s back row, exploiting open spaces to rally for a 25-9 second set to even it at one set apiece.
“We’ve been trying to work on being quicker at the net. We’re a little bit slow yet, so I really want to work on getting that double block and getting more hands on those middles,” Engevold said. “We’ve worked hard on reading those tips, but it’s that first step forward that we really have to work on.”
With both teams back to even terms, Colby and Abbotsford wrestled for momentum in the third. Colby’s serves and Abby’s net game and defense led to several lead changes, but the Falcons played the big points better, and escaped with a 25-21 victory.
From there, the Hornets energy levels dipped, and the Falcons sensed their moment and struck, reeling off point after point for a 25-10 fourth set.
Kya Viegut and Sophia Fontoira led the Hornets with seven kills apiece in the match. Brett Schmitt had a team high six digs and Kennedy Bilz had seven assists.
“We’re trying to learn as we go, and to really learn to trust one another,” Engevold said after the loss. “These are hard fought battles, so through all these games we want to win, but we’ve battled. The improvement doesn’t always show in the win column, but we’ve come a long way since the first week.”
The Hornets faced another test on their home court earlier this week, hosting the Stratford Tigers on Monday, Sept. 20. Much like their match with the Falcons, the Hornets started off well, taking the first set 25-22.
Savana Thomsen continued to drop bombs, finishing with a team-high five aces. Kya Viegut had seven kills, but the Tigers clawed their way back into the match, overcoming the Hornets in two tight and nervy second and third sets.
Colby dropped both of them to Stratford, losing the second set 25-21 and the third set 25-20.
Colby could not recover in time in the fourth set, and the Tigers took the match, with a 25-15 win in the fourth set.
Brett Schmitt added nine digs in the loss, and Kennedy Bilz chipped in with a team high eight set assists.
I GOT THIS! -Kennedy Bilz (#8) prepares to set the ball for a Colby kill shot for her teammate senior Hailey Baumann (#11) during the Hornets league opener with Spencer. Bilz served up a team high seven assists during Colby’s match with Abbotsford and eight more against the Stratford Tigers.
