Highland defeats WMU in four sets

After a strong second game, the Winfield-Mt. Union volleyball team looked like they might have wrestled momentum away from Highland.

After falling 25-19 in the first set, the Wolves led for much of the second game, leading by as much as 14-9, but the Huskies tied things up at 20 with a 5-1 run.

The Wolves withstood the rally to take the set and even things up at one apiece, but Highland bounced right back with renewed energy and cruised the rest of the way, taking set 3 25-14 and set 4 25-17 for the 3-1 match victory.

?I hadn?t beat Winfield in conference play, so I told them to do it for me,? Highland head coach Christine Rath said. ?We had a few errors in the second game and we cleaned that up. Then we came out with energy in the final game and that was huge.?

The Huskies were led by Aly Stokes? 11 kills and 12 digs, while Kelsey Hora led the team defensively with 16 digs on the night.

Sydney Black notched eight kills and nine digs, while Bailey Harmston claimed six kills on the night.

Amy Schnoebelen and Murphy Beinhart were the main setters for the Huskies, posting 15 and 12 assists respectively.

Hora was also the strong server for the Huskies, converting all 23 of her attempts for three aces.

?It?s what I expect,? Rath said. ?This team has that energy and has power. We have good leaders, and we need to get everyone into the game. That?s where our energy comes from. Everyone did an awesome job. Aly and Kelsey do a great job of covering the whole floor, and then we have some exceptional digs out of Murphy (Beinhart).?

As the Huskies move forward, Highland will host a tournament over the weekend, where Rath hopes her team can continue the positive momentum.

?We are day to day,? Rath said. ?A lot depends on where the girls are. Last weekend, you could tell they were tired. We are giving them Friday off and then we?ll see what Saturday brings. The first weeks of school they always seem to be tired.?