Highland withstands Hillcrest rally for sweep

KALONA - Watching a high school volleyball match that had six ties in the third set after 16-16 is fun for fans and exciting for players, but it's hard on coaches.

'That got my blood pressure up,” Highland co-head coach Gina Trower said.

Highland took the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division victory on Hillcrest's Senior Night, 25-12, 25-19, 26-24.

'Our girls were getting tired, but they were working hard and showing us they wanted to play,” Highland co-head coach Emily Hegenbart said. We have been working on certain things at practice and that showed through in our play.”

It was a bittersweet night for Hillcrest senior Mia Graber, who underwent surgery Monday and had a knee brace on after being injured Sept. 10 in a home match against Louisa-Muscatine.

'Mia has stayed very involved,” Hillcrest head coach Tanna Boshart said. 'Tonight was emotional for me and her knowing that this is not how she envisioned her senior night or her senior year. I am proud of the determination and grit that she has showed. It has to be difficult, but she has been there for me and for her teammates. She talks with the girls about things that she sees because she has played the most volleyball of anybody on the team.”

Abby Fritz, Yuli Montes De Oca and Danae McGaffey were the other Hillcrest seniors.

'Abby has done a great job of adjusting to whatever we need her to do,” Boshart said. 'She's very selfless and just wants to serve the team. Yuli has had to play some different positions and she has learned them with grace and ease. If you watch us play, you can see Danae is our energetic leader on the court. She plays with energy and passion and brings that to a practice and a game. We have all had to adjust to different roles after we lost Mia. We have great kids.”

Highland cruised out to early leads in the first two sets. It was 10-1 in the first and 7-1 in the second. Fritz's serving brought the Ravens within 13-7 in the first set before Highland pulled away. A kill by Haley Sweeting got it to game point and a kill from the back row by Alyssa Brase finished it at 25-12.

'When we get our energy up, we play a lot better,” Brase said. 'I trust my setters to set me when I know we need a point.”

Hillcrest scored on a kill by McGaffey in the second set after an extremely long rally, trailing 8-4. The Huskies pulled away to an 18-10 lead, but kills from Yani Gutirrez, who had eight in the match, pulled the Ravens within four before losing 25-19.

The Ravens flew out to a 10-3 lead in Set 3, sparked by Norah Yoder, who had nine assists and six digs, and aces from Fritz, who had six total.

'This team likes to wait until their backs are against the wall,” Boshart said. 'They showed that again. All year we have had a slow starts and then they see that we have nothing to lose and play harder at the end. That came full circle tonight.”

Despite the deficit, the Huskies continued to have fun and tied the set at 16 behind the serving of Kaylee Rath.

'I want to be the one that helps everyone get happy,” Brase said. 'It's fun to play regardless (of winning or losing), but it's really fun to win.”

'We tend to brush our errors off like it's OK, but we know we have to come together as a team to overcome that,” Sweeting said.

A kill by Grace Batcheller gave the Huskies a 19-17 lead, but Hillcrest called time trailing 21-18.

The Ravens tied the game at 22, 23 and 24, but a kill from Brase got it to match point and an error gave the Huskies the triumph.

'We have been having fun practices and I think that led to us having fun, which led to us winning the game,” Trower said.

'I think this was a good win that we needed heading toward the post season,” Sweeting said. 'It will be a confidence booster.”

'We are first-year coaches and the girls have been helping us help them and I think it's starting to show,” Trower said. 'We wish we could've seen that sooner in the season, but it's good that we're coming together with the postseason upon us.”

Hillcrest plays Saturday at the Washington tournament. Highland hosts Lone Tree Tuesday.