HWC wins two out of three games to finish regular season

The Hornets' final week of the regular season was a busy one, with the team playing three matches and being on the road for two of them.

HWC started the week off with a four-game victory over Four Winds-Minnewaukan, and ended the week with a sweep of Dunseith, both on the road.

Smashed in the middle was a five-game marathon which saw the Central McLean Cougars come from two games down to steal a victory over HWC in Fessenden.

HWC 3, FW-M 1

Strong starts to the first two games propelled the Hornets to a Region 4 victory over the Lady Indians at Fort Totten on Tuesday, October 25.

The Hornets started strong, with Rachel Neumiller getting three kills in the first eight points for HWC as they moved out to an 8-1 lead. Kills from Larissa Arnold and Emma Dockter helped move the score to 15-3, and then an ace from Ashley Keller and kills from Arnold and Neumiller moved the lead to 19-4. Neumiller added three kills in the final four points, as the Hornets claimed game one, 25-7.

Game two was a similar style game, with Dockter getting a kill and giving HWC a 4-1 advantage. With Keller serving, the Hornets rattled off five straight to jump out 10-2. A kill from Kayme Bartz and then an ace from Bartz moved the score to 18-8. The Hornets finished out game two with kills from Arnold and Dockter, and then an ace from Keller sealed the second game, 25-13.

The third game started strong for the Hornets, as two Neumiller kills and an ace from Rylee Jones helped build an 8-3 lead. The Indians would chip away at the Hornet lead, as Lanehya Malnourie's back-to-back kills pulled FW-M to within one point at 14-13. A kill from Ava Haldorson moved the HWC lead back to three, but a kill from Lenae Gourd and a hitting error helped the Indians tie the game at 18. Malnourie's kill gave FW-M their first lead, but HWC came back for a 21-20 advantage. FW-M scored the final five points of the game behind two kills from Alionna Lawrence to take the victory, 25-21.

The final game of the night once again saw the Hornets start strong. Back-to-back aces from Aubree Wolfe and a kill from Dockter gave HWC a 9-3 lead. Dockter got in on the back-to-back aces, as she had two in a row to move the lead to 13-4. The Hornets finished the night with a strong performance at the net, as Keller, Dockter and Neumiller all had kills late in the game. Neumiller ended the match with an ace for a 25-10 victory.

A solid overall performance from the Hornets saw Kali Fike dishing out 24 assists, while Neumiller led the team with 10 aces and 16 digs. Fike led the team in aces with five, while the rest of her teammates had 15 more. Eleven Hornets found the stat column for digs, and 10 players tallied kills in the victory.

Central McLean 3, HWC 2

When the schedule came out for HWC volleyball, it had a newer opponent on the agenda, and the matchup with Central McLean turned out to be a dandy by going the full five games, and the Cougars came from down 2-1 for the victory.

Maybe it was Parents Night or possibly something else, but the Hornets' play in the first game was not up to their potential. The Cougars started strong with a quick 9-3 lead and strength at the net, with four different players recording kills. The lead continued to grow and the first games were in the book in short time with a Central McLean 25-9 victory.

Game two was a much different scenario for HWC, and one to their liking. A variety of Hornet players made plays in game two, but the overall story was a close game throughout. At 15-15, the game had been tied eight different times, but the Cougars would jump out to a 21-16 lead on two kills from Adlyn Eng and another from Reagan Kjelstrup. Arnold's play would start the comeback, as the senior had a block and two kills and Neumiller added two more kills, as the Hornets snuck out a 26-24 victory.

The third game was a replay of game two, as the teams played a close game up to the end. At 19-19, the game had already had 13 ties, but HWC had a plan to finish off the Cougars. Neumiller, Arnold, Keller and Dockter had kills, and Fike added an ace as HWC outscored Central McLean 6-2 to finish off game three with a 25-21 victory.

The Cougars started the fourth game on fire, taking a 10-4 lead with the help of back-to-back aces from Anna Skachenko. HWC would close the gap to one at 13-12 on kills from Arnold and Neumiller. Back-to-back kills from Laura Eichhorst and a kill from Arianne Hornberger moved the Cougar lead back to 19-14. Dockter and Neumiller had kills to pull HWC to within 20-18, but a strong finish by the visitors gave them the 25-20 win.

The fifth and deciding set started off with a 2-0 lead on an ace from Fike and a kill from Keller. The Cougars got two more kills from Eng and rattled off six straight for a four point lead. Dockter and Arnold smashed down kills for HWC as they tied the game at nine. Neumiller added back-to-back kills to cut the lead to 13-11, but a kill from Eichhorst and and a long kill attempt by HWC earned Central McLean the 15-11 game five win and 3-2 set victory.

A five game set will have outstanding defense, and this was the case for the Hornets. Five players had 18 or more digs, and HWC was led by Ava Haldorson with 22. Fike dished out 30 assists, mostly to Neumiller with 13 kills and Arnold with 10. Arnold also led in blocks and aces with three each.

HWC 3, Dunseith 0

The Hornets smashed down a total of 39 kills en route to a three-game sweep over the Dragons in Dunseith on Friday, October 28.

It was a slow start to the first two games for HWC, but the Hornets got on track midway through both games and cruised to victories. With the score 11-7 in game one, Neumiller had back-to-back kills and that was followed up with two kills from Keller to make the score 16-9. Back-to-back aces from Neumiller was followed by kills from Dockter and Bartz to help seal game one, 25-12.

Three Neumiller kills and a kill and ace from Keller helped HWC turn a 12-10 lead into a 20-12 lead midway through game two. The Hornets finished even stronger in this game as Arnold, Dockter and Keller had kills down the stretch for the Hornet 25-15 win.

The Hornets dominated game three from the start, jumping out to a 16-2 lead on the solid serving game of Keller who served 10 straight at one point. At 21-5, the Dragons went on a 8-1 run to pull within 22-14 but Dockter's five kills in the game helped HWC to another 25-15 victory and shutout of the Dragons.

Dockter led the hitting attack for HWC with 12 kills and was followed closely with 10 from Neumiller. Arnold had a nice all-around game with 10 digs and eight kills while Fike led the team in assists with 29.

Super Region 4 Volleyball

HWC 3,

Four Winds-Minnewaukan 1

at Fort Totten

HWC 25 25 21 25 - 3

FW-M 7 13 25 10 - 1

HWC Individual Statistics

Kills: Rachel Neumiller 10, Emma Dockter 8, Larissa Arnold 5, Kayme Bartz, Ashley Keller and Taylor Nelson 2, Kali Fike, Ava Haldorson, Christalea Wagner and Aubree Wolfe 1.

Assists: Fike 24, Dockter 2, Bartz and Neumiller 1.

Aces: Fike 5, Keller 4, Wolfe 3, Dockter and Neumiller 2, Arnold, Ebony Heilman, Bartz and Rylee Jones 1.

Blocks: Arnold 3, Keller 1.

Digs: Neumiller 16, Dockter 9, Fike, Jones and Nelson 6, Arnold and Wagner 5, Haldorson 4, Wolfe 3, Bartz and Keller 1.

Nonregion Volleyball

Central McLean 3, HWC 2

at Fessenden

CM 25 24 21 25 15 - 3

HWC 9 26 25 20 11 - 2

HWC Individual Statistics

Kills: Neumiller 13, Arnold 10, Keller 8, Dockter 5, Bartz 4, Fike 2.

Assists: Fike 30, Dockter 3, Wolfe 2, Bartz and Keller 1.

Aces: Arnold, Fike and Neumiller 3, Bartz and Keller 1.

Blocks: Arnold 3, Bartz and Keller 2, Fike 1.

Digs: Haldorson 22, Neumiller 20, Arnold 19, Dockter and Fike 18, Wolfe 11, Bartz 3, Keller and Wagner 2.

Super Region 4 Volleyball

HWC 3, Dunseith 0

at Dunseith

HWC 25 25 25 - 3

Duns. 12 15 15 - 0

HWC Individual Statistics

Kills: Dockter 12, Neumiller 10, Keller 8, Arnold 7, Bartz and Fike 1.

Assists: Fike 29, Bartz 4, Keller 3, Dockter 2, Arnold 1.

Aces: Keller 5, Neumiller 4, Arnold and Fike 2, Dockter and Wolfe 1.

Digs: Arnold 10, Fike and Neumiller 9, Dockter 6, Keller 4, Haldorson and Wolfe 3, Bartz 1.