Hornets split in region matches

Harvey-Wells County got into the thick of their regional competition this past week and almost pulled off a two game sweep. Benson County made a six point run in the fifth game to down the Hornets in five games. Later in the week, The Hornets took out any frustration they had on Nelson County with the three game sweep of the Chargers in McVille.

Benson Co. 3, HWC 2

A classic contest between two evenly matched teams is what fans in Maddock witnessed during this super regional matchup on Tuesday, October 8.

Game one started just like you would expect, very close throughout. The Hornets opened up a 19-13 lead on the back of two aces from Brooklyn Dockter and another from Christalea Wagner. The Wildcats got two kills from Lacie Fautsch and back-to-back aces from Kaitlyn Maddock to cut the lead to 19-18. HWC went up 23-20 on three consecutive attack errors from Benson County but the Wildcats responded with two kills each from Aubrey Kenner and Kale Williams to knot the game at 24. An ace from Shayna Gossen and another kill from Williams gave the home team game one 27-25.

HWC opened up a 8-1 lead to start the second set mostly due to four attack errors and a ball handling error from the Wildcats. Fautsch added two more kills and a block and Isabella Engstrom added a block and kill to tie the game at 10. Benson County continued the momentum and moved the lead to 16-12. Wagner and Dockter recorded kills for HWC to even the match at 18. This time around, Benson County went ahead 23-20 but the Hornets finished strong with four different Hornets recording kills late in the game in a 27-25 win to tie the match at one game each.

Game three was close until late. The two teams played to 14 different tying scores with the final tie of the set at 17-17. A few Wildcat hitting errors mixed in with kills from Taylor Nelson, Wagner and the final kill from Maci Reutter gave HWC an 8-3 finish and 25-20 game three win.

The fourth game may have started close but when the Wildcats got up, they didn't look back. Leading 6-5, the Wildcats scored eight straight on two aces from Delaynee Schwanke and kills from Fautsch, Williams and Liberty Streyle. HWC got a few points back on back-to-back kills from Braylee Keller but Benson County finished off game four winning 25-15.

The deciding fifth set was also a close game. Benson County went ahead by two. With the score 10-9 for HWC, the Hornets got kills from Reutter and Wagner to go up 12-9 before the Wildcats called a timeout. The little break was just what Benson County needed as they regrouped and got kills from Williams, Streyle and Fautsch to score the final six points and win the final set 15-12.

Benson County was led by Fautsch with 20 kills and six blocks. Streyle dished out 39 assists with Olivia Follman and Delaynee Schwanke each recording three aces. Defensively, Kenner led in digs with 23 while Maddock followed closely with 19.

Braylee Keller led four Hornets with eight or more kills as she recorded 12 while Kali Fike had 35 assists. On the defensive side, Keller had 20 digs while Rachel Neumiller added 28 and Brooklyn Dockter and Fike followed closely with 18 each.

HWC 3, Nelson Co. 0

HWC needed just three games to defeat Nelson County 3-0 in McVille on Thursday, October 10. The Hornets played well against a very solid Charger team who have competed well against good competition.

The Hornets got out to a quick 7-2 lead in the opening set and never relinquished the lead. Braylee Keller recorded five kills in game one while Rachel Neumiller had two kills and an ace to help pace the Hornets as they won the opener 25-14.

The Chargers took control of game two as they opened up a 7-1 lead on two kills and an ace from Brandi Lippert. Lippert kept Nelson County in contention as she added another kill and ace to move the lead to 10-7. Back-to-back kills from Neumiller provided a spark for HWC as they went from a two point deficit to a three point lead at 13-10. Two kills from Keller and another from Rylee Jones as well as an ace from Kali Fike gave the Hornets an 18-12 edge. Christalea Wagner recorded two kills and Taylor Nelson and Neumiller each added kills as the Hornets won the second game 25-19.

Game three was what most fans were expecting of all three games as this one was much closer. The Hornets held anywhere from a 1-4 point lead for most of the set but saw that lead evaporate as two kills from Brooke Watkins and another from Jessie Monsebroten tied the game at 17. The game was tied again three more times before HWC got hot on a kill from Wagner and two more from Neumiller to close out the third game 25-22 for the Hornets.

Statistically, Neumiller led HWC with 10 kills while Kali Fike had 33 assists and Braylee Keller added 24 digs. The Chargers were led by Lippert's 13 kills, 21 digs and three service aces.

Super Region 4 Volleyball

Benson Co. 3, HWC 2

at Maddock

HWC 25 27 25 ­ 15 12 - 2

BC 27 25 20 ­ 25 15 - 3

HWC Individual Stats

Kills: Braylee Keller 12, Taylor Nelson 10, Rachel Neumiller 9, Christalea Wagner 8, Kali Fike 5, Maci Reutter 4, Brooklyn Dockter and Rylee Jones 1.

Assists: Fike 35, Neumiller and Wagner 2, Dockter, Keller and Reutter 1.

Aces: Dockter 2, Fike, Keller, Nelson and Wagner 1.

Blocks: Fike 2.

Digs: Keller 28, Neumiller 20, Dockter and Fike 18, Wagner 11, Reutter 9, Nelson 6, Jones 1.

Benson Co. Individual Stats

Kills: Lacie Fautsch 20, Aubrey Kenner 13, Isabella Engstrom and Kale Williams 8, Liberty Streyle 4, Shayna Gossen 2, Brylee Stuberg 1.

Assists: Streyle 39, Olivia Follman and Kenner 3, Williams 2, Addisyn Faul, Fautsch and Delaynee Schwanke 1.

Aces: Follman and Schwanke 3, Kaitlyn Maddock and Streyle 2, Faul, Gossen and Kenner 1.

Blocks: Fautsch 6, Engstrom and Streyle 3, Gossen 2, Kenner and Williams 1.

Digs: Kenner 23, Maddock 19, Faul 16, Streyle 15, Gossen and Schwanke 12, Follman 11, Fautsch 6, Engstrom 5, Williams 3, Stuberg 2.

HWC 3, Nelson Co. 0

at McVille

HWC 25 25 25 ­ - 3

NC 19 20 21 ­ - 0

HWC Individual Stats

Kills: Neumiller 10, Keller 9, Wagner 8, Nelson 7, Fike and Jones 2.

Assists: Fike 33, Keller, Nelson and Reutter 1.

Aces: Fike and Reutter 2, Neumiller and Wagner 1.

Blocks: Keller and Wagner 1.

Digs: Keller 24, Dockter 12, Wagner 7, Fike, Neumiller and Reutter 6, Nelson 2, Jones 1.

Nelson Co. Individual Stats

Kills: Brandi Lippert 13, Brooke Watkins 7, Jessie Monsebroten 5, Emily Larson 3, Mya Luehring 1.

Assists: Nevaeh Huso 26, Luehring 1.

Aces: Lippert 3, Luehring 2.

Blocks: Monsebroten and Aria Strong 1.

Digs: Lippert 21, Luehring and Watkins 14, Huso 11, Danica Magnus 5, Larson and Strong 4.