Cyclones bounce back, outlast Fillies in four
HARLAN (Sept. 4) -- Aggression and efficiency proved to be a winning combination for the Harlan Community volleyball team Tuesday night as the Cyclones persevered through a grueling set-one loss to outlast Shenandoah 27-29, 25-23, 25-15, 25-23 in an even Hawkeye Ten battle.
HCHS served 96 percent with seven aces and improved its kill efficiency by more than 15 percent (19 more kills, 7 fewer attack errors) compared to last week’s four-set home loss to Denison-Schleswig.
The Cyclones, now 4-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play, were unable to capitalize on two sets points in the opening stanza, but regrouped to win a tight set two, controlled three from start to finish and withstood a spirited Shenandoah rally late in the fourth to snap a four-game losing streak.
The Fillies dropped to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the H-10.
“Credit to both teams. It was a fun match and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” said HCHS head coach Willie Baughman. “We kind of had a new lineup and we adjusted fairly well. We had a lot of energy and it was good to see.”
Baughman added: “A very big point of emphasis was, ‘We’ve got to keep balls in and we’ve got to be aggressive at the same time.’ There’s a little bit of a fine line, but I thought the girls did a great job.”
An early-season rotation tweak seemed to pay dividends for the Cyclones as six-foot sophomore Macie Leinen moved from the middle to the outside and 5-foot-11 sophomore middle hitter Lauren Andersen saw her first varsity action.
HCHS 27-25-25-25, Shenandoah 29-23-15-23
Harlan Community Statistics
Serving: 96/100 (96%), 7 aces -- Ashley Hall 20/22, Lindsey Andersen 19/20 (1 ace), Elise Juhl 14/15 (3 aces), Hayley Hopkins 14/14 (1 ace), Kara Weis 14/14 (1 ace), Olivia Petersen 14/14, Anna Ahrenholtz 1/1 (1 ace).
Attacks: 145/165, 48 kills (12 per set), .170 kill eff. -- O. Petersen 41/43, 14 kills (.279 eff.); Ahrenholtz 23/29, 11 kills (.172); Macie Leinen 21/26, 9 kills (.154); Lauren Andersen 20/21, 7 kills (.286); Hopkins 32/38, 6 kills (.000); Juhl 4/4, 1 kill (.250); Hall 4/4.
Assists: 40 -- Weis 38, Hall 2.
Blocks: 12 -- Lauren Andersen 4 (1 solo), O. Petersen 3 (1 solo), Hopkins 2, Weis 1, Leinen 1, Ahrenholtz 1.
Digs: 97 -- Hall 22, Hopkins 21, Weis 15, Leinen 12, Lindsey Andersen 9, Juhl 7, O. Petersen 5, Ahrenholtz 3, Lauren Andersen 3.
Serve Receive Average: 2.47/3.00 (80 att.) -- Hopkins 2.73 (11), Leinen 2.67 (3), Hall 2.58 (24), Juhl 2.42 (19), Lindsey Andersen 2.41 (17), Ahrenholtz 1.83 (6).