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Colby picks off O-W, falls to Greyhounds

Colby picks off O-W, falls to Greyhounds Colby picks off O-W, falls to Greyhounds

The Hornets split their two Cloverbelt conference games over the past week, losing to Loyal at home and getting a win at Owen-Withee.

Loyal, 2-3

Both Colby and the Greyhounds were 3-2 in conference play coming into Tuesday night and both teams as evenly matched as they were two weekends ago when they faced off against each other in a tournament in Abbotsford. Just like the previous time these two teams collided, Loyal just barely escaped with the win.

There were times throughout the match when neither team looked particularly sharp. Errors, both hitting and from the service line, plagued the two Cloverbelt foes at different times in the match.

Loyal took advantage of these in the first set, starting off with a fivepoint run during which the Hornets struggled to set up their offense. Colby would bounce back from the deficit but errors would start to creep back into their game as the set progressed, giving the Greyhounds the space they’d need to claim the first game.

After some back and forth to start the second set, it was Colby’s turn to take advantage of some sloppy play from Loyal in the mid-game. The Hornets’ serving made things even harder for the Greyhounds to get into any sort of offensive set and the home team took a big 19-11 lead. Daelyn Rieck delivered some tough serves at the end of the second set to put it away for the Hornets, 25-13.

After looking completely out of sorts in the second set, Loyal appeared to find itself in the beginning of the third. The Greyhounds found their offense and took advantage of some misplays by the Hornets to win 25-19.

The pendulum of momentum swung back to Colby’s side in the fourth set, where the Hornets dominated much of the game. Savana Thomsen had two consecutive, tonesetting kills early in the game to put the Hornets up 8-2 and Kennedy Bilz had two more around the halfway mark to put a stop to a small comeback by the Greyhounds. Bilz finished things off with a hard hit ball that Loyal could not corral and Colby took the fourth set by a score of 25-14.

By the fifth set, both teams looked to be firing on all cylinders. Several long rallies started off the decider, with neither side willing to concede and both making excellent defensive plays. The Hornets couldn’t quite keep pace at the end, however, and Loyal took four of the final five points to win the final set 15-12.

3-0

Thomsen had ten kills and three blocks to lead the Hornets past the Owen-Withee Blackhawks on September 29. Last Thursday’s Cloverbelt match-up saw the visiting Colby team defeat their opponents in three straight sets.

After cruising to a 25-11 victory in the first set, the Hornets found themselves having to work harder as the match progressed. A fundraiser for uterine cancer put on by the hosts had attracted a large crowd, which only grew louder and more energetic as the Blackhawks became more competitive in the match. Colby snuck out with a 25-21 victory in the second set, but the home team was growing in confidence and would push the Hornets past the 25-point mark in the third set. Despite Owen-Withee’s comeback, the visitors would still take the final game, 28-26 and the match 3-0.

Thomsen was the focal point of the offense with her ten kills, though Harrison Schmitt contributed four of her own and Kylie Orth and Rieck each had three. The Hornets also had 12 aces in the match, six courtesy of Rieck. Schmitt had three, Hillary Feiten had two, and Bilz finished with one.

Thomsen had all three blocks for the Hornet defense and also contributed ten digs, which was third most on the team behind Schmitt’s 14 digs and Jorja Weiland’s 12. As the setter, Weiland led the team with 20 assists.

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