Lone Tree tops Hillcrest in five-set SEISC opener

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 9/3/21

The Hillcrest Ravens battled back from two sets down to force a fifth set in Lone Tree on Thursday, but the Lady Lions came out on fire in the final frame.  Lone Tree opened up a 9-1 lead in the fifth and went on to defeat Hillcrest 25-22, 25-21, 21-25, 17-25, 15-9. 

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Lone Tree tops Hillcrest in five-set SEISC opener

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The Hillcrest Ravens battled back from two sets down to force a fifth set in Lone Tree on Thursday, but the Lady Lions came out on fire in the final frame. 

Lone Tree opened up a 9-1 lead in the fifth and went on to defeat Hillcrest 25-22, 25-21, 21-25, 17-25, 15-9. 

“We were ready to go,” said Lone Tree junior Riley Krueger. “We were pumped up and we were ready to end it.”

Krueger began serving with the fifth set tied 1-1. By the time she was done, Lone Tree had its largest lead of the day. 

“That was crazy, we don’t do that a lot,” Krueger said. “I think just really high passes were helping us, because we weren’t very hot with that most of the time, but when we got it, we were good.”

It was the first conference game for both teams. After dropping the first two sets, Hillcrest stayed alive with a narrow win in set three and won decisively by eight points in set four. 

“We started finding some holes and our outsides started coming through and our first pass was there,” Hillcrest coach Brandon Statler said. “You got to have the pass to set up the attack and we were getting it to the setter. 

“Our whole week has been about terminating the kill, where we've been just volleying a lot. Our defense has been improving greatly, and we just can't terminate. Tonight we started to learn to terminate, I think.”

Lone Tree coach Lora Sieverding said that the Lady Lions came out with good energy, and fed off of the crowd and student section while taking the first two sets. 

“I think the energy is important, just getting some of the big rallies and big hits, getting our crowd involved with us,” she said. “I think that helps build their energy and they feel a little more confident.”

Lone Tree served especially well in the second set, where a six-point run put the Lady Lions up 22-14. 

“In the second set there we had five aces, and we only missed one,” Sieverding said. “We have a senior-loaded team, so they're ready to go out strong. They're ready to win.”

For more on Lone Tree and Hillcrest volleyball, pick up the next edition of The News.