Hillcrest, at home against Winfield-Mt Union, bounced back from a two-point loss in the first set with a two-point win in the second set. In the pivotal third set the Lady Wolves took an overwhelming 21-point victory.

The Ravens were unable to force a fifth set and WMU came away from this Southeast Iowa Super Conference battle with a 25-23, 25-23. 25-4, 25-19 win on Sept. 12. 

With this win WMU (9-8) stays perfect in conference play, 3-0, while the Ravens (5-6) dropped to 1-3 in the SEISC North. 

“[WMU’s] floor coverage was thorough, we knew we had to get the kills and hit some corners,” Hillcrest coach Brandon Statler said about WMU. “The first two sets we were able to do that and gained some momentum.  When [WMU’s] serves got stronger, we had trouble getting the ball to the setter, which led to hurried attacks instead of the kills we started out with.” 

In the serving department the Lady Wolves scored 13 service aces and had three players serve with 100% efficiently. WMU senior Audrie Gipple led her team with 14 kills.

While Hillcrest held a lead in the first set down the stretch, 20-17, the Lady Wolves went on an 8-3 run to earn a comeback victory. It looked bleak for Hillcrest in the second set when WMU jumped out to a 12-3 lead, but the Ravens did not falter. 

Putting together their own comeback the Ravens tied the second set at 15-15. Sophomore Niva Helmuth gave Hillcrest the lead with a block and junior Malia Yoder added to the lead with a well-placed kill.

“Those two in set two really showed as weapons over and over,” coach Statler said about Helmuth and Yoder. “Now we are really working on sustaining that focus and energy.”

Yoder ended the night as Hillcrest’s leading scorer (14) and led the team in digs (22). Helmuth scored five kills of her own and on defense she had 11 digs and led the team with two blocks. 

An impressive serving streak by junior Kylee Statler in the second set proved to be a vital component of Hillcrest’s overcoming their deficit. While she served, Hillcrest scored seven connective points.

“Kylee had an aggressive run serving, and that led to us getting the first solid attack several times to erase the deficit,” coach Statler said about the second set. “Us continuing to attack to close the match was the main difference between set one and two.”

Statler had a serving efficiency of 81.8% against WMU and she connected on one service ace. 

Faults, errors, and miscues plagued the Ravens in the third set.

The third set began with WMU taking an 8-2 lead, causing Hillcrest to take a timeout, but it was to no avail as the Lady Wolves improved their lead to 15-2, eventually taking the set by 21 points.

In the closing moments of set four the Ravens found themselves trailing 19-18. Not squandering their slim lead, the Lady Wolves closed the set and the match by going on a 6-1 run. 

This defeat for Hillcrest marks their first loss at home this season. 

Columbus 3, Hillcrest 1

Continuing to battle Southeast Iowa Super Conference adversaries the Ravens hit the road to challenge the Columbus Wildcats on Sept. 14. 

Protecting their home court, the Wildcats won this SEISC battle over Hillcrest with final scores of 25-17, 17-25, 25-20, 25-21. 

This four-set victory for Columbus (3-12) ended a nine-game losing streak and gave them their first conference win of the season, improving their conference record to 1-3. 

Hillcrest now has a 1-4 conference record following this loss. This defeat also brings the Ravens losing streak to three in a row. 

Junior Malia Yoder led the Ravens in kills (18) and digs (19). In the assists department freshman Claire Withrow led the team in assists (39).