A senior-night symphony

Hillcrest senior Ruth Witthoft couldn’t have asked for a better final home match.

The Ravens’ lone senior delivered 14 kills to lead Hillcrest to a 3-1 (25-14, 25-20, 19-25, 25-21) victory over division rival Highland.

“It felt pretty good,” Witthoft said through a laugh after the game.

Witthoft wasn’t the only Raven to have a career night on Thursday, as sophomore libero Claire Miller delivered a career-high 30 digs while tying her career best with 7 aces.

“Tanna really knows what places will give us aces,” Miller said, crediting head coach Tanna Boshart for her success. “They were all coming together in the center of the court, and passing on the outside of you is way harder than when the ball is on the inside, so serving to the sidelines made it a lot easier for us.”

Witthoft’s kills and Miller’s aces and digs were all the best single-match performances in their respective stats by any player this season for Hillcrest. Miller’s 30 digs were the most for a Hillcrest player since Evelyn Gerber’s 33-dig performance in 2020.

Those standout individual performances fueled team records across the board, as the Ravens set their team season highs in kills, digs, aces and assists. It was the best volleyball Hillcrest had played all season.

“I honestly just want to keep playing like we did tonight,” sophomore setter Emma Parizek, who had a career-high 31 assists, said. “We were a team, and it was, honestly, the most fun I’ve ever had.”

The Ravens dominated the first set of the match, as an 8-0 run for Miller at the service line, including her first two aces of the night, buried the Huskies. Witthoft then closed the game on a 4-0 run.

Immediately, the energy difference was palpable between the two sides. Highland head coach April Stumpf exasperatedly asked her team, “What are we doing?” late in the first game, and the Huskies were stoic when the first set came to a close. The Ravens, meanwhile, were dancing near the bench, feeding off of an overflowing student section that spilled from the bleachers onto the stage and wrapped around the baseline, giggling and cracking jokes as they returned to the court for the second set. According to the Ravens, that community and energy that they share is what fueled their win on Thursday.

“After practices we go and hang out at each other’s houses, and we are always talking to each other at school,” Miller said. “We just have such a tight-knit community that it makes it so much easier to be friends on and off the court, which really affects how we play as a team.”

Witthoft is a lynchpin within that community.

“She’s so positive and she gets people out of their heads when they’re struggling,” Miller said of Witthoft. “She’s like the head of our team, she can just get us out of bad times in a game. She lifts our spirits. She’s just awesome.”

The Huskies came out hot in the second set thanks to a 5-0 service run for junior Ava Sexton, who recently transitioned into being the Huskies’ second setter in their 6-2 system. That run gave the Huskies an 8-2 edge, but it was short lived, as good distribution from Hillcrest setter Emma Parizek kept the Husky block off balance with a diversity of sets to the outside hitters, middles, opposites and the back row, leading the Ravens to fight back to a 14-14 tie.

“It’s wonderful to know that I can rely on my hitters to always be there if I need it, no matter where the pass is, no matter what I give them, and it’s just great to know they have my back,” Parizek said.

The rest of the set was all Ravens. Witthoft and eighth-grade middle blocker Jalise Bailey controlled the net, as each had a solo block while Witthoft drilled home a spike on a weak overpass, building a 22-18 lead that forced a Highland timeout. A diving save at the net allowed Hillcrest to win a long rally for set point, and the set came to a close on a Highland service error.

“I had to talk to her at one point tonight to say, ‘I need you to at least try to do something with a tight ball. You can’t just stop, because it’s not going to get any better,’” coach Boshart said. “I think with a young team, that’s something they have to do is just try different things.”

Sexton came out with another huge run in the third, as 3 consecutive aces fueled a 9-0 run that the Huskies cruised to victory, forcing a fourth set. Sexton finished with 7 aces, tying Miller’s match high while also setting a new career high for Sexton and season high for the Huskies.

With both teams now feeling the pressure, both defenses tightened in the fourth. Block coverage was excellent on both sides, as nothing seemed to find the floor off of stuffs by Witthoft, Bailey, Maiya Singbeil and Kamryn Fink.

Early in the fourth, Hillcrest built a 3-point lead and was threatening to run away, but Highland refused to let the Ravens out of their sights, fighting back after a timeout by Stumpf to keep the game within reach. The Huskies occasionally pulled tied or led for a moment, but Hillcrest never allowed them to lead by more than one.

With a 22-21 lead, Hillcrest finally found separation.

A back row kill for sophomore outside hitter Brynna Boshart extended Hillcrest’s lead to 23-21, sending Parizek to the service line. A Parizek ace gave the Ravens match point. Highland hit the ball into the net. The match was over.

As soon as the final whistle blew, the Raven celebration threatened to blow the roof off of the Hillcrest Union. The players screamed, the student section roared, and Miller leapt three feet in the air.

“The energy was insane,” Miller said.

The Ravens’ lone senior, Witthoft, though, was the first one in line to shake the hands of the Huskies at the net. The bubbly middle blocker is the one who’s been here before, and she showed it, leading the team through the line at the net.

“It’s been really fun to see her step up in her senior year and provide a lot of leadership for these younger kids,” coach Boshart said of Witthoft.

A performance like this– 38 kills on solid efficiency with a .113 hitting percentage– felt impossible at the beginning of the year. The biggest difference between then and now was the connection between Parizek and her hitters. Early in the season, everything felt a touch off. Sets came in too low or too close to the net, timing was a smidge early or late. On Thursday, every set was exactly where it needed to be, particularly for sophomore outside hitters Boshart and Schrock, who have seen steady improvement as the year has gone on.

“She’s setting so much better, especially when she gets pulled off the net,” Witthoft said of Parizek’s setting. “Her sets are really consistent, and we have a connection where I can call ‘back, back, back,’ she sets it back and it’s a perfect kill. Working with setters is really about your bond, and we have a really strong bond.”

Hillcrest went on to go 2-1 at the New London tournament on Saturday, sweeping the hosting Tigers and taking a 2-1 win over Columbus while being swept by Louisa-Muscatine.