Highland senior Sarah Burton forcefully spiked down the ball for the kill, finding a hole in the Columbus Wildcat defense.

The Highland student section erupted, cheering and clapping, making as much noise as the Highland gymnasium could handle.

That Burton spike gave the Huskies a first set win, 25-17. They would eventually take the match win, their first in seven matches, 3-1, over the Columbus Wildcats (3-12) on Sept. 12.

“It’s been a rough week. It’s always fun watching the girls have fun playing volleyball and that’s what we did tonight,” head coach Shannon Copeman said.

Columbus took set two 25-13. Highland reclaimed the lead in the third set, winning 25-22. Highland then won it in the fourth with a score of 25-20.

Each Highland win came into place masterfully.

Set three started and finished off the hands of junior Adeline Krotz. Krotz started it with a spike for the kill.

Ending the set, she tipped the ball over the net neatly, falling in the middle of the Columbus defense, quelling the incoming Wildcat comeback win.

“There were some ups and downs, but the Husky girls are definitely getting better at staying up instead of getting down after losing a few points,” Copeman said. “They’re playing better and getting better at winning.”

One big thing that helped the Huskies in this matchup was their steady rotation of hitters. Production continued regardless of who stood on the outside.

“It’s so important to be able to be multi-position athletes and be able to go out there and actually do the job that they’re supposed to be doing,” Copeman said about one athlete exiting due to illness and the bench’s ability to pick up the workload.

Burton led the team with 11 kills while Krotz had 10. They combined for nearly 70 attempts.

Both Lorelei Lueck and Payton Brun had five kills apiece. Madison Beeson led in digs with 17 and Laney Skelton had the team leading 21 assists.

One aspect of the game that coach Copeman hopes the team works on is communication on the floor. She feels the team notices the issue quickly, but work is still needed.

Cardinal tournament, 9/16

One thing Highland chose to do on a consistent basis this fall is participate in tournaments.

“It’s the most important thing that we could be doing,” Copeman said about tournament participation. “Playing against hard competition is what’s going to make us better. Making sure we’re moving our feet playing, playing good teams, I couldn’t imagine not doing that every weekend.”

On Sept. 16, the Huskies traveled to Cardinal Community High School for a tournament. Here, Highland would face off against Van Buren County, Danville, and Twin Cedars.

Against Van Buren County (9-11), Highland lost 2-0 with scores of 12-21 and 17-21. This increases VBC’s winning streak against Highland to seven games dating back to 2018. Senior Courtney Chalupa got on the scoreboard with one serve ace, leading Highland.

Danville (7-9) also swept the Huskies 2-0. Set scores were 10-21 and 16-21. Highland senior Haley Sands led the team in digs with eight.

Highland did not go winless at the tournament. Against Twin Cedars (3-10), the Huskies won 2-0 with set sores of 21-15 and 21-12. Highland’s all-time record against Twin Cedars is now 3-0.

Danville seemingly won the tournament after completing the upset against WACO (11-3), winning in just two sets.

The Huskies next match will be the SEISC Volleyball Tournament. The tournament will have four host schools and Highland is one. This tournament will be held Thursday, Sept. 21.

Highland will face West Burlington, Mediapolis and Pekin. The top two teams from each  pool will travel to Southeastern Community College on Saturday, Sept. 23 for a chance to take first place.