PACKWOOD

Continuing their strong season by going on the road to earn another Southeast Iowa Super Conference victory, Highland once again showed great fortitude by defeating Pekin, 3-2 (25-18, 16-25, 25-12, 19-25, 15-13) on Sept. 17.

It was a teeter-totter of a matchup, with both teams trading wins all throughout the night. Neither the Huskies or the Panthers were able to string together consecutive wins, leading to the necessity of a fifth and final set.  

This was Highland’s sixth straight win over Pekin with the Panthers last win over the Huskies coming in 2020. 

Showing out on both offense and defense, Hailey Brun led the Huskies in kills (10) and digs (11). The talented sophomore also tied for the team lead in blocks (2) along with Mackenzie Davis. 

Highland’s senior setter, Laney Skelton, accounted for a team high 27 assists. Fellow seniors Adeline Krotz and Lilly Barre were also difference makers in the win with Krotz tallying nine kills on offense and Barre finishing with 10 digs on defense. 

When it came to serving, Krotz, Emersyn Schultz and Katie Herrig all tied for the team lead in service aces (3). 

Highland 3, WACO 0

Remaining perfect in conference play, Highland (10-6) earned a 3-0, (25-14, 25-8, 25-16) home victory over WACO (5-11) on Sept. 19. 

Leaving no doubt by winning three straight sets, this was Highland’s first sweep of the season. The dominant win improves their Southeast Iowa Super Conference best record to an unblemished 5-0. 

Making it back-to-back games, Hailey Brun once again led Highland in kills (9). Adeline Krotz was right behind her with eight kills of her own. It was a perfect serving night for Highland, going 19/19 on serve attempts and scoring a team high three service aces. 

Highland had 24 assists as a team and Laney Skelton dished out 23 of them. It was another double-digit night for Lilly Barre on defense as she led the Huskies in digs (13).  

Highland 3, Iowa Valley 0

A Monday night road trip turned into a sweeping success for Highland, as they defeated the Iowa Valley Tigers, 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 26-24) on Sept. 23.

With no historical matchups to date, this was the first time the Huskies faced off against the Tigers and Highland made sure the match did not go past three sets. It was the second time this year the Huskies earned a sweep in a potential five set match. 

Connecting on 25 kills as a team, Highland was led by Hailey Brun who had eight kills. Laney Skelton once again led the team in assists with 17 and fellow senior Lilly Barre was the digs leader with 21. 

Looking at their season, Skelton leads in assists (308), Barre leads in digs (250), and Adeline Krotz leads in kills (114), blocks (18), and service aces (24). 

Up next for Highland (13-8) is heading to Mediapolis to take part in SEISC tournament pool play on Sept. 26.