Ravens face Wildcats

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 9/16/22

After falling behind 17-8 in a must-win third set on Thursday, the Hillcrest Ravens battled back to close the gap to 20-18 before falling to the Columbus Wildcats 25-13, 25-20, 25-21. 

Like …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Ravens face Wildcats

Posted

After falling behind 17-8 in a must-win third set on Thursday, the Hillcrest Ravens battled back to close the gap to 20-18 before falling to the Columbus Wildcats 25-13, 25-20, 25-21. 

Like the first two sets, the Ravens played with effort until the final point, but mistakes had them playing from behind all night. 

“We have a lot of focus points to work on, for sure,” Hillcrest coach Brandon Statler said. “When we dial it in we can compete with anyone, which has been our focus for some time.  Decision making, hustle, and communication under pressure will be worked out with more volleyball for these girls.”

The Ravens fell behind 7-2 in the second set before taking five of the next seven points to pull within two on Malia Yoder’s ace. The Wildcat lead grew to 19-14 before the Ravens made another run. Yoder had another ace as the gap closed to 21-20, forcing a timeout. 

“We were acknowledging what works and executing plays together when things were working,” Statler said. “Then we were maybe trying to do a little too much when we were forcing the errors in Columbus’ big runs.”

The Ravens host Rivermont Collegiate on Tuesday before SEISC tournament play begins on Thursday. 

The Ravens suffered a 25-3, 25-7, 25-15 loss to Winfield Mt. Union (13-5) on Tuesday. Yoder led the Ravens with five kills and seven digs, while fellow sophomore Kylee Statler had two kills and a block.
Freshman Claire Withrow had four hills and seven assists, and freshman Niva Helmuth had three kills and six digs.

“I do believe we learn in stages,” Statler said after Thursday’s loss. “First we learn everything, then we somewhat have to learn it again under pressure. This is the first time many of our players have played with this kind of pressure and it really showed last night.  I am looking forward to seeing them grow as a unit and helping each other adjust to the speed of the game.”

The Ravens host Rivermont Collegiate on Tuesday before SEISC tournament play begins on Thursday.