VOLLEYBALL

The Huntington volleyball team split a pair of matches Friday afternoon as part of the Liz Lykowski Memorial Tournament hosted by Indiana Tech. The Foresters dropped the first match to the host Warriors in four, 25-15, 24-26, 25-16, 25-23, and then bounced back to sweep Trinity Christian, 25-19, 25-22, 25-18.

In the battle against Indiana Tech, De’Janea Johnson paced the Foresters with 14 kills while Kortney Grimm added 12 of her own. Back in the line-up, Lindsay Ingenito added eight kills and Abby Robinson turned in four kills and 2.5 blocks. Tya Bynum also got in on the action with seven kills and matched Robinson with 2.5 blocks. Morgan Robrock had a strong outing with 49 assists.

Defense was by committee with Hannah Maier leading the charge by posting 22 digs while Maddie Boomershine (12), Grimm (12) and Robinson (11) were also active along the backline to finish with double-digit digs.

In the second match, HU was able to avenge their earlier loss by blanking the Trolls. Despite trailing early in each set, Herber’s crew never stared at a deficit for too long to remain firmly control of the match.

Robinson and Johnson were at it again offensively with ten and nine kills respectively while Robrock added 26 assists. Robinson also logged a team-best 12 digs and two aces. Overall, the Foresters finished with 32 kills and a .143 hitting percentage as a team.

“There were a lot of positives to walk away with today,” said Coach Kelsey Herber. “Having Abby and Lindsay back on the court after injuries was exciting, and I love the confidence we played with today. It made today a lot of fun!

“I was proud of the way we made adjustments throughout both matches. Non-conference matches are incredibly important for us when it comes to developing as we head into more conference play, and I’m grateful we took a step in the right direction today.

The Foresters move to 10-15 on the year. HU is back in action tomorrow for day two of the tourney to face Judson and UNOH.

Story by Matt Turner