VOLLEYBALL

Wednesday’s conference battle inside Platt Arena came down to the rubber match with #25 Mount Vernon (16-3, 4-1) eventually edging out the HU volleyball team in five, 21-25, 25-23, 24-26, 15-8.

Scrappy play defined the night. The Foresters held the upper hand early on before the Cougars came on strong in the final two sets to mount the come-from-behind victory. HU never trailed in the opening set. The next two sets, each decided by two points, was an all-out knock-down scuffle with each team posting a win.

Up 2-1 and playing some of their best volleyball of the year, things unraveled for HU. In the final two sets, the Foresters gave up nine points on service errors and committed ten hitting errors to MVNU’s one. The combination was lethal, allowing the Cougars to enjoy a lead for all but three possessions in those final two sets.

Haley Kruse and Leah Carter had big nights offensively for Herber’s crew, putting down 15 and 12 kills respectively. Carter was also busy at the net defensively where she collected 2.5 blocks. Trevyn Terry made her presence known at the net too by posting nine kills and 2.5 blocks.

Morgan Robrock filled the stat sheet with 44 assists, nine kills, eight digs, three aces and 2.5 blocks. Layla Meyer led the charge along the backline with 18 digs while Olivia Krahn finished with 12 and Kruse added 11.

“Tonight was a heartbreaker,” said Coach Kelsey Herber. “We played some of our best volleyball in the first three sets. We struggled in tip coverage and had far too many service errors that made it challenging for us to go on a run in sets four and five.

“We have to take ownership of this loss and remain confident moving forward.”

Tonight’s contest is just the second five-setter this season for both teams with Mount Vernon topping Marian 3-2 last week while HU dropped a 3-2 decision to Concordia early in the season. It’s been a bit of a rough patch for HU as tonight’s loss is their fourth straight as they move to 10-6 overall which includes a 1-4 league record.

Next up is a Friday night matchup with Taylor at Platt Arena with opening serve at 7:00 p.m.