A familiar finish

Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn opened the 2022 volleyball season at the usual place and came away with a familiar result on Aug. 23. The place was the West Lyon tournament and the result was a 1-2 record in three matches.

H-M-S came close to getting its first win against Akron-Westfield. The Hawks earned a 21-16 win in the first set and the Westerners returned the favor in the second. Akron-Westfield then won the tiebreaker (15-10) to claim the match.

Four kills each by Abby Douma and Elise Haack, and four ace serves by Emily Mutombo helped H-M-S compete with the Westerners. The Hawks were active in the back row where Abby Otto recorded 10 digs and Abby Kunzman and Haack had six.

Against West Sioux, H-M-S won a close battle in the first set (21-18) and then completed the sweep with a win in the second (21-16).

Kylee Schiphoff's six kills led H-M-S at the net, while Kunzman had four aces while completing all 19 serve attempts. Defensively, Haack had nine digs, Otto had seven and Frankie Mohni had five.

West Lyon was H-M-S's final opponent. The Hawks stayed close in both sets, but the Wildcats earned the sweep (21-17, 21-16). Haack had four kills and recorded seven digs. Otto contributed six digs.

For the tournament, Schiphoff put down 10 kills, Haack had nine, Douma had six and Eliza Tewes and Mohni finished with three. The Hawks totaled 32 kills overall.

Defensively, Otto and Haack led H-M-S with 23 and 22 digs, respectively; Kunzman had 11, Mohni had 10 and Mutombo added six. Schiphoff recorded two solo blocks.

Serving leaders were Kunzman, 38-of-39 with six aces; Haack, 16-of-17; Otto, 12-of-13 with two aces; Mutombo, 12-of-15 with four aces; Mohni, 13-of-15; and Schiphoff, 9-of-11.

H-M-S continues War Eagle Conference play at home against Trinity Christian on Sept. 6 and West Sioux on Sept. 8.