They were a team

Although they did not have a winning record in 2022, the Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn volleyball team improved its victory total by six compared to the previous season.

The Hawks compiled an 8-17 record this fall, which compares to a 2-17 mark last season. They also improved their win total and finish in the War Eagle Conference by two, moving up to eighth place with a record of 3-7.

H-M-S was eliminated from the Class 2A regional tournament by Sibley-Ocheyedan.

"I can't say enough about how awesome these young ladies were to work with," said Hawk coach Cheryl Kroese. "From freshmen to seniors, this group of girls never complained. They worked hard each and every day in practice and are great kids both on and off the court. They made me so proud of how they were a team."

Kroese had special praise for seniors Morgan Grooters, Elise Haack, Kayla Kathman, Abby Kunzman and Emily Mutombo.

"We will definitely have big holes to fill in our senior leadership and experience, but I look forward to continued progress as a program as a whole."

• Team, individual season stats

H-M-S recorded the following team statistics: 1,953 attacks, 504 kills, 349 errors, .079 hitting efficiency, 464 set assists, 21 solo blocks, 110 block assists and 1,053 digs.

In serving, the Hawks were 1,243-of-1,376 (90.3 percent) and had 122 aces.

Individual leaders for the season were:

* Kills: Kylee Schiphoff 159, Elise Haack 106, Abby Douma 97, Abby Kunzman 77, Eliza Tewes 29, Emily Mutombo 19, Frankie Mohni 17.

* Set Assists: Mohni 404, Kunzman 14, Mutombo 13, Haack and Abby Otto 10, Tewes 9, Schiphoff 2, Kinsey Schirmer and Douma 1.

* Blocks (total): Schiphoff 33, Douma 30, Haack 29, Kunzman 13, Mutombo 10, Tewes 9, Mohni 7.

* Digs: Haack 262, Otto 211, Kunzman 178, Mohni 165, Mutombo 120, Schiphoff 46, Tewes 28, Douma 21, Morgan Grooters 16, Schirmer 5, Kayla Kathman 1.

* Serving: Grooters 95-99, 96.0; Kunzman 297-310, 95.8; Haack 181-192, 94.3; Mutombo 160-175, 91.4; Otto 151-171, 88.3; Douma 38-44, 86.4; Mohni 216-252, 85.7; Schirmer 13-16, 81.2; Schiphoff 82-102, 80.4; Tewes 9-12, 75.0; Heather Elgersma 1-1, 1.000.

* Aces: Mohni 32, Kunzman 23, Mutombo 17, Otto 15, Schiphoff 13, Douma and Haack 7, Grooters 6, Schirmer 2.