Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
West Lyon sweeps H-M-S from regional tourney
Senior Frankie Mohni keeps the ball in play at the net during the regional tournament match with West Lyon.
Senior Kylee Schiphoff is at the net to block a West Lyon attack attempt during the regional tournament.
West Lyon's offensive strength created problems for Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn during the quarterfinal round of the Class 2A Region 7 volleyball tournament. The Wildcats swept the match 25-13, 25-13, 25-22 on Oct. 23 at Inwood.
H-M-S could not overcome early deficits in the first and second sets, as West Lyon controlled the action with their play at the net and their strong serving.
"I felt like West Lyon did a great job early in the match of taking us out of our comfort zone, making us struggle defensively," said Hawk coach Cheryl Kroese. "Their offensive power was effective and they mixed it up nicely which kept us on our heels."
The Hawks also fell behind during the third set and trailed 18-12. But unlike the other sets, H-M-S chipped away at the deficit and eventually cut it to two points, the last time at 24-22. The Wildcats then scored the final point to seal the victory.
"Once we were able to make some adjustments, we were able to make a game of it in set three," Kroese noted. "I was proud of our ladies for continuing to work hard until the end of the match."
Leaders at the net were Abby Douma with nine kills, Kylee Schiphoff with five and Moriah Otto with three. Frankie Mohni finished with 16 assists.
In serving, Addy Sheeler was 12-of-12, Eliza Tewes was 7-of-8, Schiphoff was 6-of-7, Otto was 5-of-6, Lindsey Van Es was 5-of-5, and Mohni was 6-of-10. H-M-S had no aces while West Lyon had 12.
Mohni contributed 10 digs, Tewes and Van Es had eight and Sheeler had three. Douma and Schiphoff each recorded a solo block.
West Lyon (19-6) advanced to the regional semifinal against Hinton. H-M-S closed out the season with a record of 7-14. The program will lose Douma, Mohni, Schiphoff, Sheeler and Tewes to graduation.
"The seniors will definitely leave a big hole to fill in the lineup for next season. Each and every one of them proved to be valuable components of our team," Kroese said. "These young ladies are respectable, hard-working athletes. But more importantly, they are terrific human beings. I've been blessed to be able to spend time with them these past four years."
