Volleyball Begins GPAC Play with Win at Doane
(Crete, NE) – Playing in the first conference match of the year after over a week off of competition, Hastings won the final three sets to win 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-18).
(Crete, NE) – Playing in the first conference match of the year after over a week off of competition, Hastings won the final three sets to win 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-18).
Hastings took the first four points on senior Alexis Pontine's serve, but Doane recovered to take a 7-6 lead. The Broncos kept it close with multiple kills from junior Ilse Benne and sophomore Mikah O'Neill, as Doane led 15-14. The Tigers turned the set by going on a 5-2 run to go up 20-16, and eventually took the set 25-21 on back-to-back kills.
In the second set, O'Neill got a couple of early kills as both teams battled early in the set. Leading 8-7, Hastings went on a 6-0 run with a couple of kills and blocks from freshman Klarissa Dowdy and junior Amiya Barnes to take a 14-7 lead. The Broncos held a 20-15 lead, but four Doane points closed the deficit to one at 20-19.
Consecutive kills by O'Neill, sophomore Makenna Sutter, and Dowdy, gave Hastings the momentum they needed to close out the second set, eventually taking it 25-20 with a couple of Tiger attacking errors. O'Neill had five kills in the set and Pontine had seven assists.
Set three started similar to set one, as the Broncos won the first four points on Pontine's serve. Hastings grew their lead to as much as six at 13-7 on a Pontine ace. Doane would not go away quietly, cutting the deficit to two at 17-15.
With Hastings leading 21-19 in the third, the Tigers took four of the next five points to go up 23-22. From there, freshman Fran Warson set up Sutter and Benne for kills, putting the Broncos back up 24-23. Doane tied it up at 24-all on a kill, but Warson assisted Benne and Barnes on back-to-back plays to take the third set, 26-24.
Five of Hastings' first six points in the fourth set came by kill, including two by O'Neill, to go up 6-3. Leading 9-7, Hastings pulled ahead to a 16-9 lead with Warson and Pontine providing assists for four Bronco kills. Dowdy got three straight kills for Hastings later in the set to go up 21-15 and Hastings closed out the match 25-18 on a Doane service error.
O'Neill finished with 16 kills and a .577 hitting percentage, while Benne had 14 kills and Sutter had 11 kills. Sophomore Lainey Benson led the team with game-high 25 digs and Dowdy had four kills. Pontine and Warson combined for 50 assists, with 27 and 23, respectively.
Up next, Hastings will make their home conference debut on Saturday, Sept. 13 against College of Saint Mary at 3pm.
