“We started the evening by honoring our Norwegian exchange students and our four seniors with pregame introductions and tributes to their parents,” reported Hillcrest Head Coach Debi Foss. “As coaches, we’ve tried to make this a memorable occasion and give the seniors a chance to look back at their volleyball careers and celebrate their volleyball journey. Lydia Lee, from Korea, has served as one of our managers this year and has served with such a kind heart. Hope Adams, Maddie Ballweg, and Madi Foss have done an excellent job of leading our team this season. They have encouraged the underclassmen, strived for excellence, and even know the balance of keeping some “wacky fun” in the mix. I’m very proud of the role they have played as captains.”

As for the match itself, Foss said, “In the first set we hit the ball very well and had no hitting errors. Emily Adams, Anna Brumfield, and Madi Foss each had serving runs as well in the first set. We were less efficient with our hitting in the second and third sets but were able to get the win over the Tigers. Our offense was pretty balanced and had four players who led with 8 kills each.

The Comets were led by Emily Adams (14 service points, 8 kills, 12 digs, 1 set assist, 1 block kill), Brumfield (11 service points, 8 kills, 7 digs), Foss (6 service points, 2 aces, 8 kills, 9 digs, 1 block kill), Hope Adams (5 service points, 8 kills, 3 digs), Ella Knutson (3 kills, 5 digs, 2 block assists), Ballweg (3 serving points, 17 digs) and Ruby Peterson (31 set assists, 5 digs, 10 service points, 5 kills).

"After five matches and a tournament in the past ten days, we came out a bit flat and it took us a full set to find some energy," said Rothsay Head Coach John Reber.  "Once we got going in the opening of set two we were able to make some headway. To beat a team like Hillcrest you need to run very clean, and while we were competitive through the back half of the match, some untimely momentum-breaking errors cost us winning chances in the end. Our players gave it all they had, though, and took some risks, and I'm happy about that. Hopefully our players can rest up over the weekend and come back energized for the home stretch."

Individual leaders for the Tigers were Kenadi Carlsrud (5 kills, 10 digs, 1 block, 2.0 passing average), Madison Tillman (8/9 serving with 3 aces, 3 kills), and Gracyn Petersen (13 digs).

Hillcrest (15-1) is at Underwood for another LEC matchup next Tuesday.

Rothsay (7-11) will host Parkers Prairie on Tuesday.