The 2-seed Dike-New Hartford volleyball team was outmatched by 3-seed Hinton, falling 3-1 in Wednesday’s 2A semifinal at Xtream Arena, as aired on 104.9 KLMJ. The set scores were 25-23, 25-21, 19-25, 25-17.
The Wolverines had the early advantage in the first two sets, but couldn’t close in either. They led by five in set 1 and by as many as seven in set 2. After DNH found their groove by hitting a match-best .244 in set 3, Hinton controlled set 4 to advance to the championship match. The Blackhawk blocking was a key factor, recording six as a team. Creighton commit Bailey Boeve fired down 30 terminations on .407 hitting to carry the team. Senior Abby Jensen says Hinton’s offense proved to be tough to defend.
“I think it was a lot of just controlling what our side could do,” Jensen says “Obviously they had a really big powerful outside. Some of those balls you can’t get touches on that you want to get touches on. On the plays outside of those, what can we do to make sure that we’re getting the point and we just fell short a few times.”
Head Coach Diane Harms says Hinton made the right plays at the right times to sway the momentum.
“Volleyball is the play here or play there, those very close plays,” Harms says. “They just made the plays at the right time down the stretch in the first and second sets. Our girls came back in the third set and battled really hard. And then the fourth set, we were right there with them, and they got the energy and momentum to close it out.”
Jensen led DNH with 15 kills and Aubrey Asche added 11. Kailyn Meester recorded five of the team’s nine aces.
Their season has ended at 39-10.
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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtnOu57pQD0?si=UwM8fKHoXtscGwQ1&w=560&h=315]
