Close sets don’t go Cyclones’ way in 3-1 loss to Red Oak

 RED OAK (Sept. 26) -- It was another frustrating night for the Harlan Community volleyball team on Tuesday.
 Essentially matching Red Oak in total points, the Cyclones came out on the short end of two highly-competitive sets and were defeated by the ninth-ranked (Class 3A) Tigers, 23-25, 17-25, 25-14, 23-25.
 HCHS is now 8-7 overall and 2-4 in the Hawkeye Ten Conference, with three of the four league defeats coming against top 10 foes.
 Tuesday’s first and fourth sets could have gone either way, according to Cyclone coach Willie Baughman, with Harlan leading much of the way in set four.
 Red Oak improved to 9-8 overall and 2-2 in the H-10.
 “This one stings for sure,” Baughman said. “We were so close to getting a good road win against a good team that is ranked in the top 10.
 “I did love the fact that we were down two sets to none and came back and played probably our best set of the year. We completely controlled (set three) and had lots of momentum going into the fourth. We blocked better, closed blocks better and dug better than we had all night."

Red Oak 25-25-14-25, HCHS 23-17-25-23
Harlan Community Statistics
 Serving: 83/89 (93.3%), 3 aces -- Sidney Craig 19/20, 1 ace; Lexie Holloway 18/20, 1 ace; Delaney Kelly 16/16; Kara Weis 11/12, 1 ace; Haley Leinen 8/8; Lexi Larsen 8/9; Olivia Petersen 3/4.
 Serve receive average: 2.32 (79 att.) -- Craig 2.86 (22 att.), Holloway 2.38 (8), Larsen 2.32 (28), Kelly 1.80 (20), H. Leinen 0.00 (1).
 Attacks: 117/135, 47 kills (11.8 per set), .215 kill eff. -- Larsen 31/37, 16 kills (.270 eff.); Petersen 24/26, 14 kills (.462); H. Leinen 22/24, 10 kills (.333); Holloway 19/21, 3 kills (.048); Anna Ahrenholtz 4/5, 2 kills (.200); Hayley Hopkins 12/15, 1 kill; Macie Leinen 4/6, 1 kill; Craig 1/1.
 Assists: 44 -- Weis 25, Holloway 17, Ahrenholtz 2.
 Blocks: 13 -- M. Leinen 4, Petersen 3 (1 solo), Holloway 3, Larsen 1, H. Leinen 1, Ahrenholtz 1.
 Digs: 71 -- Craig 22, Kelly 13, Weis 10, Larsen 8, Holloway 6, H. Leinen 5, Petersen 4, Ahrenholtz 2, Hopkins 1.