Cyclones snap losing skid with Senior Night sweep
HARLAN (Oct. 12) -- In a season where wins have been hard to come by at times, the 2021 Harlan Community volleyball team will always have fond memories of Senior Night.
Playing efficiently and with confidence in each set, the Cyclones never trailed Tuesday night and finished the regular season with a commanding 25-11, 25-9, 25-13 sweep of Creston.
HCHS snapped losing streaks of eight games in the Hawkeye Ten Conference and 10 straight overall, improving to 3-7 in league play (eighth place) and 13-22 overall. The Cyclones will have six days to prepare for Monday’s (Oct. 18) Class 3A, Region 1 quarterfinal at eighth-ranked Sergeant Bluff-Luton (25-6).
First-year HCHS head coach Elle Crees is hopeful that Tuesday’s rout of the Panthers (6-14, 2-8 H-10) will give the team something to build on going into the postseason.
“It’s going to take a good effort to beat any team. It’s going to take a good effort for them to beat us as well, I think, is our mentality,” Crees said of the SB-L match. “We don’t have anything to lose at this point. What we know about Sergeant Bluff is they’re a good team and we have to play hard, and that’s all (we) need to know.”
The Creston match marked the final home contest for seven Cyclone seniors. Jordan Heese, Zophi Hendricks, Savanna Musich, Claire Schmitz, Maci Schmitz, Shelby Sisson and Laney Wegner were recognized with their parents prior to first serve, then quickly went to work against a struggling Panther team. The Cyclones smacked 43 kills with an outstanding .400 efficiency and served 90.5 percent with five aces.
“I was just proud that even though the energy and the tempo of the game (were) slowed down, we still tried to push that energy and it looked like everyone had a lot of fun,” Crees said. “Honestly, at this point in the season, getting a win and having fun is kind of what we want.”
Claire Schmitz, who served 14-for-14 with an ace, was also 14-for-14 on attacks with nine kills and an efficiency of .643. Hendricks led the team with 10 kills (.273) and served 16-for-16 with two aces.
Full story in Oct. 15 Harlan News-Advertiser
HCHS 25-25-25, Creston 11-9-13
Harlan Community Stat Leaders
Serving: 67/74 (90.5%), 5 aces -- Zophi Hendricks 16/16 (2 aces), Claire Schmitz 14/14 (1 ace), Madison Kjergaard 12/13, Maci Schmitz 12/16 (2 aces). Attacks: 69/80, 43 kills (.400 eff.) -- Hendricks 18/22, 10 kills (.273); C. Schmitz 14/14, 9 kills (.643); Lauren McLaughlin 6/7, 6 kills (.714); Haley Bladt 8/10, 6 kills (.400); Laney Wegner 11/13, 6 kills (.308); Shelby Sisson 10/11, 5 kills (.364). Assists: 38 -- M. Schmitz 24, Jordan Heese 11. Blocks: 5 -- Wegner 1 solo, Hendricks 1 asst., Sisson 1 asst., Bladt 1 asst., C. Schmitz 1 asst. Digs: 46 -- Kjergaard 16, Hendricks 10, Heese 5, Savanna Musich 4. Serve Receive Average: 2.52/3.00 (33 att.) -- Wegner 3.00 (1), Kjergaard 2.59 (17), Musich 2.57 (7), Hendricks 2.50 (2), Bladt 2.33 (3).
Class 3A, Region 1 Volleyball Tournament
Quarterfinal Pairings • Monday, October 18
Harlan Comm. at #6 Sgt. Bluff-Luton, 7:00 MOC-Floyd Valley at #9 Sioux Center, 7:00
Atlantic at Red Oak, 7:00 #14 Cherokee at West Lyon, 7:00
Semifinals • Wednesday, October 20
Harlan Community or Sergeant Bluff-Luton vs. Red Oak or Atlantic (at Sergeant Bluff), 7:00
Sioux Center or MOC-Floyd Valley vs. West Lyon or Cherokee (at Sioux Center), 7:00
Regional Final • Tuesday, Oct. 26 • Site TBD • 7:00 p.m.