Warriors Halt Bronco Comeback, Win in 4 Sets
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Hastings (13-10, 7-7) | 21 | 17 | 25 | 17 | 1 |
|
Midland (16-9, 12-3) | 25 | 25 | 23 | 25 | 3 |
(Fremont, NE) - The Midland Warriors took care of business on Wednesday, beating the Hastings Broncos three sets to one (21-25, 17-25, 25-23, 17-25) on a night that saw senior Miriam Miller move into third place on Hastings' all-time digs list, who is now 52 digs behind the school record.
Hastings and Midland played a very competitive first set, with neither team tailing by more than two through the first 30 points. With the set tied at 14-all, Midland won three straight points and five of the next six points to grab a 21-15 lead. Hastings would get back to within three on a couple occasions, but the Warriors took the first set, 25-21.
The second set took a similar turn as in the first set. With the set tied at 9-all, the Warriors took the next five points to go up 14-9. Hastings could never get it closer than four the rest of the set, as Midland took a two-set lead following the 25-17 second period.
Midland looked like it would cruise to a three-set victory by taking the first five points of the third set, but the Broncos showed lots of resilience in their comeback attempt. Trailing 14-8, Hastings took the next four points to trail only by two. Then with Midland leading 17-12, the Broncos rattled off six straight points to take a one-point lead. Senior Majesta Valasek had three kills in the next eight points to go up 24-21. On their third set point, freshman Mikah O'Neill finished off the set with a kill to give the Broncos a 25-23 third set win.
The Warriors would not be denied the victory, as after Hastings took an 8-6 lead in the fourth set, Midland won the next eight points to go up 14-8. That run proved to be the main difference in Midland's 25-17 fourth set win to take the match.
Valasek and O'Neill led the team in kills with 13 each, while juniors Alexis Pontine and Kinzi Havranek had 21 and 14 assists, respectively. Miller had 22 digs, while senior Dacey Sealey had 18 digs.
Hastings will travel to Yankton, SD on Saturday, Nov. 2 to play Mount Marty at 5pm.
