“While we were up the entirety of the first set, we did allow for Hillcrest to hang around resulting in a split match after dropping the second set while being up the entire set only to let it slip away,” said B-E Head Coach Kelly Olson. “We were able to clean up our side of the court to begin the third set, starting with Olivia Otto in the back court. Her digging and free ball passing led to Sydney Schaefer recording 38 assists for the evening. None of which would have been possible without Kylee Dingwall (20 kills, 11 digs) who has transitioned to the right side for the night, and our middles Gretchen Bredberg (9 kills, 2 blocks) and EmmaLee Brethorst (10 kills) being smart with the ball at the net. We are still missing Grace Otto and Taylor Suchy.  It will be great to see them return to the court.  Injuries happen to everyone.  It has been great to see these players adapt to those losses and still be competitive. We’ll be back on the court next week in Battle Lake for a rematch against the Battlers.”

Taylor Yeats had 15 digs, 2 kills and a block, Schaefer had 12 digs and 3 kills, and Hallie Richter finished with 10 digs. Schaefer and Otto each served up 2 aces, while Bredberg had 1 ace.  Schaefer was a perfect 20-for-20 at the serving line, Bredberg was 21-for-22, Yeats 13-for-14, Kendall Hoidahl 11-for-12 and Otto 15-for-17.

Leaders for the Comets were Hope Adams (12 kills, 3 serving points, 2 block kills), Anna Brumfield (2 kills, 6 digs, 2 block kills, 9 serving points), Madison Ballweg (15 digs), Ruby Peterson (8 set assists, 3 digs), Madi Foss (20 set assists, 4 kills, 13 digs), Abby Heikes (11/11 serving, 5 serving points, 4 kills, 7 digs), Emily Adams (18/19 serving, 11 serving points, 6 kills, 3 digs, 1 block kill) and Natalie Zwiers (1 kills, 2 block kills).

“We had a slow start to the night, but we kept plugging away,” said Hillcrest Head Coach Debi Foss.  “A lineup change affected our normal rhythm, so it took us a little bit for us to adjust. Brandon-Evansville did a good job of attaching the ball from the right side as well as from the back row.  We battled back in the second set and got the win.  The girls did a better job of keeping their composure when things didn’t run smoothly.  Our serving percentage was also improved form last Thursday.”

Hillcrest has a home game against the Ashby Arrows on Thursday.