The Hillsboro volleyball team took a disappointing dip in pool play, but surfaced into bracket play and ended up second at the eight-team Canton-Galva Invitational on Saturday.
After defeating Hesston in the semifinals of the championship bracket, Hillsboro took on Moundridge, ranked No. 4 in Class 2A, in the finals, but fell to the Wildcats 25-22, 11-25, 19-25.
“I thought we played Moundridge pretty well,” said coach Sandy Arnold. “I was a little disappointed in the second game, but I was really proud with the way they came back in the third game.
“I saw a lot of good things out there from my girls in a lot of areas. They did a good job with some emotion and intensity. And we passed the ball fairly well.”
The Trojans made it to the championship bracket by going 2-1 in pool play. Hillsboro defeated Little River (25-14, 25-17), lost to Halstead (25-18, 13-25, 17-25) and beat Wichita Home School (25-21, 25-20).
“I was disappointed in that loss to Halstead in pool play,” Arnold said. “We kind of lost some focus. (Halstead) played well and had a good jump-server who took us out of our game in the third game. We kind of got behind in a hurry and that hurt us a lot in that match.”
With the exception of a couple of lapses, Arnold said she was “excited” with what she saw from her team during the tournament.
“Some of the other hitters are coming around and are hitting the ball and finding the holes,” she said.
“We changed our lineup. It’s time for people to step up in the roles that they’ve been given, and I think they’re starting to do that more.”
Trojan hitter Dakota Kaufman and setter Candace Weinbrenner, both juniors, were named to the all-tournament team.
“A lot people notice your hitters, so it was very exciting to see our setter get on there because a lot of the time they don’t get the credit they deserve,” Arnold said. “All the girls on the team would say great things about Candace, but not every one else looks at that and knows how important that person is.”
Coming—Coupled with a split at Hoisington last Tuesday, the Trojans took a 14-6 record into a four-team arrangement on Tuesday at Wichita Collegiate with Halstead and Marion.
