The Trojans opened with a 25-20, 25-21 win over Goessel, then followed that with a 25-18, 25-6 victory over Lyons and a 25-19, 25-22 win over the host team.
Coach Sandy Arnold said she was pleased her girls won all three matches in the minimum number of games, but it didn?t come easily.
?We had our roller-coaster game going pretty good,? she said. ?We made the other teams look pretty good at times. That?s volleyball, but I wish I could find a way to not make it that way.?
The match against Lyons was a case in point. The Lions came into the evening with a 1-4 record and an eighth-place finish at the Mid-Central Activities Associa?tion preseason tournament three days earlier.
Still, Lyons jumped in front of Hills?boro 7-1 in Game 1 before the Trojans, who came in with a 4-1 record, rallied for the 7-point win. The Trojans then took Game 2 in lopsided fashion.
?We really seemed to pull through when we needed to because we were down a couple of times in all of those matches,? Arnold said.
She said that first Tuesday play date on the heels of the MCAA tournament is always a challenge.
?I got on the girls a lot, but at the same time I?m sure they were a little bit tired from the weekend.?
Arnold said her team did make some adjustments based upon its performance on Saturday, and she saw improvement in the blocking and hitting departments.
?We did a lot of things well,? Arnold said.
With the three wins, the Trojans improved to 7-1 for the season. The solid start gives credence to the team?s No. 2 ranking in Class 3A by the Kansas Volleyball Associa?tion.
?I really didn?t expect that,? Arnold said of the high rank. ?I really thought people would think we would be down, and I was ready to kind of play that role. But apparently not.
?We know we?re going to have to let our actions do the work,? she added. ?We can?t talk about (being ranked) because it doesn?t mean a thing until you put it to work out there on the court.?
Coming?The Trojans were scheduled to compete at a triangular at Marion on Tuesday, Sept. 4, which also was to include Hesston. None of those matches will count toward the league standings.
Next Tuesday, Sept. 11, Hillsboro will host its own triangular. Nicker?son and Lyons will fill the three-team dance card for what will be the Trojans? first league matches of the season.
