By BEN KLEINE

Staff writer

The little things all went wrong for Hillsboro when they went up against Newton Thursday.

Hillsboro played Great Bend and Newton for the first time in Great Bend. The Trojans were able to dispatch
Great Bend in straight games — 25-21 and 25-16 — even though they didn’t play well against the Panthers either.

But, in the Trojan’s first game against Newton, Hillsboro was incapable of putting serves together, often sending wayward balls out of bounds.

“It’s just like shooting a free throw,” Hillsboro head coach Sandy Arnold said. “Only, in my opinion, it’s a little easier; you just have to put the ball between the antennas, and we have to do it under pressure.”

Hillsboro’s passing was also haphazard. Newton served well, especially sophomore Devan Boeger who was able to jump and put top spin on the ball with regularity. Many of the Railers’ serves would top spin to the Trojan back line and fall like a major-league pitcher’s best sinker, but Hillsboro defenders had a hard time getting two hands under any ball at any point.

“We didn’t move our feet well,” Arnold said. “If you can’t pass, you can’t do anything else.” The Trojans fell to the Railers 13-25 in the first game and were trailing 13-20 in the second game before rallying back.

Behind the sure serving of Tena Loewen and Candace Weinbrenner, the Railers seven-point lead evaporated. The Trojans took the lead for the first time in the match 21-20.

“If we would have played the way we played in the second half of the second game, we probably would have won,” Arnold said.

The Railers called a timeout and adjusted and battled the Trojans to several stalemates. Each team traded points, tying the game at 21-21, 23-23, and 24-24. But, it seemed like the Trojans had expended their last bit of energy to tie the game and the Railers were able to come away victorious 27-25.

The match against the Railers was Hillsboro’s ninth since Oct. 3. The Trojans played in a tournament in Canton-Galva and played tough matches against Halstead and Marion in that span. The team seemed to be emotionally worn out in Great Bend if not physically fatigued.

“Volleyball is so emotional; we could have given (Newton) a better match,” Arnold said. “You got to get through the tough times; we don’t have an easy match left for the rest of the year.”