Eighth graders take second at MCAA tourney
Hillsboro Middle School eighth graders took second place Saturday at the MCAA tournament at Marion.
Hillsboro the No. 1 seed in pool play, defeated Halstead 25-10, 25-20.
"We played soundly against Halstead," Coach Stephanie Sinclair said. Cassie Kroeker was eight of eight hitting with two aces.
Scoring for the Trojans were Clara Ens with 12 points, Candace Ediger, Jet Skiles, Kroeker had five each, Kelsey Bartel and Sara Jones had four each.
In their next game in pool play, Hillsboro defeated Lindsborg 26-24, 26-24.
"This was a well-played match," Sinclair said.
Tiffany Rooker was 17 of 18 scoring and passed 25 times for 100 percent accuracy.
Scoring for the team were Rooker with 12 points, Kroeker with seven, Bartel with six, and Ediger and Enns with three each.
In their semifinal game against Wichita Collegiate, Hilslboro won 25-12, 25-23.
"Our team was 94 percent accurate in serving," Sinclair said.
Ediger was 11 of 11, and Rooker and Sarah Heidel had three ace spikes. Abi Humber, Kroeker, and Ediger were 100 percent in setting.
Scoring for the team were Ediger with seven points, Rooker with six, Ens with five, Humber and Kroeker had three each, and Jones had one.
In the final match for the championship, Hillsboro lost to Hesston. Hillsboro won the first game, 25-17, but lost the second and third games 28-26, 25-15 to take second place.
"Everything started off well for us, then things slipped away in game two," Sinclair said. "We never regained our confidence to put Hesston away."
Scoring for the Trojans were Kroeker with 10 points, Ediger with eight, Ens with six, Bartel with five, and Heidel with three.
The varsity team ended the season with a 9-2 record.
Summing up the season, Sinclair said, "These girls were great to coach. "They proved to themselves that they can play exceptional volleyball.
"I am very proud of them," she added.
The teams hosted Wichita Collegiate Thursday in Hillsboro with all teams winning their matches fairly easily.
The eighth grade varsity team defeated Collegiate 25-19, 25-18.
Scoring for the team were Kroeker with nine points, Ediger with seven, Humber with five, Skiles, Bartel, and Jones with two each, and Rooker and Heidel with one each.
Rooker led the team in kills with four. Humber was 96 percent in setting, and Kroeker was 11 of 11 in serving, scoring nine points.
"We had awesome spiking by the whole team that helped in the win over Collegiate," Coach Stephanie Sinclair said.
In their final game of the season, the seventh grade varsity team defeated Collegiate 25-11, 25-21.
Scoring for the Trojans were Candace Weinbrenner with 10 points, Sarah Unruh and Andrea Bartel with six each, Dakota Kaufman and Jandee Miles with three each, Taryn Mayfield and Dianne Sanders with two each, and Samantha Soyez and Heather Goldsby with one each.
"Candace's serving was very effective," Sinclair said. "She was 100 percent, scoring 10 points."
The seventh grade varsity team ended the season with a 9-2 record.
The eighth grade junior varsity team defeated Collegiate 25-9, 25-10 for their final game of the season.
Scoring for the team were Clara Ens with 14 points, Bartel with eight, Ediger with five, April Young and Sara Jones with four each, and Kassidi Luthi and Shelby Koons with one each.
"Great serving helped us with this win," Sinclair said.
Hillsboro seventh grade junior varsity teams played each other. The maroon team defeated the white team 25-3, 25-14.
Scoring for the maroon team were Unruh and Dianne Sanders with 10 points each, Natasha Hollingshead with seven, Brittany McInnis with five, Brandi Boucher with four, and Tara Simhiser with two.
Scoring for the white team were Jandee Miles with four points, Trisha Pankratz with two, and Katrina Muzyka, Heather Goldsby, Mieka Serene, and Bartel with one point each.
