TULARE – Aberdeen Christian scored the first seven points of the match, saved three set points in the second set, and finished off a sweep over Hitchcock-Tulare Tuesday night.
The Knights won the non-conference volleyball match by set scores of 25-12, 26-24, 25-14.
“I’m proud of our performance against a strong Hitchcock-Tulare team tonight on the road,” said Christian coach Sally Stoebner.
The Knights were in control in the opening set after bolting out to a seven-point advantage. However, the Patriots battled back in the second set and owned a 24-21 lead, before Christian saved three points on the way to closing out the set with five straight points.
The Knights were then able to play with a lead the entire third set to close out the sweep.
Christian had one solo block and 14 assists to help slow down the Hitchcock-Tulare offense.
“I was really impressed with our blocking tonight,” Stoebner said. “While we still have things we want to work at and improve on, I’m proud of what we accomplished tonight.”
Jolie Fogarty led the Christian offense with 13 kills. Arianna Johnson followed with eight. Payton Skarin led a balanced attack from the service line with three aces.
Emmerie Arthurs paced the Patriots with three aces and nine kills.
The Knights, 7-3 on the season, will host Wolsey-Wessington on Thursday night at the Christian School Gym.
Serving: Aberdeen Christian (Payton Skarin 3 aces, Arianna Johnson 2 aces, Mia Ramirez 1 ace); Hitchcock-Tulare 39-50 5 aces (Emmerie Arthurs 9-11 3 aces, Kaylie LaBrie 5-6 1 ace).
Hitting: Aberdeen Christian (Jolie Fogarty 13 kills, Johnson 8 kills, Reagan Jett 3 kills, Sophia Glynn 3 kills); Hitchcock-Tulare 84-97 20 kills (Arthurs 25-26 9 kills, Laina Puffer 19-23 3 kills).
Setting: Aberdeen Christian (Sawyer Schwan 20 assists); Hitchcock-Tulare 94-95 21 assists (Oliva Knox 75-76 12 assists, LaBrie 9-9 4 assists).
Digs: Aberdeen Christian (Ramirez 16, Skarin 9, Jolie Fogarty 7, Jacie Fogarty 7); Hitchcock-Tulare 39 (LaBrie 10, Paige McNeely 8).
Blocks: Aberdeen Christian (Jett 1 solo 2 assists, Johnson 5 assists, Jolie Fogarty 4 assists, Schwan 2 assists, Glynn 1 assist); Hitchcock-Tulare 2 solo (Tess Bixler 2).
Records: Aberdeen Christian 7-3; Hitchcock-Tulare 4-5.
