The Henning Hornets improved their overall record to 8-1 with a pair of wins over Battle Lake and Bertha-Hewitt last week. Both matches were supposed to be at home, but with the gym still under construction the Hornets were on the road. 

Tuesday’s match versus Battle Lake was the Homecoming match-up. The game started at 1 p.m. and the gym was full and very loud. It was an exciting match from start to finish. There were some great volleys, hard hits and big blocks. Both teams had their run of points and kept the scores close throughout the match. Henning was able to secure the 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-21) victory in the end.  

Head coach Kristy Finck said she was proud of how my girls played in the moment and not let the loud fans get in their minds. 

The team was led by Alivia Emter, she had 13 kills, 2 ace serves, 12 digs and 1 assist block. Myiesha Anotoni had a strong game hitting as well as she had 12 kills. She also ended the game with 3 ace blocks and 3 assist blocks. Brynn Reinbold hit aggressively and ended the game with 6 kills. Addison Bode led the team in digs with 20.  

Cambrie Johnson led the team in set assists with 34. Emmalynn Bergstrom, Lillian Moench, and Hallie Fiskum also contributed to great play on the day.

On Thursday, the Hornets were headed the other direction to take on the Bertha-Hewitt Bears. It was a great night being a Hornet as all teams seventh, eighth, C, JV and varsity all came home with a win for a clean sweep. 

The varsity won 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-14). Bertha-Hewitt struggled early in the match due to playing with a new setter. By the end of the second game they were getting more comfortable and were able to attack the ball back to Henning. Throughout the match Henning had to be ready for anything to come over, they would tip, send it over on two and gave the Hornets a lot of free balls. If they got a good pass they could attack, so the Hornets just had to be ready for anything.  

Finck said she feels the team could have been a little sharper being able to see what they were going to do with the ball, but overall they played a solid game.  

All of Henning’s seniors were able to see some action which is always good. Macie Oseien, Issabelle Godding, Breanna Bunkowski and Jenna Domier each did well when they got in the match. It is hard in volleyball to enter a game, as you have to be ready to go in any position, but this group of ladies does a good job of knowing what to do.

The Hornets were led in attacking by Antoni, she had 13 kills (hitting above .500), she also had 4 solo blocks and 2 assist blocks. Emter, Reinbold, Bergstrom, and Bode each had 6 kills. Johnson led the team with 32 set assists and 3 ace serves. Fiskum and Moench did a nice job on defense, as they picked up a lot of different types of hits. Bella Olson brought a lot of energy to the court, she led the team in ace serves with 4, had 2 kills, 6 digs and 2 set assists.

The Hornets only have one regular season match this upcoming week, it is a home game against a very strong Barnesville team. It should be a great game to see what Henning needs to work on. They will bring strong hitters and a big block. The game will be played in Henning’s small gym as our main gym is not ready to go quite yet, hopefully next week (Sept. 29)  the Hornets will be playing on the new gym floor. 

On Saturday Henning will be traveling to Dassel-Cokato to play in a JV and varsity tournament.