The Henning Hornets fell to Lake Park-Audubon 3-1 in the Section 6A tournament on Wednesday night. The loss ends Henning’s season with a record of 17-10 overall. Above: Emmaliyn Bergstrom passes the ball near the net while Myiesha Antoni and Addison Bode look on during a recent game in Henning.

The fifth seeded Henning Hornets ended their season earlier than they wanted to last week with the loss to 12th seeded Lake Park-Audubon. There were many factors that could have affected the outcome, but head coach Kristy Finck gives LPA a ton of credit as they came in ready to play. 

Cambrie Johnson passes the ball across the floor during a recent game in Henning.

On Monday night they got their jitters out when they defeated Ashby, and coming to Henning as the lower seed, they had absolutely nothing to lose, and they played fearlessly. The Raiders controlled the match with their strong serving and tenacious defense. The Hornets played tentative and just made too many unforced errors. Even though the night ended with a 3-1 loss (25-20, 15-25, 25-19, 25-23), the girls fought hard until the end. 

Finck said it was a tough loss, not one player or coach wanted the season to end this way, but there are some nights when things just do not go as planned. The Hornets had a great season, they ended with a 17-10 overall record and went 6-1 in the Park Region Conference, placing second behind the powerhouse Wadena-Deer Creek. The Hornets won the Browerville Tournament and placed in the top seven at the Perham Tournament. 

Henning is losing eight seniors from this year’s team, they are going to be greatly missed, but they are also bringing a core group of girls back, so the future for Henning volleyball looks promising. 

Brynn Reinbold and Lily Grieger attempt to block a hit in Henning.

In the LPA match, serve receiving hindered the Hornets all night, so they were not able to be on the offensive end of the game, and then their defense was not up to par for the night. Even though we were on the defensive end of the game  the Hornets had three individuals with double digit kills as Alivia Emter had 13, Myiesha Antoni had 12 and Addison Bode had 10. Also generating kills were Emmalyn Bergstrom with four and Lily Grieger with three. Bode led the team in ace serves with three, Cambrie Johnson led the team in set assists with 27, Bella Olson led the team in digs with 26 and Antoni led the team in blocks with three solo and four assist blocks. Bergstrom also contributed in blocks with two solo and three assists blocks. 

Finck said she would like to thank the girls for a great season, they worked hard and showed great improvement. Henning’s practice conditions and schedule were not ideal this year, but they made it through and made the most of it. Also, thank-you to the parents and fans for supporting the team. Finck said a special thank-you goes out to all the coaches (JH, volunteer and assistants), without you she could not do it, your time and commitment does not go unnoticed.