After two full weeks of practices the Henning Hornets opened up the 2026 season by going 2-0 with a pair of wins over Parkers Prairie and Lake Park-Audubon. Another positive is that the C-squad and JV also went 2-0, it was a great week to be a Hornet.

Since last fall, there has been a lot of improvement and growth at all levels of the Hornets. Head coach Kristy Finck said she feels every team is going to be very competitive and have a lot of success. Henning has 25 girls in grades 9-11 and 17 girls in grades 6-8. 

On Monday the Hornets traveled to Parkers Prairie. The Panthers were a powerhouse team last year. They lost in the section finals against BBE. The Panthers graduated most of their varsity roster, but brought back three solid players and their JV was very successful last fall, so the Hornets went into the game knowing we had to play good defense and stay on the offensive end of the game. 

Overall, the Hornets played good volleyball. They had some moments when their focus would lapse and they would let the Panthers make runs of points on them. 

In the second set the Hornets were down by six points and fought hard and finished the set by winning 27-25. Finck said she always tells the girls, there is no time clock in volleyball, all you have to do is win by two.  

Henning went on to defeat the Panthers 3-0 ( 25-14, 27-25, 25-16). 

Leading the Hornets offensively was Addison Bode with 9 kills and 3 ace serves. She also led the team in digs with 11. Alivia Emter had a solid night as well, she had 8 kills, 10 set assists, and 9 digs.

Lily Grieger and Brynn Reinbold each had 5 kills. Reinbold led the team with 3 solo blocks. Emily and Haley Hanson each had 2 kills and 2 blocks. Bella Olson, Hailey Fiskum and Zoey Gruber did a nice job with their back row play. They received and dug the ball to the setters to get the offense going. Abbigale Godding led the team in set assists with 15.

With a quick turn-around and completing the first day of school, the Hornets headed to Lake Park-Audubon. Going into the game the Hornets still had the memory of their last match of the 2025 season, it was the 3-1 loss to LPA. 

Henning knew they brought back solid players from last year’s team and that they served aggressively and are very scrappy. The Hornets had to fight hard in the first set, it was back and forth with hustle plays, tough serving and aggressive hitting. Henning was able to keep attacking and finding the holes and finished the set 27-25. 

Finck said she felt this was the momentum changer as the Hornets took the confidence out of their team and relaxed, which made their tempo flow better. Set two ended 25-19. LPA hitters kept attacking, but Henning adjusted their defense and the back row was able to get the setters the ball. 

Finck said if they can pass, the Hornets have the hitters to have a great offense. Henning dominated the third set. At the end of the game LPA served very aggressively trying to get the Hornets to fold, Henning made a few errors, but settled down, got a sideout and finished 25-15.  

Finck said she was pleased overall with how they played. The Hornets just have to continue to be confident and play with no fear, play one point at a time and not worry about the mistakes.

Addison Bode and Lily Grieger led the team offensively, Bode had 14 kills and Grieger had 12 kills. Alivia Emter had 6 kills, 16 set assists and 10 digs. Brynn Reinbold had 4 kills and 2 solo blocks. Bella Olson led the team in digs with 15 and Bode had 13. Hailey Fiskum led the team with 5 ace serves. Abbigale Godding had 12 set assists and Emily Hanson added 7 set assists. Others contributing in the game were Haley Hanson with 2 kills, Zoey Gruber with 5 digs. Seeing their first varsity action was sophomore Stella Iliff and freshman Jocelyn Oseien.

The Hornets first home match will be on Tuesday night. They will be taking on a very solid Breckenridge team. The volleyball Booster will be having a home opener grill out. Come on out and support the Hornets, get the buzz started.