NEW LISBON — The Hillsboro volleyball team improved to 6–6 in the Scenic Bluffs Conference with a trio of league victories in the past week.

Last Tuesday, the Tigers hosted a SBC quadrangular and split a pair of conference matches, sweeping Wonewoc–Center before closing the night with a 3–1 loss to Royall.

Hillsboro closed out the week of play two nights later with a 22–25, 25–16, 25–17, 25–18 victory at New Lisbon.

“We started off well in first set only to falter and drop it 22–25,” said Hillsboro head coach Mark Sullivan. “We were able to correct some things and calm down, playing pretty steady ball the rest of the way.”

The Tigers served well with 19 aces and only eight errors and were able to eclipse the .200 mark in hitting percentage at .202.  They also had eight total blocks in the match which helped more as the night went on.

“We had to make a switch after third set due to another injury and the kids did well to keep their composure and finish the match strong,” said Sullivan.

Sophomore Jessica Mitchell finished the night with 13 kills, six big blocks and five aces. Freshman Molly Crandall added eight kills and five aces.

Monday night Hillsboro dominated the rematch with Wonewoc–Center, sweeping the Wolves on their own court 25–7, 25–13, 25–17 in a make-up from Sept. 22.

Mitchell floored nine kills and had three blocks. Sophomore Brookelyn Borchardt served up eight of the Tigers’ 21 aces and passed out five assists. Freshman Abby Nemec added four kills and five aces.

The Tigers hosted league-leading Cashton (18–4, 10–2 SBC) Tuesday night and will next travel to fourth-place Bangor (10–8, 8–4) to close out the regular season tonight.

Hillsboro will open the WIAA Division 4 playoffs Tuesday night. The first-round playoff pairings will be released later this week.

Hillsboro 3, Wonewoc–Center 0
(from Tuesday, Oct. 4 @ Hillsboro)
Wonewoc–Center   10    13    19
Hillsboro                25    25    25
Hillsboro Individual Stat Leaders
Kills: Jessica Mitchell 11, Shelby Levy 5, Abby Nemec 4, Brookelyn Borchardt 4. Blocks: J. Mitchell 2, Cheyenne Hanke 2. Assists: Sierra Johnson 18, Allison Mitchell 5. Aces: Courtney Fanta 6, Crandall 4, Brookelyn Borchardt 4. Digs: Courtney Fanta 18, Borchardt 11, Johnson 4, Levy 4.

Royall 3, Hillsboro 1
(from Tuesday, Oct. 4 @ Hillsboro)
Royall          23    25    25    25
Hillsboro      25    21    8    24
Hillsboro Individual Stat Leaders
Kills: Jessica Mitchell 15, Molly Crandall 10, Shelby Levy 5, Abby Nemec 5. Blocks: J. Mitchell 4, Levy 3, Nemec 2. Assists: Sierra Johnson 18, Allison Mitchell 13. Aces: Brookelyn Borchardt 3. Digs: Courtney Fanta 36, Crandall 14, Borchardt 13.

Hillsboro 3, New Lisbon 1
(from Thursday, Oct. 6 @ New Lisbon)
Hillsboro           22    25    25    25
New Lisbon      25    16    17    18
Hillsboro Individual Stat Leaders
Kills: Jessica Mitchell 13, Molly Crandall 8, Abby Nemec 4. Blocks: J. Mitchell 6, Crandall 2, Nemec 2, Cheyenne Hanke 2, Shelby Levy 2. Assists: Allison Mitchell 9, Sierra Johnson 7, Brookelyn Borchardt 3. Aces: J. Mitchell 5, Crandall 5, Levy 4. Digs: Courtney Fanta 28, A. Mitchell 9, Johnson 9.

Hillsboro 3, Wonewoc–Center 0
(from Monday, Oct. 10 @ Wonewoc)
Hillsboro                   25    25    25
Wonewoc–Center       7    13    17
Hillsboro Individual Stat Leaders
Kills: Jessica Mitchell 9, Abby Nemec 4, Shelby Levy 3, Molly Crandall 3. Blocks: J. Mitchell 3, Crandall 2. Assists: Sierra Johnson 18, Brookelyn Borchardt 5. Aces: Borchardt 8, Nemec 5, Crandall 4, Mitchell 3. Digs: Courtney Fanta 6, J. Mitchell 5, Borchardt 4.