OSHKOSH — The Hillsboro volleyball team opened the season with a bang last weekend, placing third out of 32 teams at the two-day UW–Oshkosh Khaos at the Kolf Invitational.
The Tigers, who finished 13–19 overall a season ago, went 2–1 on Friday to place second it their pool and earn the 12th seed in Saturday’s championship gold bracket.
Hillsboro lost its opening match to Waukesha North 25–20, 25–18, but bounced back with sweep victories over Menasha 25–13, 25–11 and Houghton (Mich.) 25–20, 25-17.
The Tigers then swept fourth-seeded Shorewood 26–24, 25–17 and fifth-seeded Bay Port 25–17, 25–23 Saturday morning to advance to the final four.
Hillsboro then suffered a 25–8, 25–17 loss to eventual champion Sheboygan North in the semifinals, but bounced back to sweep sixth-seeded Seymour 25–22, 25–17 in the third-place match.
Sheboygan North swept Grafton 25–16, 25–14 in the championship match.
“I was very proud of our team as we scored wins as a 12 seed over a 4th, 5th and 6th seed,” said Hillsboro head coach Mark Sullivan. “It was a great way to start the season.
“I like how we don’t quit when we get down and are not intimidated by good teams. We need to continue to be more consistent as our level of play varies from time to time and energy is not always as high as it could be.”
Senior middle hitter Jessica Mitchell and senior outside hitter Sydney Johnson made the All-Tournament team.
Mitchell floored 43 kills and had 11 blocks and four aces. Johnson added 40 kills, a team-high 15 blocks and 10 aces.
Sophomore Molly Crandall added 29 kills, 59 digs and led the team with 11 aces.
Junior Brooklyn Borchardt passes out a team-high 70 assists and had 50 digs.
Sophomore Sierra Johnson had 45 assists. Senior Courtney Fanta had a team-high 67 digs.
Hillsboro (5–2) will open Scenic Bluffs Conference play tonight at 7:15 p.m. against visiting Brookwood. The Tigers will then travel to Bangor next Thursday.
The Tigers battled a number of injuries last year and finished fifth in the SBC at 6–8.
Brookwood finished fourth at 10–4 behind tri-champions Cashton, Royall and Bangor, which had identical 11–3 records.
UW–Oshkosh Khaos at the Kolf Invitational
(from Aug. 25–26 @ UW–Oshkosh)
Championship: Sheboygan North def. Grafton 25–16, 25–14.
Third-place match: Hillsboro def. Seymour 25–22, 25–17.
Semifinals: Oshkosh North def. Hillsboro 25–8, 25–17. Grafton def. Seymour 25–22, 25–17.
Hillsboro match scores
Pool Play
Waukesha North def. Hillsboro 25–20, 25–18
Hillsboro def. Menasha 25–13, 25–11
Hillsboro def. Houghton (Mich.) 25–20, 25–17
Gold Bracket
Hillsboro def. Shorewood 26–24, 25–17
Hillsboro def. Bay Port 25–17, 25–23
semifinal: Sheboygan North def. Hillsboro 25–8, 25–17
third-place: Hillsboro def. Seymour 25–22, 25–17
Hillsboro stat leaders p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 9.0px; line-height: 10.0px; font: 10.0px Times} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 9.0px; line-height: 10.0px; font: 10.0px Times; min-height: 13.0px} p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 9.0px Helvetica} p.p4 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 6.0px Helvetica} p.p5 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 9.0px; font: 6.0px Helvetica} p.p6 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; font: 6.0px Helvetica} span.s1 {text-decoration: underline}
Kills: Jessica Mitchell 43, Sydney Johnson 40, Molly Crandall 29. Blocks: Johnson 15, Mitchell 11, Abigail Nemec 9. Assists: Brooklyn Borchardt 70, Sierra Johnson 45. Aces: Crandall 11, Johnson 10. Digs: Courtney Fanta 67, Crandall 59, Brooklyn Borchardt 50, Mitchell 29, Johnson 24.
