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Lady Tigers' dark night
Volleyball team loses Mitchell, first SBC match against Wonewoc-Center
bjornsen mislivecek mitchell 4 col
Hillsboro middle hitter Tasha Mitchell (15) and teammates Macy Mislivecek (8) and Brittany Borchardt (white jersey) watch as Gabrielle Bjornsen (10) goes up for the ball Sept. 17 against visiting Brookwood. The Tigers swept the Falcons before losing their first Scenic Bluffs conference matchand Mitchelltwo nights later. - photo by Angie Nachtigal photo

A slow start put Hillsboro in an early hole against Wonewoc–Center and an ankle injury to sophomore middle hitter Tasha Mitchell proved too much to overcome as the Lady Tigers dropped their first Scenic Bluffs Conference match of the season last Thursday night.

Visiting Wonewoc–Center took full advantage of Mitchell’s untimely injury rallying to take sets three and four en route to a 25–22, 10–25, 25–23, 25–21 victory.

According to head coach Mark Sullivan, Hillsboro started off tight, but won second game convincingly. The Tigers then quickly grabbed a 5–1 lead in the third set when Mitchell went down with a sprained ankle. She missed the rest of match, and Hillsboro never recovered.

“We were unable to overcome our errors and really missed Tasha’s presence,” explained Sullivan. “Gabi Bjornsen did a fine job filling in the middle where she never plays getting seven kills and two blocks, but errors by several members of the team at crucial moments proved too much for us to get the win.

“Wonewoc played a good match, and we look forward to getting back on course this week.”

Senior Sami Levy posted 15 kills and two blocks to lead the Tigers. Sophomore Mackenzie Sullivan added 10 kills and a team-high 22 assists. Mitchell had eight kills and two blocks before she left the match early in the third set.

Hillsboro (12–7, 5–1 SBC) returned to action this past Tuesday at Bangor. The Tigers will next travel to Necedah this coming Tuesday.

Wonewoc–Center improved to 9–5 overall and 4–2 in conference play.

Last Tuesday, Hillsboro swept Brookwood 25–9, 25–18, 25–16.

Mitchell slammed 12 kills and had two blocks in the easy win.

Sullivan added six kills, 12 assists, five aces and three blocks, while Kelsey Skala posted six kills and 11 assists.

Brittany Borchardt made a team-high 14 digs.

“We played a strong match start to finish and were able to maintain a steady approach throughout,” said Sullivan. “ I was pleased with our effort as the team hit .297 and had 10 aces while serving 93.2 percent. We also had a good passing match.”