SOUTH WAYNE – Black Hawk got the Six Rivers East season started on the right foot after sweeping visiting Barneveld, 3-0, in their opener at BHHS on Thursday, Sept. 1.
    “I was impressed with the glimpses of communication, hustle and determination (we displayed), and I was pleased with the team chemistry that I saw last night that we didn’t have prior to this game. All are necessary to be successful in volleyball,” said Black Hawk head coach Rachel Wolff.
    The Lady Warriors (1-0 in league) were down 23-20 in game one before getting the serve from the Golden Eagles. A hitting error by the guests brought Black Hawk back within a point, then sophomore Jen Wellnitz came up with a spike kill and back-to-back block kills to lead the Warriors to a 25-23 win.
    The two teams remained neck-and-neck with each other in game two, but the hitting of Wellnitz and fellow middle hitter Kate Quinn came shining through again as the two combined for 10 kills in a 25-21 win which put the hosts ahead 2-0.
    Barneveld looked to get right back in the match by opening up an early 10-3 advantage in game three, however the Warriors weren’t going to go down without a fight.
    Junior setter Kelly Neuenschwander smoked three aces during a seven-point service run to put the Warriors ahead 11-10. Wellnitz, Chaesta Shager and Abby Schiferl each added aces to up the lead to 24-17, then the hosts withstood a late push by the Eagles to earn the sweep with a 25-22 decision.
    “Barneveld is a very good team, young but good, and it took us working together to beat a team as talented as they are. I also think that our passing has improved since our tournament last Saturday, which allows us to set the ball up and run some offense rather than constantly playing on the defensive,” Wolff noted.
    Quinn recorded 10 spike kills and two block kills on the night, while Wellnitz chipped in with 12 total kills including a team-high six blocks.
    Shager dished out nine assists for the Warriors, and Neuenschwander followed with six assists and four aces.
    Black Hawk returns to SRE play at Monticello on Thursday, Sept. 8. Then, on Saturday, Sept. 10, the Warriors will participate at the 2011 Lancaster Volleyball Invitational, starting at 9 a.m. Finally, the team returns home to host Pecatonica in a SRE match on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

Barneveld......  23      21      22
Black Hawk...  25      25      25
JV: BH def. Barn, 2-1.