HHS falls in close four-set match to Woodbury

In what had to be the best matches of the season for the Hastings volleyball team, the Raiders came up short – but Hastings coach Rita Girgen saw all kinds of things she was encouraged by despite the loss.

“That was one of the funnest matches of our season,” she said. “The girls played phenomenal. They put all the little pieces together. Everything was so good. It was so fun. That is the team we are.”

Hastings lost the first set, 25-21, before coming back to win the second one, 25-18.

Woodbury then won sets three and four, 25-23 and 30-28.

“We had some huge defensive plays,” Girgen said. “Plays that are instinctual – they are in-the-moment plays that we made. Because the girls did not give up, they were able to pull it off and hang with a really strong team in our conference and the state.”

One of the key plays was a diving save that Sabrina Astar made at the end of one of the sets.

“She laid out for a ball after she had just got done serving,” Girgen said. “That totally changed the momentum for us.”

Here are the stats from the game:

Serve aces

Biancca DuFour - 3;

Kaylyn Nicklay - 3

Points

Nicole Bauer - 11

Kaylyn Nicklay - 11

Kills

Biancca DuFour - 13

Courtney Van De Velde - 8

Set assists

Kaylyn Nicklay - 33

Serve receive average

Shelby Wassink - 2.18

Biancca DuFour - 2.1

Digs

Shelby Wassink - 16

Biancca DuFour - 11

Nicole Bauer - 9

Blocks assists

Sabrina Astar - 3

Biancca DuFour - 2

Solo

Sabrina Astar - 2

Vs Stillwater

Hastings lost to Stillwater in a lopsided match on Thursday, 25-14, 25-8, 25-15.

Astar had a strong match for the Raiders, Girgen said.

“It was just her all-around game,” she said. “Her blocking. Her hitting. She has really just stepped up. She’s a real solid player for us. We can rely on her consistency time and time again.”

Here are the stats from the Stillwater match:

Serves

Points

Jennifer Lindberg - 5

Kills

Heather Petersen - 7

Sabrina Astar - 6

Set assists

Kaylyn Nicklay - 13

Serve receive average

Shelby Wassink - 2.21

Grace Rolloff - 2.05

Biancca DuFour - 2.0

Digs

Shelby Wassink - 10

Blocks

Assists

Biancca DuFour - 1

Sabrina Astar - 1

Tags: hhs volleyball, sports, hastings, minnesota, spiral, local, prep