HAYWARD, Calif. – After splitting its two matches on Saturday, the Humboldt State volleyball team finished the Route 92 Tournament 3-1. The Lumberjacks defeated Holy Names in straight sets, 25-17, 25-11, 25-22.
"This weekend was a learning experience for our team," said Head Coach
Kelly Wood. "We're pleased to have gone 3-1, and we feel like we know what to go home and work on."
After allowing the first point of the opening set, the Jacks won the next five, and never looked back. The Green and Gold did not trail for the remainder of the set, and extended the lead to as many as eight, 25-17, on the final point of the set.
As good as the opening set was, HSU raised its game to another level in the second set. The Jacks never trailed and built a 10-point lead, 14-4, on an
Alex Hasenstab Kill. The senior Hasenstab also recorded kills to make it 22-9 and to give Humboldt the set, 25-11.
The final set was the closest of the three. Humboldt State found itself down 3-1 early in the set, before ultimately taking the lead at 5-4 and extending it to 9-5 on a
Symone Hayden service ace. Despite trailing 17-11, Holy Names played themselves back into the set and brought it within one, 17-16, forcing an HSU timeout. After another Hayden ace built the Green and Gold's lead back up to 21-17, the Hawks answer with four straight to even the score at 21 apiece. The Jacks closed out the set strong, with
Alex Lolland's kills clinching the 25-22 victory.
Hayden and Lolland led the way with nine kills apiece, with Hasenstab adding eight of her own. Both
Jessica Lammers (14) and
Katherine Rifilato (12) added double digit assists in the win.
"We only have one practice before heading to SoCal for the crossover," said Wood. "We have a very tough weekend coming up and we need to rest and get ready for the next challenge. This season is long and grueling and in order to be successful we have to play with consistency, which we did not always do this weekend."
The Jacks will return to the North Coast before heading south to Dominguez Hills to play in the CCAA-GNAC-PAC West Crossover Series. HSU's opponents over the three-day tournament will be Seattle Pacific, Azusa Pacific, Montana State Billings, and Hawaii Hilo.
