The Patriots made the long trek out to Onida on Friday night and took on the Sully Buttes Chargers in a non-conference match.
The Patriots did not waste any time getting the game started as Ella Johnson, Gracyn Bixler, and Isabel Gilbert did the majority of the serving for the Patriots. All of them had long serving runs. This helped the team jump out to a huge lead and did not look back. The Patriots ran away with set one by a score of 25-5.
Set two proved to be a more competitive match, as the ladies had a hard time playing consistent volleyball. The Patriots had several hitting and passing errors, which helped keep the Chargers in set two. Hitchcock-Tulare would win set two by a score of 25-21.
Set three, the ladies jumped out to five point lead early in the set and did not look back. The Patriots increased the lead and put the Chargers away in set three by a score of 25-17 and won the match 3-0.
The Patriots had a nice net offensively at the net. The Patriots recorded 35 kills on the net. Katelyn Schroeder led the team with 17 kills. Rebecca Huizenga had a nice net at the net and recorded 8 kills on the night. Lila Johnson tallied 28 assists setting up the Patriot hitters.
The Patriots served very well on the night as they only had three errors in three sets. The Patriots also recorded 10 aces on the night, with Gilbert and Ella Johnson each recording three aces. Bixler and Schroeder also had two aces each.
Defensively, the Patriots tallied 50 digs on the night. Cambree Hoekman led the team with 15 digs and Ella Johnson was right behind with 14 digs. Gilbert also had a nice night at the net with two block solo and three block assists. Schroeder and Huizenga also each had two block assists.
The Patriots (21-7) finish out the regular season on Tuesday night, as they will host the Wessington Springs Spartans in a 281 Conference match. This will also be parents night. Matches will begin at 4:00 p.m with the Jr. High matches, followed by the JV and Varsity matches. We hope to see a lot of fans in Tulare for the final regular season match!