Oak Grove Lutheran vs Hillsboro Central Valley

Recap

Hillsboro-Central Valley varsity girls volleyball opened up their regular season schedule with a homecoming match against Oak Grove. The Burros dropped the first set but rallied with the roar of the crowd behind them, securing the victory in four sets: 19-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-23.

After both squads evenly exchanged the first 14 points of the game, Oak Grove went on a 5-0 run to lead 12-7 in the opening set. They wouldn’t relinquish the lead the rest of the set, winning it 25-19. The second set was even throughout, with no team leading by more than three points until the end of the set, when tied at 19, the Burros notched six of the last nine points to take the second set, 25-22. HCV would carry that momentum into a dominating third set. The Burros went on a 13-1 run to lead the set, 16-3. Both teams would score nine points each from that point on as the Burros took the 2-1 set lead with that 25-12 set score. Oak Grove regrouped in the fourth set to make it a match. After the Burros led the fourth set by as much as six late, the Grovers rallied to cut a 23-17 HCV lead to 23-21. The Burros would hang on to take the fourth set, 25-23, and the 3-1 victory.

Five Burros notched at least five kills, led by sophomore Abigail Anderson with eleven. Seniors Haley Smelden, Carsi Hatlestad, Megan Ensign, and Kennedy Olsen also reached five kills. Smelden led the team in blocks with seven while Ensign’s four aces led all HCV servers. Oak Grove sophomore Alayna Foster-DeVold paced the Grovers with twelve kills. Senior Mari Bolme added nine kills and a pair of aces in defeat.

The Burros are off to a 4-1 start in all competitions. They’ll look to keep the strong start going with another home matchup, this time against Hatton/Northwood on Monday. Oak Grove looks to notch their first region win in their home opener against defending state champion, Northern Cass, on Thursday.