Hillsboro Central Valley vs Thompson

Recap

The Thompson Tommies hosted the Hillsboro/Central Valley Burros in a critical ND Class B Region Two Showdown. Both teams entered the match an undefeated 5-0 in Region Two play, but only the Burros would leave undefeated, as they took down the Tommies: 25-16, 25-22, 15-25, 25-23

After evenly exchanging the first eight points of the match, the Burros went on a 6-0 run to take command of the opening set. The Tommies regained their composure in the second set, using a 4-0 run to take an early 6-2 lead. But the Burros reeled the Tommies back in, eventually taking the lead midway through the set. Both teams would battle evenly with the score tied at 22. HCV scored the next three points, with a Carsi Hatlestad kill sealing the second set for the Burros. Thompson thundered to open the 3rd set, going on a 4-0 run to start. The Tommies never trailed the rest of the set, despite a furious comeback attempt by the Burros. The Tommies led 18-5 at one point, but the Burros trimmed the lead to seven before Thompson finished the third set with a 25-15 win. Both teams battled well in the fourth set, exchanging the lead multiple times. In the end, Haley Smelden notched back-to-back aces for HCV, and the Burros grabbed the match point to take the final set, 25-23.

Hatlestad and Smelden combined for 25 kills and twelve blocks in the victory. Abigail Anderson also added eleven kills in the win. Andie Schwab led the Tommies with ten kills while Danica Gross added six kills and seven blocks. Jordyn Tozer also notched three kills, three aces, and six blocks in the losing effort. With the win the Burros move to 18-7 (6-0) while Thompson drops to 16-12 (5-1). HCV travels to Maple River on Thursday while Thompson will look to bounce back in a big way on Friday at Grafton.