Comets start 2017 volleyball season 2-1

After a rough ending in match one, Boyden-Hull comes back to beat West Sioux and West Lyon at West Lyon tournament

INWOOD-After a rough beginning at the West Lyon volleyball tournament Tuesday, Aug. 22, the Boyden-Hull volleyball team was able to regroup and win the final two matches of the day for a 2-1 record to begin the 2017 season.

Boyden-Hull 21-20-14 1

Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn 11-22-16 2

The first match of the day was against Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn and the Comets had no trouble in the first game, taking a 21-11 victory. The second game was a back-and-forth affair between the two teams, but the Hawks edged the Comets to force a game three. There Boyden-Hull took a 13-9 lead and only needed 2 more points to claim the match, but Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn went on a 7-1 run to steal the match away.

“We just weren’t able to finish. H-M-S went on a run and we couldn’t get into a rhythm to put a stop to it,” said Comets’ coach Mel Hofmeyer.

Hofmeyer noted her team’s poor offensive flow was a big factor in the Hawks stealing the match.

“We were running a lot of quick things. It was just messy,” she said. “We need to clean it up a little bit.”

Christina Boogerd led the offense with 12 kills. She also hustled for eight digs on defense and went 8-for-10 from the service line with five aces. Erika Pottebaum and Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag chipped in with six kills each. Pottebaum also had six digs and six blocks Van Der Zwaag went 7-of-12 serving with four aces. Joanne Luevano had five kills with eight blocks. Audrey Kreun dished out 30 assists.

Boyden-Hull 16-21-15 2

West Sioux 21-12-8 1

The Comets took on West Sioux for the second match of the round-robin format and had a tough go in game one as the Falcons took the 21-16 victory. In the second set, Boyden-Hull went back and forth with West Sioux until getting a side out on a Luevano kill. That put Kreun onto the service line and she went on a 9-0 run for a 12-4 lead that the Comets would turn into a 21-12 win and force a game three.

The Falcons jumped to a 4-1 lead to begin the third set, but Boyden-Hull clawed back to take a 6-5 lead on a 6-0 rally. That lead soon increased to 9-5 after a push kill by Boogerd and the Comets strolled to a 15-8 win and a 2-1 decision in the match.

During the match, Luevano went down with an ankle sprain and never returned to end game three. Hofmeyer was pleased her team was able to finish off the match without one of its top weapons. Overall, it was uncertain how long Luevano’s sprain would keep her from playing.

“The first game we came out slow and got down. In the final set Joanne (Luevano) went down with an ankle sprain and Whitney (Anderson) ended up finishing the game in her front left position,” Hofmeyer noted. “I was worried that was going to shake us, but the girls stepped up their communication and finished well.”

Boogerd led the offensive attack with eight kills. She also hustled for 11 digs. Before her ankle sprain, Luevano recorded six kills and Brooke Zylstra also had six kills. Kreun dished out 35 assists and went 10-of-10 from the service line with one ace. Brianna Kleinwolterink hustled for 13 digs in the back row. Pottebaum went 9-for-9 serving with two aces.

Boyden-Hull 18-21-15 2

West Lyon 21-16-13 1

The final match of the night was against Siouxland Conference rival West Lyon. With Luevano out, the Comets had to go with a different rotation than what they had been practicing. That new lineup played into the Wildcats’ favor as West Lyon took game one 21-18.

“The first set was back and forth. They would get a few more points on each run and then we had to crawl our way out,” Hofmeyer said. “We had to change up our lineup going into this, so our girls were a little out of sorts.”

Boyden-Hull soon got used to the new rotation and took the final two games 21-16 and 15-13.

“They got into a groove, started talking and picked their energy up,” Hofmeyer said. “The second and third game we led most of the way. Again, our challenge was finishing.”

Boogerd and Zylstra were the offensive leaders in the final match, each recording nine kills. Boogerd also hustled for nine digs, grabbed 10 blocks and went 11-for-12 from the service line. Zylstra had seven digs and went 12-of-13 from the service line. Pottebaum had nine digs on defense. Kleinwolterink had 21 digs as the libero. Kreun passed out 27 assists and had seven blocks.

Despite how the tournament began, Hofmeyer said this was a good way for the Comets to begin the 2017 season.

“All around we were really pleased with the girls. They came out and performed. Even when we had some unexpected bumps,” she said. “They seem to be jiving as a whole, which is awesome to see and we want to continue to see that throughout our whole season. We have some fun senior leadership that makes it all the better.”

B-H competes at Sioux Center volleyball tournament

SIOUX CENTER-After a good showing at the West Lyon tournament, the Comets kept that good play going to claim a second-place finish at the Sioux Center tournament Thursday, Aug. 24.

George-Little Rock 15-21-8 1

Boyden-Hull 21-17-15 2

The first match of pool play was against George-Little Rock and the Comets did not have much trouble in game one, earning a 21-15 victory. Boyden-Hull had another good start in game two, going on a 5-0 run, but the Mustangs battled back to tie the game at 7 before taking a 12-9 lead midway through. Coach Mel Hofmeyer called time out but the Comets were unable to reclaim the lead as the Mustangs won game two 21-17 to force a game three.

“We started off really strong against George-Little Rock. Toward the end, we let them get on a run. That led to a momentum shift and in the second game we started off behind and having to come back, but we never could catch them,” Hofmeyer noted.

Boyden-Hull was able to regroup, however, in the third game by taking a 5-0 advantage from the get-go. The Mustangs inched back to 7-5 and later 10-8, but the Comets used a 5-0 run — aided by kills from Audrey Kreun, Kaitlyn Van Der Zwaag and Brooke Zylstra — for the 15-8 win and match victory.

“The third game we finished well. The girls began the game well and all the way through to the end they played well,” Hofmeyer said.

Van Der Zwaag ended the game with eight kills. Zylstra had six, Erika Pottebaum had five, Christina Boogerd had four and Brianna Kleinwolterink had four. Kreun dished out 27 assists as the setter. On the service line, Boogerd went 17-of-18 with five aces. Kreun went 4-for-5 with one ace and Zylstra went 4-for-5 with one ace.

Defensively, Kleinwolterink led the back row with 14 digs. Pottebaum had six, Boogerd had six and Kreun had four. At the net, Zylstra got in on nine total blocks. Pottebaum had six total blocks, Kreun had three, Boogerd had three and Sara Koster had two.

Sioux Center 21-21 2

Boyden-Hull 15-9 0

The second match of pool play was pegged against Sioux Center. The Comets went toe-to-toe with the traditional Siouxland Conference powerhouse in game one, but the 21-15 defeat took its toll in game two and Boyden-Hull fell 21-9.

“In the Sioux Center match we played with them for a little while and then they got a few good serves on us and were able to go on a run. They then had a pretty good-sized lead and we couldn’t recover,” Hofmeyer said. “Mentally, the second game we struggled. We couldn’t seem to get any sort of momentum going and didn’t finish the best.”

Boogerd finished the Sioux Center match with five kills. Vander Zwaag had three, Pottebaum had two with Zylstra and Kleinwolterink each having one. Kreun dished out 12 assists. On the service line, Kreun went 3-for-3. Van Der Zwaag went 4-for-4 and Kleinwolterink went 4-for-5.

Defensively, Kleinwolterink got in on four digs. Pottebaum had seven, Zylstra had four and Boogerd had four. At the net, Boogerd got in on five total blocks. Kreun had three, Zylstra had three, Pottebaum had three and Koster had two.

Sibley-Ocheyedan 4-8 0

Boyden-Hull 21-21 2

The final match of pool play was against Sibley-Ocheyedan and the Comets quickly forgot about the Sioux Center match to say the least as they defeated the Generals 21-4 and 21-8.

“We were able to start well and hold a good lead, thanks to our strong serving,” Hofmeyer noted.

Boogerd led that serving attack, going 17-for-17 from the stripe with 15 aces. Kreun went 4-for-5 with four aces. Zylstra went 4-for-4 with four aces and Whitney Anderson went 3-for-4 with two aces. Zylstra led the offensive attack with three kills. Pottebaum had two, Anderson had two, Van Der Zwaag had two and Karly Vink had two. Kreun dished out 11 assists.

Defensively, Emma Zwart had four digs. Anderson and Kreun each had a block.

Central Lyon 17-14 0

Boyden-Hull 21-21 2

The Comets moved on to the championship bracket against Central Lyon and Boyden-Hull’s efficient offense and serving continued in the 21-17, 21-14 match victory.

“I felt like we were able to control the ball pretty well and forced them out-of-system with our serves,” Hofmeyer said.

Boogerd was the offensive leader with seven kills. Pottebaum chipped in with six, Zylstra had four and Van Der Zwaag had three. Kreun dished out 20 assists. On the service line, Boogered went 9-for-9 with one ace, Kreun went 5-for-5 with one ace, Zylstra went 4-for-5 with one ace and Pottebaum went 4-for-5 with one ace.

Defensively, Kleinwolterink and Pottebaum each grabbed 10 digs. Zylstra had seven and Boogerd had six. At the net, Kreun got in on seven total blocks. Zylstra also got in on seven blocks. Pottebaum had three, Van Der Zwaag got in on two and Boogerd got in on four.

Sioux Center 21-20-15 2

Boyden-Hull 19-22-13 1

The victory sent Boyden-Hull into the championship match, which proved to be a rematch against Sioux Center.

“I was really glad we were able to play them a second time. Our first time playing them we just didn’t show up and play to our potential, so I didn’t want that stuck in their heads for the next time we met up with them,” Hofmeyer said.

The Comets played up to their potential to say the least, falling only by 2 points in game one 21-19, taking a 22-20 victory in game two and coming up 2 points short in the third and final game 15-13.

“They (the girls) were mentally tough and it was back and forth. I thought the girls were able to handle their serve-receive better in this match, which led to some positive things,” Hofmeyer said. “We were able to keep up and play their quicker pace. We were also quicker on our blocks and got a lot of touches on balls.”

Van Der Zwaag was the offensive leader in this match, recording 10 kills. Pottebaum, Zylstra and Boogerd each had seven. Kleinwolterink had three. On the service line, Boogerd went 12-of-13 with two aces. Van Der Zwaag went 7-for-7 with one ace.

Defensively, Kleinwolterink had 21 digs. Pottebaum had 11, Zylstra had 10 and Boogerd had 10. At the net, Boogerd got in on 12 total blocks. Kreun had four, Zylstra got in on six, Van Der Zwaag got in on five blocks and Koster had two.

Overall, Hofmeyer said it was another successful regular-season tournament for the Comets.

“All around, very happy with how the girls played last night,” she said.