Hornettes Start 2-0 In Conference
Vanessa Wyciskalla goes up high to spike the ball past the Anna-Jonesboro defenders during the Hornettes win over the Lady Wildcats on September 12.
By Brent Huelsmann
The Nashville Hornettes volleyball team got a taste of conference play in early season tournaments, but didn’t officially open up conference play until they went up against Anna-Jonesboro and Sparta this past week. The Hornettes defeated both the Lady Wildcats and the Lady Bulldogs in two straight games to open up SIRR Mississippi Division action this past week.
On September 12, the Hornettes opened up the conference slate with a two game victory over Anna-Jonesboro. The Hornettes took Game one 25-16 before taking game two 25-17.
In the first game, the Hornettes got off to a fast start and never looked back. Nashville went up 7-1 and kept control of the game from there. Anna-Jonesboro would get as close as four, but Nashville pulled away towards the end of the match to win 25-16.
In game two, Anna-Jonesboro got the upper hand, as the Lady Wildcats jumped out to a 7-1 lead over the Hornettes. Nashville would storm back to tie the game at eight, ad would not trail the rest of the way. After trailing 7-1, Nashville would score 16 of the next 20 points to take control of the game, and put the Lady Wildcats away.
Coach Josh Konkel talked about the win afterwards. “We had to fight a little bit, lost that momentum to begin the second set, but I’m proud of the way the girls dug down and took charge and took it to them to end the second set.”
Mackenzie McFeron led the Hornettes with six kills in the win, followed by Bailey Melton with four kills. Abby Kempfer, Jenna Harris, and Vanessa Wyciskalla each had three kills for Nashville. Paige Kasten led the team with 19 assists in the win for the Hornettes, while Sydney Brinkman led Nashville with nine digs. Abby Wesselmann finished with eight digs, followed by McFeron with seven and both Abby Grabowski, and Wyciskalla with five digs.
Nashville was back in action on the road against Sparta on September 14. The Hornettes came out on top as they defeated Sparta in two straight games 25-15, 25-22.
McFeron again led the Hornettes in kills as she finished with seven in the win. Kasten and Wyciskalla each had four kills, while Kempfer finished with four kills. Kasten again led the team with 20 assists, while Brinkmann finished with 12 digs to lead Nashville. Wesselmann finished with 10 digs, while Kempfer, Melton, McFeron, and Kasten all notched one block in the win.
