Hornettes Close Out Regular Season
Mackenzie McFeron slams a ball past the Mater Dei defenders during the Hornettes loss to the Lady Knights on October 19.
By Brent Huelsmann
The Nashville Hornettes volleyball team finished out the regular season with back-to-back losses to Murphysboro and Mater Dei. The Hornettes finished out the regular season with a 19-13 record. Nashville began the postseason against Wesclin in the Dupo Regional on October 24.
On October 17, the Hornettes dropped a tough three-game match to Murphysboro. Nashville dropped the first game 25-18 before coming back to win game two 25-23. The Hornettes dropped the deciding third game 25-20.
Nashville finished with 23 kills in the loss, eight of which came from Abby Kempfer. Both Mackenzie McFeron and Paige Kasten added four kills, while Jenna Harris and Vanessa Wyciskalla chipped in three kills apiece. Kasten led the way with 19 assists in the loss. Kempfer and Delaney Varel each had four blocks on the night, while Abby Wesselmann led the way with 15 digs.
Nashville ended the regular season with a two game loss on the road to Mater Dei. Mater Dei came back to win the first game 25-18 before taking game two 25-11.
The Hornettes got off to a fast start in the first game as they started the game on a 5-0 run. During the run the Hornettes got two kills apiece from McFeron and Harris as well as a kill from Bailey Melton. Mater Dei would storm back to cut the Nashville lead to 1, but the Lady Knights could not take the lead. Nashville would continue to keep Mater Dei at bay through the middle parts of game one, but the Lady Knights took control towards the late stages. Mater Dei would tie the game at 16, and would take the lead for good at 17-16. Mater Dei would go on to win 25-18 over the Hornettes.
In game two, Mater Dei would jump out to an early lead, and the Hornettes could not come back as Mater Dei cruised to a 25-11 win.
After the game, coach Josh Konkel talked about playing against Mater Dei. “We played well the first game. We were aggressive. We controlled the ball well. Got it to Paige, and the hitters did their job, and they got some kills. But they are a tough team to compete with. Point after point after point, they just keep coming.”
Nashville finished with 13 kills in the loss. Melton, Varel, Harris, and McFeron each had three kills in the loss. McFeron and Varel each had two blocks in the loss, while Kasten led the team with 11 assists. Wesselman led Nashville with 17 digs.
