vikingssportsn HOPEWELL TWP. – Hopewell (6-6 / 5-4) struggled to find enough consistency Wednesday night, falling to Riverside in straight sets, 28-26, 25-14, and 25-23.
The opening set was the most competitive of the evening, with both teams trading points throughout. Mikayla Kurta, Ariana Fischer, and Addison Blosnick provided much of Hopewell’s offense, while Teagan Murray helped the Vikings build a 15-12 advantage from the service line.
Hopewell appeared positioned to take the opener after a Blosnick kill and Riverside error gave the Vikings a 24-22 lead. However, the Panthers impressively fought off three Hopewell set points before eventually taking the set, 28-26.
Riverside carried that momentum into the second set, jumping ahead 8-3 and controlling play at the net. Hopewell struggled to generate consistent offense against the Panthers blocking, falling behind by as many as ten points before dropping the set, 25-14.
The Vikings responded with a much better start in the third, led by Hannah McDowell, who delivered several early kills and an ace to help Hopewell build a 10-4 advantage. However, Riverside chipped away at the lead, eventually tying the score at 15 before moving ahead 19-16. Hopewell battled back behind a block from Avery Boyd and timely kills from Fischer and Kurta, eventually evening the score at 23.
Once again though, Riverside continued to respond, claiming the final two points to complete the sweep. McDowell, Kurta, Fischer, Boyd, and Blosnick all contributed offensively, but Riverside proved to be the stronger team on this night.
With the postseason quickly approaching, the Vikings are entering an important stretch of their schedule next week. The focus now shifts toward putting together more complete performances, building momentum, and finding their best volleyball when it matters most.
Hopewell returns to play on Monday night 10/12, with a home non-section matchup vs Montour, then heads on the road for a section matchup with Beaver Falls on Tuesday 10/13.
Here’s the play-by-play recap from tonight:
Set #1
1-2 Hopewell on the board on a Riverside serving error
2-2 Hannah McDowell tips one over forcing the error
3-3 Mikayla Kurta hammers a kill through the block
4-3 Kurta on the serve, forcing a Riverside error
5-3 Ariana Fischer blasts an overpass for a point
6-4 McDowell hits one through the block for a kill
7-4 Fischer nicely places a kill on the side
8-7 Fischer with another shot to the middle to stop a run
9-7 Addison Blosnick with a nice play at the net
10-10 Blosnick with a big swing for a kill. Teagan Murray with the set.
11-11 Kurta with a nice tip. Blosnick with a great dig early in the sequence.
12-12 Tied up again, back and forth so far.
13-12 Murray with an ace
14-12 Tessa Burgess with a great read on a long return
15-12 Murray continuing the great serves, forcing the error
15-15 Riverside ties it back up
16-16 Burgess with another nice read on a long shot
17-18 Boyd hammers an overpass to the back corner
18-18 McDowell with a great serve, Fischer waiting on the overpass for a kill
19-20 Boyd with a right-side kill
20-20 Cici Smetana on the serve, forcing the error. Tied up again
21-22 Smetana with a great read on a long serve
22-22 Marina Pinchotti on the serve
23-22 Blosnick with a huge kill through the block
24-22 Smetana with a great read on a wide shot. Hopewell set point
24-24 Riverside fights back to tie it up
25-24 Kurta buries a kill. Hopewell back on set point.
25-25 Riverside fights off another one
25-26 Riverside gets to set point, timeout Hopewell
26-26 Kurta with a big kill. Great set from Murray
26-27 Riverside gets to set point again, timeout Hopewell
26-28 Riverside takes a very entertaining Set #1
Set #2
1-1 McDowell tips one for a point to get Hopewell started
2-3 Boyd with a great kill. Kurta running interference with the decoy swing
3-8 Riverside creating early distance
4-8 Boyd with a big kill for a point
5-9 Fischer flips one over causing the error
5-11 Riverside with a block at the net. Giving Hopewell hitters trouble. Timeout Vikings
6-14 Kurta slams an overpass for a much-needed point
7-14 Burgess on the serve. Riverside with a wide return
8-14 Riverside with another error
9-15 Murray with tip at the net, that Riverside blocks wide
9-19 Riverside continuing to pull away
10-19 Kurta with a block grabbing a point
11-20 Murray with a dump forcing an error
12-22 Boyd pushes one to the corner for a point
13-24 Riverside with a long serve
14-24 Pinchotti with an ace
14-25 Riverside closes out Set #2
Set #3
1-0 McDowell hammers a kill to get it started
2-1 McDowell with a shot that just catches a backrow hand
3-3 Riverside with a serving error
4-3 Kurta with a nice serve, McDowell drops the over pass to the floor
5-3 A flurry of back-and-forth shots ends with Hopewell point
6-4 Great read by McDowell on a push to the back corner
7-4 McDowell with a sharp free ball finding the floor
8-4 Fischer with a nice kill of the slide set from Murray
9-4 McDowell with an ace
10-4 Blosnick hammers a kill to the back
10-5 Best rally of the night. Ends with a Riverside point, but awesome effort.
11-6 Boyd with a kill to the middle
11-9 Riverside on a run, timeout Hopewell
12-9 McDowell pushes one and just catches the line
13-10 McDowell hits one through the block
14-10 Burgess on the serve, Riverside with a wide return
15-10 Kurta with a big block in the middle
15-14 Riverside coming back
15-15 Tied up in Set 3
16-17 Hopewell with the point off the Riverside error
16-19 Riverside extends the lead. Timeout Hopewell
17-19 Long return from Riverside ends the run
18-19 Kurta on the serve. A nice defensive
19-19 Boyd with a block at the net to tie it back up
19-22 Riverside jumps back in front
20-22 A great read from Burgess on a long serve
21-22 Fischer with a kill to the middle
22-23 Boyd with a shot for a kill
23-23 Another awesome rally. Murray with a great
23-24 Riverside gets to set point on a serving error
23-25 Riverside finishes out the match.
