vikingssportsn Hopewell’s JV volleyball team opened its season Monday night with a 2-0 loss to Blackhawk, 25-9 and 25-15.
The Vikings struggled to find their rhythm in the opening set as Blackhawk used several early runs to pull away. Alyssa Phillips, Abby Babinsack and Lily Otto each recorded kills for Hopewell, with Otto providing a pair of strong swings late in the set.
Hopewell responded with a much stronger effort in Set 2. Otto opened the scoring with a kill off a Brooke Otto set before Babinsack added an ace to help the Vikings build an early 5-2 advantage. Ellie McCoy also added a kill as Hopewell battled Blackhawk to a 10-10 tie.
Blackhawk eventually created separation with a pair of second-half runs, pulling away for the 25-15 victory.
Despite the loss, the young Vikings showed plenty of positives as the match progressed.
Hopewell settled in after a difficult opening set, competed point-for-point with Blackhaw for much of Set 2 and showed flashes of the talent and potential within this young group. With experience and continued development, Monday’s opener provided a foundation for the Vikings to build on as the season moves forward.
Here is the Junior Varsity play-by-play recap:
Set #1
1-1 Hopewell on the board. Alyssa Phillips with the kill off the Brooke Otto set
4-5 Back and forth early as everyone gets their early season footing
5-10 Phillips with a kill to end an early Blackhawk run
5-12 Hopewell timeout
5-18 Blackhawk continuing to pull away
7-19 Abby Babinsack with a kill
8-20 Lily Otto with a kill off the set from Sam Holsinger
9-22 Lily Otto with another strong kill
9-25 A tough first set for Hopewell
Set #2
1-0 Hopewell on the board first off a serving error
2-0 Lily Otto with another kill off the Brooke Otto set
4-2 Babinsack with a serve causing an error
5-2 Babinsack with an ace
6-4 Ellie McCoy with a kill off an Otto set
7-7 Blackhawk ties it up
9-8 Lily Otto with an ace
10-10 Tied up again
10-13 Blackhawk with a run causing a Hopewell timeout
11-13 A nice rally ending with a wide shot by Blackhawk
12-14 A nice defensive scramble to grab a point
13-17 Hopewell with a point to stay close
13-20 Blackhawk on another run causing a Hopewell timeout
15-23 Blackhawk with a strong kill for a point
15-25 Hopewell loses set #2 and the match
Both Varsity and Junior Varsity will be back in action at Central Valley on Thursday 9/3 for another non-section game. JV starts at 6pm followed by Varsity afterwards.
Section matchups will start the following week.
