HIGHLAND, Kan. - Taking the opportunity to rest part of the roster ahead of a four-match road swing next week, Highland improved to 18-3 on the year with 3-0 wins over both Bethany College (25-9, 25-9, 25-11) and University of Saint Mary (25-11, 25-16, 25-17) on Friday. The Scotties were blistering from the service line on the night, collecting a total of 30 service aces across two matches.
Highland broke open the first set with an 11-1 run and was never seriously tested by Bethany, throwing down 17 aces across three sets, led by
Cami Dalinghaus with five.
Karsyn Kempinger led the Scottie offense with 11 kills and a .450 hitting percentage, with HCC connecting at a .395 pace overall.
In the nightcap, Highland again jumped out to an early first-set lead, with a combo block by
Cara Elam and
Hallie Holthaus putting HCC up 10-2. After a brief surge by the Spires, Holthaus powered a six-point Scottie run, dropping three service aces to give Highland a 20-6 lead.
USM posted one last comeback attempt in the first set, closing the gap to 21-11 with a 5-1 spurt, but the Scotties linked four straight points together for the set win.
The second set was more back-and-forth over the opening points, as Highland wasn't able to stretch its lead further than four points. USM managed to pull within one, scoring three straight points to close the gap to 11-10, but
Cierra Poldberg and
Cali Honeyman put an end to the threat with a pair of kills each during a four-point run for the Scotties.
USM made a bit of noise in the third set, leading 3-1 and 7-6 early, but Highland snatched back control of the match. After picking up a kill to tie the score at 7-7, Kempinger threaded back-to-back service aces to put HCC up 9-7 and the Scotties never trailed again in the match.
The Scotties return to KJCCC action to start a four-game road swing, with a Wednesday match at Cowley County Community College. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
