Henderson splits volleyball matches at Washburn Invitational

TOPEKA, Kansas — Henderson State split both of the team’s first two days of the volleyball season at the Washburn Invitational tournament in Kansas.

Courtney Bolf had a 13 dig, 12 kill double-double, and Adrianna Hartmann chipped in nine kills on 15 attacks Saturday to help Henderson (2-2) race past Colorado State-Pueblo, 25-20, 25-10, 25-18, in the second match of the second day.

The Reddies found themselves in a tight first set with the Thunder-Wolves (1-3). Henderson made its move with the score knotted at 14-14. The Reddies went on a 10-4 run to take the lead with three kills from both Hartmann and Bolf, as well as three Pueblo errors.

The second set was all Henderson’s. The Reddies took advantage of 10 Pueblo errors and had kills from six different players in the set.

Henderson extended a 15-13 lead to 19-15 in the third set with two kills from Zuzana Ondruskova and two errors by Pueblo. The Reddies won five of the final six points to take the final set.

As a team, Henderson had a .309 attacking percentage in the win

and made just 11 attack errors to Pueblo’s 20. Bolf’s double-double was her second in two days, while Hartmann’s nine kills is an early season high for the junior middle blocker, who carries a .365 attacking percentage through four matches.

Karlie Greene had four solo blocks in the win, while Ondruskova finished with eight kills and five digs. Libero Gigi Garramone chipped in a team-high 13 digs. Both setters performed well for the Reddies as Abby Blackburn collected 16 assists and Taylor Scalzi picked up 12.

Northwest Missouri State (40) swept Henderson, 3-0, in the first match of the day. The Bearcats finished with 50 kills on a

.390 attacking percentage to win,

25-8, 25-14, 25-13. Hartmann led Henderson with five kills, while Bolf had four. The Reddies struggled against the Northwest length at the net, finishing with a .095 attacking percentage and just 21 kills in the loss.

Henderson earned its first win of the season in the second match of the tournament, 3-0 against William Jewell College (1-3). Bolf had 11 kills and 17 digs, while Ondruskova and Garramone combined for 30 digs as the Reddies won, 25-23, 25-16, 25-16.

Tyasia McGruder finished with six kills and no attack errors. Blackburn picked up 16 assists for the second time on the day, while Scalzi collected 12 to set a new career high in just her second college match.

Bolf and Ondruskova combined for 15 kills and 17 digs in the opening match of the tournament, but it was not enough to knock off the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. The Mountain Lions took the match, 25-22, 25-22, 25-21.

Blackburn led the Reddies with 16 assists. She also had seven defensive digs, as did Garramone. In their college debuts, McGruder finished with seven kills and Scalzi picked up six digs.

Henderson is scheduled to return to action on Friday at 10 a.m. against Mississippi College in the Duke Wells Center. The Reddies will play two matches on both Friday and Saturday at home as a part of the 2018 Reddie-Tiger Invitational.