Photo Courtesy of Hillcrest Academy Yearbook

Monday was a success for the Hillcrest Academy Raven volleyball team as they protected their home court in the first round of the playoffs, sweeping away area school Keota in a Class 1A Regional contest in straight sets. The Ravens were a winner by three matching scores of 25-13. Following the match, Raven seniors Kylee Statler and Malia Yoder joined KCII Sports to talk about the keys to their win.

Yoder said, “We were all super-excited. There’s a little extra pressure, especially being seniors, this could have been our last game. We knew going into tonight, we couldn’t beat ourselves. We cut down on little mistakes and started gaining more momentum.

Statler added, “At the end of the second set everyone’s defense and coverage was really good. Whenever someone got down, we brought each other back up. Playing at home is great. The energy in the gym and from the student section tonight was great.”

Hillcrest was led by Yoder with 11 digs and eight kills. Statler and Niva Helmuth had six kills each. Claire Withrow finished with 22 assists. Lydia Beachy added eight digs and three aces. Ruth Witthoft recorded a block. The Eagles were led by Kimberly Clarahan with nine digs. Izzi Chalupa and Niveah Gutierrez each had four kills. Gutierrez finished with two blocks. Jaylah Redlinger had six assists. Kennedy Jackson put down two aces. Hillcrest is now 20-9 after the win, their first 20-win season since 2013. They advance to the quarterfinals of the 1A tournament Wednesday when they meet Belle Plaine in Kalona. Keota ends their year at 4-15 and says good bye to four seniors, Grace Conger, Izzi Chalupa, Niveah Gutierrez and Kimberly Clarahan.